No doubt a novel idea dreamt up by a newly minted MBA to drive away new GM car purchases. I certainly crossed GM off my list of new cars I’d consider for my next car. Carplay is a must.
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Report Examines GM's Controversial Move to Abandon Apple CarPlay
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This is the start and the end of this conversation. All the auto makers sell user data, so they want to collect as much as they can. I’m guessing CarPlay locks a lot of user data out of auto makers hands. Additionally they want to sell subscriptions and because you’re locked into using their service, there are no alternatives.
Not just HVAC. Imagine Apple controlling the odometer. What happens if the wrong speedometer reading is shown and drivers think they are going slower than they are and are causing accidents, or something else leading to loss of life? Who will take responsibility for the wrong display? Looking at all the bugs in Apple software, I doubt users even want Apple controlling safety related software at all, unless they are very brave.
Mapping/Navigation on Tesla is average at best. I definitely miss music volume being reduced and audiobook audio being paused when voice instructions are given. Tesla just talks over everything, so you hear neither.
Tesla also can’t seem to align their visual map with their navigation data source, so often voice command won’t match the visuals. “Take the 2nd exit” when the map clearly shows it being the third.
Tesla still misses a huge range of apps, ie PlexAmp which is a pretty awesome personal ownership streaming service.
Let's not go over the top. Carplay 2.0 is essentially adding "skins" to the car interface. Your car is still controlling everything and Carplay is just presenting the data. If there are any issues in the UI "assuming" it will just fall back to the car UI.Not just HVAC. Imagine Apple controlling the odometer. What happens if the wrong speedometer reading is shown and drivers think they are going slower than they are and are causing accidents, or something else leading to loss of life? Who will take responsibility for the wrong display? Looking at all the bugs in Apple software, I doubt users even want Apple controlling safety related software at all, unless they are very brave.
Honestly it spawns a bigger discussion on how cars now are getting not only moving to touch screens but also getting rid of physical buttons. I will always prefer a physical button that I can press for things like HVAC vs a touchscreen I have to look at regardless if the UI is car or Carplay.
Self-hosted streaming is something companies like Tesla think is the absolutely worst thing ever. It's all about the money.
There's just no chance for the car company interfaces to be as good, even if they were free forever (which they never will be, because they require a data connection even if they make no money off it).
Is Overcast ever going to be offered? Are my Apple calendar events going to be incorporated into the nav so it knows where I'm going next? Is everything going to stay in sync as I move between different cars from different brands? Will everything mine be ready and waiting when I get into a rental car?
None of those will work, without carplay-- and that's before you have to pay $75 a month for it, after the free trial ends and you're trapped because you own the car. Or before they're harvesting and selling your data, and increasing your insurance rates.
I want my car connected to the internet about as much as I want my TV connected to the internet-- not at all.
All of these are paying more for a worse version of the same concept you get for free with Tesla. Some (e.g. Tesla) are better than others (rivian, gm), but they all boil down to that.
I'm reminded of garage door opener companies trying to sell subscriptions for that functionality
Even if car entertainment UIs don't come with a subscription, they're still bound to be crappier than the apps I can run on my phone. So no, never going back to it.
At this rate GM should sell a model with no speakers and no screens. You can just clip your phone to the dashboard like the old days.
At this rate GM should sell a model with no speakers and no screens. You can just clip your phone to the dashboard like the old days.
Only bean counters could come up with such a brilliant strategy.
I did exactly this. I walked out of several dealerships when they had nothing that supported CarPlay. Once I was even pursued out ot my car by the sales guy begging me to come back
How about warranty, safety, cargo space, or even mpg ?
Truly amazing how far Apple has cemented itself in the needs of consumers.
Well, even a “skin”, as you describe it, represents another software processing layer with 2-way communication between vehicle and phone. And in this case, that layer is in Apple’s control, so I don’t see the hypothetical as “over the top”. The “fallback” you mention will likely be there, which means both the auto manufacturer and Apple had to implement non-trivial checks and balances. And for what? So Apple can show you a different display of the same data? To me, the upside doesn’t seem worth the trouble or the risks introduced by the added complexity.
