General Motors (GM) -) says it's just trying to help.
When the automaker earlier this year said it would be phasing out Apple (AAPL) -) CarPlay and Google's Android Auto, the company suffered the slings and arrows of outraged customers who wanted to connect their phones to their cars.
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"Why do large businesses often make such obviously stupid and disastrous decisions?" one person said on X, formerly Twitter. "GM ditching Apple CarPlay, like that's going to help their car sales!"
GM says people won't stop looking at their phones and it wants to minimize that danger inside its cars by eliminating Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. https://t.co/lfqfxMkCFt
— motortrend (@MotorTrend) December 12, 2023
"Total bollocks," read another comment. "They want access to drivers’ habits and locations. The want opportunities to charge for what’s included on CarPlay. Not one customer or dealer is asking for CarPlay to be removed. I will not buy a car without CarPlay. Period."
Apple maintains that CarPlay "is a smarter, safer way to use your iPhone while you drive.
"You can get directions, make calls, send and receive messages, and enjoy your favorite music," the company said on its website. "All on your car's built-in display."
Concerns about distracted driving
Android, from Google parent Alphabet, (GOOGL) -) invites drivers to “tap to get driving directions or talk to send a text. Even call your mom, hands-free.”
“Android Auto is made to help you focus on the road,” the Android website says. “And have fun along the way. Just connect and go.”
However, Tim Babbitt has a different take on this issue.
Babbitt, GM's head of product for entertainment, told MotorTrend that the company was concerned about distracted driving.
CarPlay and Android Auto have stability issues that manifest themselves as bad connections, poor rendering, slow responses and dropped connections, he said.
When these problems arise, Babbitt said, drivers pick up their phones again and take their eyes off the road, which defeats the purpose of these phone-mirroring programs.
Distracted driving kills: U.S. Safety Agency
Distracted driving is a major concern. The National Safety Council said that 3,142 people died in distraction-affected crashes in 2020, up 1% from the previous year.
While cellphone use behind the wheel has decreased over the years, 2.5% of drivers hold their phones to their ears while driving.
Babbitt said drivers would be less likely to pick up their phones, and thus be less distracted, if they could do everything through the vehicle’s built-in systems.
GM’s Ultifi infotainment software integrates Google apps, Spotify, Audible, and Google Assistant.
However, a 2018 study by the AAA Foundation found that both the CarPlay and Android Auto systems were less demanding than built-in or native infotainment systems for the tasks.
“CarPlay and Android Auto systems generated an overall moderate level of demand, whereas the built-in [native] systems led to overall very high levels of demand,” the study said.
Subscriptions as GM revenue source
In addition, the study found that CarPlay had lower overall demand than Android Auto for sending text messages.
Android Auto had lower overall demand than CarPlay for programming navigation and was much less demanding than native infotainment systems.
Babbitt commented during a press event for the new Chevrolet Blazer EV. GM sent MotorTrend a statement after the story was posted.
"We wanted to reach out to clarify that comments about GM's position on phone projection were misrepresented in previous articles and to reinforce our valued partnerships with Apple and Google and each company’s commitment to driver safety," the statement read.
"GM's embedded infotainment strategy is driven by the benefits of having a system that allows for greater integration with the larger GM ecosystem and vehicles," GM said.
Of course, money is involved here.
Automakers see subscriptions as a huge new source of revenue to be tapped. GM alone is hoping to make as much as $25 billion a year just off subscriptions by 2030. That's about 10 times what it takes in from its OnStar-connected vehicle service.
Ford (F) -) recently hired the Apple veteran Peter Stern to lead a new division focused on developing and marketing software-enabled customer experiences.
Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley said in August that revenue from current software services is in the hundreds of millions of dollars, with gross margins of more than 50%. He said the company has roughly 550,000 paid subscribers.
“We expect to 10-times that in the coming years just based on the growth we see,” Farley said, according to CNBC.
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