Cadillac CEO Calls Apple CarPlay ‘Extremely Clunky’
So what does that make CUE?
Apple CarPlay, along with its counterpart, Android Auto, has won many fans by importing the familiar interface of an iPhone into car infotainment screens. But it seems Cadillac CEO Johan de Nysschen isn't a CarPlay fan.
"There are a lot of things about this product I like, and other things that drive me absolutely nuts," de Nysschen said in an interview with Yahoo Finance during the 2018 Detroit Auto Show. "It can bring a lot of functionality in the car, but I will also tell you it is extremely clunky."
The Cadillac boss specifically called out Apple Maps, saying that turn-by-turn directions can't keep up with a vehicle traveling at highway speeds. He also said the system has trouble transitioning from CarPlay to functions built into Cadillac's own CUE infotainment system. He gave the example of when a driver listening to satellite radio checks directions on Apple Maps, the system is supposed to switch back to satellite radio once that is done. But de Nysschen said there have been instances when the system starts playing music stored on an iPhone instead.
"I don't know if Apple is doing it deliberately or not," de Nysschen said. "But I'm calling them out."
While de Nysschen probably isn't the first person to find fault with Apple Maps, he might want to take a closer look at Cadillac's CUE infotainment system. CUE is far from the best infotainment system on the market. We've found it to be a bit laggy, and a heavily reliant on the central touchscreen making it hard to use while driving. Cadillac is aware of this, as it's tried to address some of the negative feedback in updates.
CarPlay has proven popular because it gives users an interface they are familiar with. It has the same Apple icons and functions as a phone but projected onto a car's infotainment screen. But carmakers are uneasy about letting an outside company control what they view as a very important part of the driving experience. Like exterior styling or chassis tuning, automakers view infotainment as a matter of brand identity. So even with CarPlay and Android Auto around, automakers will likely continue to develop their own brand-specific systems.
