Last year, General Motors Co. shared that it would no longer be installing Apple’s CarPlay feature in its new electric vehicles. Now, the first line of models without the feature is finally hitting the road.
CarPlay, which has become the default home screen for most of GM’s vehicles, which includes Chevrolet, is a major factor for a majority of car buyers.
Apple reports that, as of 2022, 79% of US car buyers only consider purchasing cars equipped with the feature that extends the tech company’s compatibility to the road.
But now, GM is moving away from the feature, and Bloomberg’s Austin Carr, who reported on the decision last week for his outlet , joined Audacy to detail why they made the move.
“GM decided to start this transition with its electric vehicles, really to own its own software stack,” Carr shared. “They felt like they were outsourcing too much of it to Apple, even as an optional feature. When people would get into their cars, they’d plug in their iPhones, and suddenly, it was Apple’s brand and interface greeting them, not GM’s. And although that was a sort of optional feature, it just became so popular that GM was growing wary of how much brand access and technology access they were giving way to Apple and decided to forge its own path.”
Now, GM’s new electric vehicles will no longer see CarPlay when they get in, as the auto manufacturer will now push its own infotainment technology, which it calls Ultifi .
Carr says that the role out of Ultifi has been slow going so far, with delays to the Chevrolet Blazer EV not helping.
As for what users should expect, Carr says it is going to take some getting used to as it’s a different interface than most have seen before.
“I mean, it does a lot of the same features. It has many of the same music and media apps. For navigation, you have Google Maps and Waze,” Carr said. “But it definitely takes some, some getting over that habit. If you’re like me, over the last, you know, ten or so years, you’re just getting used to getting in that corner, plugging in your iPhone, and sort of dealing with the Apple interface.”
The move from GM puts it in a class of its own, as Apple reports that nearly 98% of all new cars are CarPlay compatible.
Because it wants to push its own service, Carr says that GM is taking a major gamble with this move.
“GM is betting that it can build its own beautiful suite of software,” he said. “But also when all these people over who are accustomed to using iPhones that they’re locked into that iPhone ecosystem where they might have a MacBook and an Apple Watch.
He added that it may seem crazy that a “$1,000 phone purchase might end up dictating” a $50,000 or $60,000 car purchase, but that’s what really happens.
“People really love… Apple interface, that Apple brand, and that Apple consistency. And GM has to deliver on its own software in order to win people over with this gamble. But they’re committed.”
As of now, GM has not made a move to remove CarPlay from any current vehicles or any vehicles other than its new EVs.
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