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Select GM Vehicles May Soon Offer iPhone Car Key Support

Jeffgtx said:
Also based on my understanding, i believe this is a actually a UWB implementation, not NFC, so i think the article might be calling out the wrong protocol, but it has been a while since i was in that industry.
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Yes, the article is partially wrong. There’s actually two implementations of Car Key: NFC and UWB. NFC is older and requires the phone/watch to be put close to the NFC antenna (eg door’s handle). UWB is newer and you don’t have to take your device out from your pocket.
 
CoMoMacUser said:
Cadillacs have supported it for years: https://www.cadillac.com/support/vehicle/smartphone-connections/smartphone-integration/apple-carplay
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Cadillacs and other GM vehicles have had Carplay for years; however, GM EVs after the Lyriq will drop Carplay. Cadillac Vistiq, Escalade IQ, Optiq, and Celestiq do not have Carplay. Lyriq (including Lyriq V) does have Carplay still. Their ICE vehicles will still have Carplay. GM decided Carplay is unreliable and some have even called it dangerous (to some extent, true, because if you have connectivity problems you can fumble around with your phone while driving, but it’s often the manufacturer’s fault there’s connectivity problems in the first place). But apparently Carplay is not dangerous if you have a gasoline engine in there.

Lyriq when it gets redesigned probably will drop Carplay; this happened to the Chevy Bolt, first gen has Carplay. Second gen (2026) dropped Carplay.
 
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jaytv111 said:
Cadillacs and other GM vehicles have had Carplay for years; however, GM EVs after the Lyriq will drop Carplay. Cadillac Vistiq, Escalade IQ, Optiq, and Celestiq do not have Carplay. Lyriq (including Lyriq V) does have Carplay still. Their ICE vehicles will still have Carplay. GM decided Carplay is unreliable and some have even called it dangerous (to some extent, true, because if you have connectivity problems you can fumble around with your phone while driving, but it’s often the manufacturer’s fault there’s connectivity problems in the first place). But apparently Carplay is not dangerous if you have a gasoline engine in there.

Lyriq when it gets redesigned probably will drop Carplay; this happened to the Chevy Bolt, first gen has Carplay. Second gen (2026) dropped Carplay.
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Probably another reason why OEMs don't want to support CP is because it erodes the market for map updates. Cadillac is $99/year for a USB stick update that's already outdated by the time you install it.
 
CoMoMacUser said:
Probably another reason why OEMs don't want to support CP is because it erodes the market for map updates. Cadillac is $99/year for a USB stick update that's already outdated by the time you install it.
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That’s an older system. The current GM system is straight up Google Maps (Google codes it) that are always updated, they use cellular data to download maps (offline caching can also be done, for a limited time). You can use WiFi and provide your own hotspot (including a phone hotspot), but people are not by and large turning hotspot on every time they get in their car. So they will pick up customers who will buy their connected car package, which includes cellular data for the car.

GM’s people have themselves said they intend to boost revenue from connected car services. And this is one way to do it. Most other carmakers have similar connectivity packages, but no one else has specifically dropped Carplay (who had it before). Tesla and Rivian never had Carplay.

I think GM would drop it from gas cars too if they could get away with it. But there’s more competition and everyone in gas world has Carplay, so they can’t drop it lest they draw more ire from customers. EV drivers however are used to it because of Rivian and Tesla never having it.
 
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jaytv111 said:
That’s an older system. The current GM system is straight up Google Maps (Google codes it) that are always updated, they use cellular data to download maps (offline caching can also be done, for a limited time). You can use WiFi and provide your own hotspot (including a phone hotspot), but people are not by and large turning hotspot on every time they get in their car. So they will pick up customers who will buy their connected car package, which includes cellular data for the car.

GM’s people have themselves said they intend to boost revenue from connected car services. And this is one way to do it. Most other carmakers have similar connectivity packages, but no one else has specifically dropped Carplay (who had it before). Tesla and Rivian never had Carplay.

I think GM would drop it from gas cars too if they could get away with it. But there’s more competition and everyone in gas world has Carplay, so they can’t drop it lest they draw more ire from customers. EV drivers however are used to it because of Rivian and Tesla never having it.
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Good insights. I think GM is scrambling to find its way. A prime example is abandoning the plan to make the whole Cadillac line electric. This was supposed to be the final year for the XT5, but now we're getting the semi-refreshed ICE version from China for at least two more model years.
 
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