New GM EVs Won’t Have Apple CarPlay, Android Auto Starting in 2024
General Motors is working with Google to build its own native navigation system and it apparently doesn’t want to share data with anyone else.
General Motors will phase out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in its electric cars, beginning with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer, preferring instead to hold on to information about drivers’ habits and charging. The news was reported Friday by Reuters and said that internal combustion-powered models would still offer the popular smartphone software. Engineers at GM said they were developing navigation assistance with Google-parent Alphabet for integration with its assisted-driving systems, such as Super Cruise.
"We have a lot of new driver assistance features coming that are more tightly coupled with navigation," Mike Hemiche, executive director of digital cockpit experience at GM, told Reuters. "We don’t want to design these features in a way that are dependent on person having a cellphone."
Although it’s mostly unknown how much information Android Auto and Apple CarPlay collect on drivers and their habits, it’s widely assumed that information such as traffic conditions, throttle positions, and location are sent back to the companies they may use later for development. Google’s subsidiary, Waymo, is developing its own self-driving systems, and Apple has been reportedly on-and-off with offering its own vehicle or in-car self-driving software.
GM is working with Alphabet and using its Android Automotive OS as a platform for its future infotainment systems, although that’s separate from the smartphone-mirroring system called Android Auto. Android Automotive OS used in future Chevy electric cars can offer Google Maps and Google Assistant integrated into those systems, but likely without the same burdens of sharing information that would be required by Android Auto.
Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are widely standard on most new cars sold today, with hundreds of millions of users worldwide. Last year, Apple unveiled its next-generation infotainment concept for new cars and said more than 98% of new cars currently sold offer CarPlay compatibility. GM said it plans to phase out internal combustion models by 2035, so it appears that the clock may be ticking on the plug-and-play systems, at least for one automaker.
