It’s hilarious to me that these car companies think consumers will put up with their shitty infotainment just so they can hopefully open a new revenue stream with subscriptions. Consumers are just going to pass over your shit for competitors that do have Carplay/Android Auto.
this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2023
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What’s even worse is GM hired a VP who failed at Apple.
I wish I could fail upwards like that.
Going from VP at Apple to one at GM feels like a proper fail to me.
For the individual it doesn't matter what the company name is. It matters what they're paid.
I assume that's a reference to Mike Abbott, as he's a software VP at GM and used to work at Apple. He was only hired this year so I don't see salary data for him, but other "Executive Vice President" positions are paid ~$8.8m as of 2022. No idea what he was paid at Apple, but it's hard to consider a salary that is likely in the high 7 digits or low 8 digits to be a "proper fail." If it is, I would love to sign up for this kind of failure.
Me too, me too.
Especially when you're GM. It's already an extreme longshot that I was ever going to buy another GM car, but this is 100% the final nail in the coffin.
I've only ever owned GM vehicles. After having had rental cars with Android Auto, I care a lot more about my next vehicle having Android Auto than I do about it being a GM.
BRB, Resurrecting the aftermarket radio.
Between this bullshit and touchscreen-only controls, I've ruled out quite a few models.
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My car has CarPlay where my last car didn’t. I’ll tell you now, I won’t get another car without it.
So says literally everyone I have ever seen comment on the matter. Seriously, is there anyone out there that has tried CarPlay/AndroidAuto and said "eh, I don't see the point"?
My parents don’t care about CarPlay at all. It’s in their GMC truck but they have no interest in using it, and get confused when it pops up. That being said, they also will absolutely not subscribe to whatever service GM tries to launch in its place. I guess just pointing out that there are some people who don’t see the point, but they also wouldn’t see the point of whatever GM launches.
This is even dumber than that. It's like if they tried CarPlay/AndroidAuto and said, "you know, I like this, but do you have a shittier version that I have to pay extra for?"
Though I might be willing to get one of these cars. They might reduce the price expecting every buyer to pay for the subscription like smart tvs are subsidised because they'll make ad money. But then I'll just use my phone with some kind of a phone holder or get it modded to use my phone. Just because they make the car doesn't mean they control its ecosystem after they sell it.
But I'd probably just buy a car from a different company instead.
My Suzuki/Bosch headunit is occasionally a bit flakey when connecting to my phone via CarPlay, on the way home last night it gave up so I listened to my music using its iPod mode.
Having a simplistic interface was not too bad, it reminded me of the good old days.
But when a phone call came through and I had to answer it via Bluetooth, all hell broke loose as it tried to switch between iPod mode, A2DP, HFP and HSP.
I pulled over and restarted the car until CarPlay started working again.
I mean, people who don't care about their radio that much? Honestly, long as I have Bluetooth or an aux port, I'm good.
Not that I don't like Android Auto or wouldn't prefer to have it, but the lack of it wouldn't be an absolute deal breaker
Being able to use Google maps (which is constantly updated, integrated with my contacts, and actually had a UI/UX team design it's interface) on the tablet sized vehicle display and car stereo system, in addition to whatever music apps, is pretty nice. As well as Google search via steering wheel controls for managing navigation.
Yeah, I could play stuff with Bluetooth or use the integrated GPS system but the quality of audio is noticably worse and the GPS is absolutely shit but nice to have in a pinch.
Honestly idk what other apps integrate with AA, music and directions pretty much do the trick for me.
What if you had to PAY a subscription fee to NOT have Android Auto?
The radio means almost nothing to me. The ability to have my choice of mapping app on the dash is 90% of the value and absolutely indispensable.
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In other word, you might think that 3.99$/month is a good bargain to get CarPlay with futures updates, but look it's 2.89$/month right now if you subscribe for 2 years!
Hmm. I really am struggling trying to predict the outcome here.
On the one hand, we have a ubiquitous FREE interface that is mature and works via your phone (that 99% of people already have and are familiar with with their own custom music playlists) and is updated constantly.
On the other hand, we have a PAID interface that sucks donkey dick in usability with little to no customization or upgrade ability and will need to be managed completely separately from your phone.
The entire executive team should be escorted out of GM headquarters after receiving swirlies.
I predict no car rental companies will buy these cars because renters would demand a different vehicle.
When I was at a Holden dealer, CarPlay (and Android Auto) would sell cars.
