Report Examines GM's Controversial Move to Abandon Apple CarPlay

[AZhappyjack]

Exactly what I wanted to convey. Anything can crash. Especially, in the hands of Apple, which cannot have any software without bugs, the danger is multifold.

I’d venture to say that any code more than 50 lines lng will contain bugs. The question is how catastrophic the is the resulting failure or crash.

But don’t be distracted … the whole GM tantrum is not about safety, continuity or convenience … it’s about the money.

 

[Beautyspin]

I’d venture to say that any code more than 50 lines lng will contain bugs. The question is how catastrophic the is the resulting failure or crash.

But don’t be distracted … the whole GM tantrum is not about safety, continuity or convenience … it’s about the money.

Yup. I agree. Why give the control to Apple so that it can set up an Appstore on the dashboard and BMW will have to pay 30% to Apple for putting its apps there, even on IAPs.

Apple will not take any liability for any mishaps as it has a dedicated team of lawyers just to litigate the hell out of such things so BMW (or whoever is the manufacturer) will be left holding the sack.

 

[Ghost31]

I’m one of those who wants CarPlay in my car, so I would never consider purchasing a GM vehicle for that reason. It will be interesting to see if enough other customers feel the same way.

There are other reasons to not buy a gm vehicle as well

 

[Ghost31]

What features do you enjoy? I’ve had a Tesla for nearly 5 years but have only used Apple CarPlay occasionally on rentals and some work vehicles.

I’ve found I prefer the map interactions and navigating on Tesla. Everything else kind of seems minor. I have my music on Apple Music without any issues, my calendar syncs and automatically will navigate me to the next location. I’ve never texted/called much to care. If I do, I’ll just grab my phone. I’d like to see Tesla open up app support.

I love CarPlay, but at the same time, all I do is maps and music. Tesla has the best mapping so I wouldn’t be losing out there and I think they have an Apple Music app don’t they? So not really missing out.

Honestly if the built in system is good enough for maps and some light connectivity, most people probably won’t end up caring

 

[Ghost31]

It’s the ford edge. I had multiple cars with CarPlay and one with wireless CarPlay. There were never any issues.

I have a ford edge. Wireless CarPlay. Giant tablet screen. No issues. Traded in my Honda civic that had CONSTANT problems with CarPlay disconnecting and me always having to use new cords to reconnect or the system just not outputting audio. It sucked.

I had a ford before my civic that had CarPlay too. No issues. So it’s not a ford issue. It’s just a crapshoot on if your vehicles play nice or not

 

[Tagbert]

I mean listen I love car play but ultimately if auto manufacturers decide not to incorporate it anymore will all of you “I’ll never buy a car with no CarPlay” go back to horse and buggy?

When GM made their bone-headed announcement, Ford very quickly announced full support for CarPlay and Android Auto because their customers want choices. Not every manufacturer is ready to ignore their customers wishes.

 

[Tagbert]

Exactly what I wanted to convey. Anything can crash. Especially, in the hands of Apple, which cannot have any software without bugs, the danger is multifold.

It’s funny how you keep reposting this kind of thing even though several of us have pointed out to you that the hardware is actually controlled by a separate real-time OS that is hardened against crashing. The UI is just a thin layer on top for information display and non-driving critical controls like audio. If a car were to run CarPlay as its main UI, a crash of CarPlay would have no affect on the driving controls.

 

[dampfnudel]

I drive a Tesla at the moment, they have added a Apple Music App and more recently Podcasts, however it is not the same as CarPlay, and the music app has the habit of disconnecting from the network. Car Play integration is important to me and next car is likely to be a BMW i5 that does support CarPlay.

I guess Elon’s stubbornness is the reason you can’t have CarPlay in your Tesla. I was actually surprised when I found out. I’m sure a lot of the people who bought Tesla vehicles in recent years had an iPhone in their pockets while making the decision to purchase. I was thinking how could they deprive themselves of this very useful connectivity between their iPhones and their vehicles. Now with the next generation CarPlay, I can understand the reluctance of some manufacturers to allow Apple to take over vital functions of the vehicle which could potentially open them up to lawsuits if something goes wrong.

 

[coolfactor]

I got to use carplay in a Ford Edge a couple weeks ago, it's trash. Maybe they should fix that first?
I'm truly amazed at how many people say it's a good thing? That carplay randomly disconnected about a million times.
iphone 14 pro max up to date on software. I'm much happier with my everyday bluetooth link that works flawlessly.

You're blaming CarPlay instead of figuring out the true culprit? Maybe the car system was trash? With so many happy CarPlay users, the only different factor is that car you were in.

