Looks like a lifelong loyalty to GM is coming to a close.
Youâve gotta admire the tenacity of Ford (actually not Ford) and GM taking these kind of stances in the face of overwhelming feedback from customers (I wouldnât call this evidence) that they want Android Auto and/or CarPlay in their vehicles.
Sometimes boundaries have to be broken and perceptions need to be tested. Apple have been famous for their stance of âno focus groups, we know best.â in the past and maybe Ford and GM know something we donât.
Itâs possible that theyâll benefit hugely from these actions, but I wouldnât take that bet.
After having a CarPlay car for 3 years, Iâve little doubt that it will be a requirement for future purchases.
Popcorn
** Update, I mistakenly though Ford had also forsaken CarPlay.
I just bought a car so I wonât need one for a while, but my next car (hopefully 10-20 years from now) will have CarPlay Ultra.
Was never a GM or Ford fan but this is the nail in the coffin.
Ford isnât doing this. Farley reiterated they want to support CarPlay a few weeks ago. He did criticize CarPlay Ultra 1.0.
Oops, Iâve obviously got that wrong. Iâll notate my previous entry
We find ourselves, unexpectedly, in the car market. The first cut is based on CarPlay availability. Even those European companies that ran away from Apple have come back. Itâs so fundamental to the driving experience, especially in a car thatâll have several drivers. CarPlayâs the digital brain for saved maps, contacts, music, podcasts. Less friction. GM - I suspect - is banking on fleet sales to survive? Read head scratcher
I found the entire Verge interview with GMâs CEO and Chief Product Officer interesting. Especially since earlier in the year I read that GM and Nvidia are working on an in-vehicle computer âdelivering up to 1,000 trillion operations per second of high-performance compute.â
Iâve had the no-CarPlay experience in a Buick and a Ford. The auto manufacturerâs systems are terrible. Even the one in my MDX is bad. I only use CarPlay. I will not purchase a vehicle without it.
I have a Tesla which doesnât have CarPlay. My previous car was a Volvo which had CarPlay. I find the Tesla system to be decent. The giant touchscreen is certainly better than what most cars have. The Apple Music and Spotify apps donât work well, but luckily I can just use them on my iPhone and use Bluetooth to play the music through the car speakers.
Overall the CarPlay software is better, but Tesla has other advantages that are worth the sacrifice.
The Tesla screen is a game-changer. I thought I would hate not having carplay, but I barely miss it.
Navigating on the Tesla screen is so much better, and the tight integration with car controls outweighs more Apple stuff.
Iâm in the car to drive and go somewhere, not to continue working myself to death with voicemails, text messages, and other Apple stuff.
NOT having so easy access is a blessing. I still have music with built-in Telsaâs Apple Music support (finally) and can always Bluetooth anything else.
I donât see major car companies using CarPlay Ultra - they have seen what Apple did to the music industry so they arenât stupid to hand it over so easily this time?
Would it be pedantic to say this is IMHO and your mileage may vary?
P.S. Iâm talking about the Model S which has a huge center screen and has a secondary screen behind the steering wheel with real-time car/status info.
I donât know how the heck Model 3 Telsa owners drive a car where they have to turn their neck and eyes to the right to see all the information on a tiny iPad-like screen 
(Seriously, I wouldnât have the same positive comments if all I had was a Model 3. And no, Iâm not rich, just smart enough to find a great deal on a used Model S that cost less than a new Model 3. Rapid depreciation of most EVâs is a great thing if you take advantage of it instead of falling victim to it?)
Iâve never used CarPlay but I thought CP Ultra was a non-starter the first time Apple revealed it.
In the interview with Nilay Patel, Mary Barra said they continue to talk to Apple and Google and, as I recall, was noncommittal when asked about running apps from Apple, etc.
In any event their strategy hasnât hurt their most recent sales. I recently read that GM just had their best sales year of the past ten and is now the second largest EV manufacturer in the US, behind Tesla.
I went the other way from Tesla to CarPlay. I donât use Apple Music or Spotify, I use my own library from Plex or Podcasts, I also use Apple Maps.
For many reasons you may guess, I wouldnât go back to Tesla, but lack of access to Overcast, PlexAmp, Prism, or Messages on the carâs screen would sway my buying decision.
I only have CarPlay read messages which are from my closest family or (for example) someone Iâm going to meet. everything else can wait.
I found that I use most audio in the car from my iPhone over Bluetooth anyway, so I donât miss having a few select apps available in CarPlay.
My audio listening is click once and then listen for most of the drive, so interacting with a device (whether an iPhone or a big screen) isnât really much of a need for me - intentionally!
My first choice for an EV, a Taycan, was way out of my budget. Thankfully, given the huge tech problems and recalls that have nearly bankrupted Porsche because of it!
(P.S. Even the CarPlay support in the Taycan is buggy and sometimes unusable, apparently?)
As much as I love CarPlay and I am a die-hard Apple fan, I must admit that my wife bought a new Volvo recently which has both Apple CarPlay and Google integration. The âHey Googleâ voice features are absolutely astounding. It integrates perfectly with navigation and with all sorts of audio apps, and with the heating and air conditioning settings for the car. I never use CarPlay when I drive it any more. When I replace my current car, this system or something equally capable will be very high on my list. It is totally a game-changing experience when driving both for convenience and safety because you can keep your eye on the road the whole time.
My â99 Tacoma has no carplay. The kidsâ '04 Wrangler has no carplay. Our '21 Palisade does.
To be honest, I like driving the Jeep the most. Iâm fazed not one bit by carplay status in any of the vehicles.
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