Customers would wander in, drooling over a cars performance, styling, economy, luxury etc. they’re oils then ask about CarPlay (or Android Auto): if the car did not have it, they would go cold straight away and just walk straight out the door, without even thanking the salesman for their time.
Carplay was on a very short list of requirements for me when I bought my car a few years ago, so I totally understand this.
It was basically:
- Is a standard
- Has Carplay
- (of course some other things, but those two were very high)
No car manufacturer’s in-house stuff will be as useful to me. It just won’t.
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Literally everyone in the world can see this is a braindead play except GM
They’re blinded by dollar signs that won’t come to fruition. Complete brain dead move on their part.
GM has previously said that people who buy a new GM electric vehicle will get access to features such as Google Maps for free — for eight years. After that, GM expects people to subscribe for what they used to get free with CarPlay, and ultimately sees it giving GM a potential $25 billion revenue stream.
My ten year old Chevy Volt just lost connectivity a few months ago because of the 3g phase out, leading me to unsubscribe from Onstar. How many years of subscriptions are GM planning to have before the next network phase out?
And anyone who used GM's in-dash maps knows they can't be trusted to keep their products updated lol
Yeah that's some crap. At that point I'd just have my maps on my phone in the cupholder, no chance in hell I'm paying a subscription for something my phone already does, hands free laws be damned.
As someone who dosn't have carplay but whose next vehicle will 100% have it. Yeah... as much as I dislike using my phone as a GPS sometimes compared to have android auto or carplay in a work truck there is zero chance of me spending money on any kinda of GPS while google maps exists.
There is ZERO chance I’d buy a car without CarPlay or Android Auto. Why would I buy GM when other manufactures get it right the first time?
I just bought a new car two weeks ago for my college aged son. Android auto/carplay was required to purchase the vehicle. I looked at one that didn't have it and said hell no. The dealer sighed and said that model had been on the lot for 6 months and nobody would buy it. They were likely going to have to mark it down massively to eventually move it in the next year.
My work truck is a Chevy. If they drop android auto or carplay my fleet manager has told the dealership they will drop them as a supplier. This combined with having 7 trucks in the shop this year for faulty lifters. It's been a big issue. They are about done with them.
I've worked in this space in the past, and unless car manufacturers have significantly improved their UX chops this will go terribly. Further, this just seems like an opportunity for GM to further DLC'ify the car. Generally Android Auto and Car Play would be standard on even the lowest models, but now you might have to pay a monthly subscription to access this
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The presence of Apple CarPlay was a factor in choosing my latest car.
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It will go bad. For my own part, I will not buy a car without AA/Carplay. The whole benefit of AA/Carplay is that I can take my infotainment with me and share a car or two without having to mess around with more logins/security etc. Especially with an inferior interface...
Give what the consumers want! Why are they so stupid? I'm assuming they also ditched Android Auto as well right?
Yup. They're trying to make it to where you subscribe to their "connectivity service," which is basically paying an additional monthly fee for stuff your phone already does.
I honestly feel like I the perfect window buying a car in 2017.
Massive amounts of features, no subscriptions or connectivity to push software updates.
Ditching features that consumers desire could lead to lower sales. More at 11.
My first GM vehicle was a C7 Chevrolet Corvette. I wanted it since it was announced in 2014 but held out until 2016 when it finally got CarPlay. I’ve since traded it in for the 2020 C8 Corvette that also has CarPlay. I bought a dongle that enables wireless CarPlay so I don’t even need to plug it in.
I absolutely love my Corvette and would be interested in buying the next generation. However, I will not consider it or any other GM vehicle if CarPlay is dropped. It is a mandatory feature for me.
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I recently got a Kia with Android Auto and my Tesla-driving brother is jealous that I can use Google Maps on a big screen, with no extra car mount.
They really should get together and come up with some standard protocol, instead of having cars use proprietary protocols tied to a specific mobile OS.
If they did, Apple wouldn't adopt it and we'd be in exactly the same place as we are now.
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Please do the world a favor and die already, GM.
Oh look, another reason for me to not buy GM cars. Not that I was going to buy one either way.
I have 4 vehicles you know what all of them have in common regardless of the year? Apple Carplay/Android Auto and backup cameras.
If any manufacturer believes their shit maps and apps are better than Android or Apple they can fuck right off. I will hack or replace every system in my cars.
I own a GM car and the head unit is buggy as hell. There’s no way they are going to be able to pull this off.
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