Nice try, though.

 

[coolfactor]

Exactly what I wanted to convey. Anything can crash. Especially, in the hands of Apple, which cannot have any software without bugs, the danger is multifold.

Modern cars run on "firmware", not "software".... firm vs. soft. It's an important distinction.

Often, firmware routines don't need to "boot up" like an operating system. They just execute.

I believe Apple is taking so long to roll out the new CarPlay because it's being verified as rock-solid, as solid as firmware is.

 

[sos47]

while i would opt carplay on a new car
i wouldnt on a used car. its a nice to have feature not a must have when budget has a limit or when other specs have higher priority
apple maps is stupid in EU, every announcement is with street names instead of street numbers (N4, C112, B3 etc) the worst part is when traveling in a EU country with other languages like france, italy or spain. The announcements get absurd.

 

[RRZEurope]

I do understand the intentions of the carmakers (Mercedes is doing the same) - they want to have control, make more money and earn even more bey charging for add-on software ...

But as a customer, I do not want it and it influences my decision if I buy from that brand. Some years ago I was going to buy a new car and a BMW was an option, but to use carplay I had to buy the 5000$ Navigation System (which I was not going to use -> google/apple Maps is better) and the wanted to chare 100$ a year to activate carplay -> what happened? I DID NOT buy a BMW ...

Also if can buy a carplay/androidauto-Display for less than 100$, I will either buy a car from a different company or will not spend any money on extras, because I will have to install the display anyway aftermarket, so I can save the money on any soundsystem, etc - short sight management decisions, but they will not learn from it !

 

[kaz911]

We have a 2013 Ford Galaxy (and a Tesla) - and while we love the Ford car for the space - the Ford Sync? thing is terrible. It was outdated before the car was launched. Sadly many controls are "embedded" into the Ford "Radio" like AC controls - it is a PITA to replace or upgrade. As far as I know the Ford system in our car was made by Becker, a German accessory maker, who IMHO have never produced a good product that actually worked as it should. And their products was always 3-5 years behind all others.

Yes we know there are a few "android" based alternatives but most are terrible with outdated Android OS's and no security updates for years.

Car manufactures should provide a "slot in" standard "Entertainment" device - with "communications standards" for controls like HVAC, cameras etc. Then you could just "slot in" a new device if the old one becomes obsolete.

Sadly that will probably never happen - so 2nd best thing is CarPlay.

We will only buy cars featuring CarPlay going forward. Tesla is "ok" but no car play = not for us going forward.

 

[thewill586]

i love carplay on my mach-e. I have 2 phones and it just takes a couple of button presses to switch between phones while driving.

 

[Mr_Ed]

You're blaming CarPlay instead of figuring out the true culprit? Maybe the car system was trash? With so many happy CarPlay users, the only different factor is that car you were in.

Nice try, though.

“So many happy CarPlay users” is not really quantifiable in any way, is it? Quick searches reveal lots of people have been experiencing issues with CarPlay for years, and people don’t write lots of online articles on “how to fix CarPlay” for no reason. Connection instability, freezing, lack of/slow response are all common gripes.

The truth is the car is just one variable. The hardware varies among iPhones out there. The iOS version varies. The CarPlay connection method to the car varies. These are just some of the reasons not everyone is excited about the prospect of a new version of CarPlay in their cars, or at least question the value added by CarPlay with regard to functions the vehicle already performs like speedometer display or HVAC controls.

No system is perfect. Let’s not pretend Apple’s implementation of CarPlay, of all things, is.

 

[gank41]

“So many happy CarPlay users” is not really quantifiable in any way, is it? Quick searches reveal lots of people have been experiencing issues with CarPlay for years, and people don’t write lots of online articles on “how to fix CarPlay” for no reason. Connection instability, freezing, lack of/slow response are all common gripes.

The truth is the car is just one variable. The hardware varies among iPhones out there. The iOS version varies. The CarPlay connection method to the car varies. These are just some of the reasons not everyone is excited about the prospect of a new version of CarPlay in their cars, or at least question the value added by CarPlay with regard to functions the vehicle already performs like speedometer display or HVAC controls.

No system is perfect. Let’s not pretend Apple’s implementation of CarPlay, of all things, is.

CarPlay is an advanced Lock Screen that displays info from allowed apps, nothing more. Most folks that have CarPlay issues resolve their issues by using a new cable. I’ve followed along with all of the folks that have complained about CarPlay connection issues and problems. The “problem” is almost always the car or the cable, not CarPlay itself.