Completely agree with you re: physical controls. I see the touchscreen-for-everything trend as a very unfortunate development. I feel less safe using a touchscreen for the reasons you cited.
"General Motors expects its revenue from subscriptions, one-time purchases and insurance sales to reach $25 billion by the end of the decade. By comparison, Netflix posted a revenue of $29 billion in 2021."
They're some context for the amount of money GM expects to extract from this.
They're some context for the amount of money GM expects to extract from this.
Please, cars are incredibly generic these days. Every car sold is...
2.0L turbo 4 or 3.0L turbo 6
ZF 8 speed automatic
electric power steering
awd
5 star safety
similar cargo space in category
similar mpg in category
crossover, to some degree
Overwhelmingly, cars are being differentiated by their on board "tech".
In the area of "tech", the one I care about most is how it integrates with the tech I use-- which means carplay.
Everything else, I basically care if I can turn it off (auto start stop, lane departure control, auto braking, bla bla bla)
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Well, the ambition is not for carplay to stop just displaying the values. It wants to "Control" them. Hence the possibility for disasters. I believe the controls in the MBUX are voice controlled. I do not know if CarPlay controls are voice controllable or not.
God, voice controls in cars are just the worst. I want that about as much as I want screens to replace buttons.
However, Toyota charges $15/mo to stream that app. CarPlay doesn’t have additional costs.
I seem to have lost track of the original thread/argument, sorry about that. All I can say is that GM went the extreme way. Others are taking a measured approach. But all are aware of the threat that Carplay and Android Auto pose to their ecosystem. Slowly, it will be the norm rather than the exception.
What they're saying is that in a market where you've got 16 options that meet your criteria for warranty, safety, cargo space, mpg... and 3 of those don't offer CarPlay... they'll choose one of the other 13 options. That's all.
This doesn't offend me in the slightest, because Toyota cars have CarPlay. If the car makers want to compete, and offer a service that is superior to carplay, that's great-- compete. It becomes problematic when they lock basic car functionality behind a subscription (even if it has a free trial period first).
Ridiculous. Apple isn’t controlling the odometer, it’s just presenting what the odometer sensors are reporting. Have you ever used software designed specifically for a car? It’s more awful and buggy than any Apple product could be even if they tried. And yet the odometer works fine.Not just HVAC. Imagine Apple controlling the odometer. What happens if the wrong speedometer reading is shown and drivers think they are going slower than they are and are causing accidents, or something else leading to loss of life? Who will take responsibility for the wrong display? Looking at all the bugs in Apple software, I doubt users even want Apple controlling safety related software at all, unless they are very brave.
There’s plenty to legitimately criticize about Apple without making up absurd claims like CarPlay 2 will get people killed by showing the wrong speed on the speedometer.
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Ford, BMW, Honda, Toyota, Mercedes (just the ones off the top of my head that I know of) have all stated that they will not be ending carplay. Lucid just added it for the first time, because not having it was hurting sales. I do not think it will become the norm when it become apparent what it does to car sales.
Tesla/Rivian was able to get away with it because they offer differentiated products. That isn't true of any other company, and over time it won't be true of them-- at which point it'll be interesting to see what happens with carplay there.
I can't tell if you're serious or deliberately obtuse.Not just HVAC. Imagine Apple controlling the odometer. What happens if the wrong speedometer reading is shown and drivers think they are going slower than they are and are causing accidents, or something else leading to loss of life? Who will take responsibility for the wrong display? Looking at all the bugs in Apple software, I doubt users even want Apple controlling safety related software at all, unless they are very brave.
You realize every car has to have a fallback option if there isnt an iphone attached, right…? And that the data is the same source? You can create your own dashboards now with that data, just plug into the OBD2 portNot just HVAC. Imagine Apple controlling the odometer. What happens if the wrong speedometer reading is shown and drivers think they are going slower than they are and are causing accidents, or something else leading to loss of life? Who will take responsibility for the wrong display? Looking at all the bugs in Apple software, I doubt users even want Apple controlling safety related software at all, unless they are very brave.