 

[oldwatery]

Even if it's the best thing in the world for you, imagine choosing a car because of carplay?

I don’t have to imagine….i did exactly that When we bought our BMW. And I do with my rentals too. CarPlay in Panama is essential if you want to have Waze on you main display. So other people do have different priorities to yours….imagine that !

 

[Judo]

If GM can refine Ultifi into a robust, user-friendly platform that rivals or surpasses ‌CarPlay‌'s functionality

Hahahahhahahahhahah. I'm pretty sure this will never happen.

 

[oldwatery]

I am one of those who insist on having CarPlay in my own vehicle or my rentals. It is a robust system that allows me to have other apps on my main display. In my case I need Waze. It is lifesaver in Panama . CarPlay is not perfect but overall it is very usable and functional. The issue I see here is the result of Carplay 2 and Tim Apples need (spelled with a g) to control the car. You can call it integration if you like but it is a form of Control. why anyone wound need to have their HVAC or other functions on CarPlay is a mystery. But I can see why manufacturers would not like this. Kind of like Apple not wanting others to go integrating their stuff into the Apple ecosystem. Now there’s an irony. It is really sad to think that this overreach could end CarPlay availability in many brands.

 

[Cesar Battistini]

I would not consider a car with no CarPlay.

And I would heavily consider a car that has the new CarPlay

 

[ric22]

I've not paid much/any attention to CarPlay advances... can you now just stick your phone to a MagSafe connector and form a P2P wireless connection with the car, in new cars? Having to connect my phone to my Ford by cable, and try to balance the phone in an inappropriately sized tray it'll just slide out of if I accelerate hard, or buy a holder to attach to the vents, is not ideal.

Edit: The Ford/Apple partnership also didn't extend to a logical or intuitive way to get to/from radio settings!

Edit 2: The funniest Ford/Apple CarPlay screw up was one my mum managed in her car- she somehow had Apple Maps, Google Maps and Ford maps all operating at once and talking over each other when she met me at the airport. 😂 How was that even possible?

 

[gank41]

I've not paid much/any attention to CarPlay advances... can you now just stick your phone to a MagSafe connector and form a P2P wireless connection with the car, in new cars? Having to connect my phone to my Ford by cable, and try to balance the phone in an inappropriately sized tray it'll just slide out of if I accelerate hard, or buy a holder to attach to the vents, is not ideal.

From the cars I've seen lately when doing some test drives, the Wireless happens Wirelessly and/or via BlueTooth. I've set my Phone up twice now with a couple cars and the cable is needed first, and then you're prompted like we've all been for a first time connection to allow access to the Lock Screen in CarPlay for that car. Then going forward, it connects wirelessly. I don't know if there's something else happening behind the scenes when you "accept" the option to allow it?

The Wireless Chargers I've seen are just Qi style charging pads, nothing super fancy.

 

[ric22]

while i would opt carplay on a new car
i wouldnt on a used car. its a nice to have feature not a must have when budget has a limit or when other specs have higher priority
apple maps is stupid in EU, every announcement is with street names instead of street numbers (N4, C112, B3 etc) the worst part is when traveling in a EU country with other languages like france, italy or spain. The announcements get absurd.

Google Maps also isn't great in continental Europe, especially set to English, absolutely butchering pronunciations of every street name. We use SatNav in English as it's the language we speak together, but between us also speak Spanish, German and Russian. Hearing the catastrophic pronunciations is a killer. 😅😅

 

[ric22]

From the cars I've seen lately when doing some test drives, the Wireless happens Wirelessly and/or via BlueTooth. I've set my Phone up twice now with a couple cars and the cable is needed first, and then you're prompted like we've all been for a first time connection to allow access to the Lock Screen in CarPlay for that car. Then going forward, it connects wirelessly. I don't know if there's something else happening behind the scenes when you "accept" the option to allow it?

The Wireless Chargers I've seen are just Qi style charging pads, nothing super fancy.

Not sure why, but my 2020 Ford lets me connect wirelessly to make/receive calls, but without physical tethering I can't use Apple Music or Google Maps. I assume because the connection is just a feeble Bluetooth one. I've seen Qi charging pads in cars I've rented, but usually it doesn't work well/at all on my 15PM thanks to the case and camera bump. Qi2 can't become ubiquitous soon enough...

 

[I7guy]

Most of the time a car does not crash. So, is that what a car manufacturer considers when designing air bags?

Most of the time air bags are good. Ask takata. Most in the time planning fall out of the sky. And yet. So what is your point?

You won’t drive or fly because of the worse of probabilities?