Search Results: making the next move

By Apple projecting a simplified iPhone layout onto the car’s central screen, CarPlay lets you use apps such as Apple Maps, Spotify, make hands-free calls, and dictate text messages. It is seamless, free, and loved by millions of iPhone owners.

Last month, General Motors announced that new cars made by the auto giant won’t support CarPlay and its counterpart, Android Auto. Surveys suggest that CarPlay and Android Auto are considered must-have features among many new-car shoppers. But according to GM, the company can create an even better experience for drivers by dropping Apple and making its own software. And like it or not, car makers are watching carefully.

GM has gone as far as invoking Apple in defending its decision: Remove a feature, such as the disk drive on a laptop, and people eventually adapt and move. GM the change “will happen over time, not overnight” and “if your car supports Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, that will continue.” Before its announcement, GM had already nixed CarPlay and Android Auto in EVs. But it’s not CarPlay. Some popular apps are missing, such as Apple Podcasts and Apple Music.

There is one other crucial difference. Because GM’s software isn’t tied to a phone like CarPlay is, access to the full suite of software requires its own data plan—through GM, of course. (The cheapest plan costs $10 a month.) Get used to these kinds of subscriptions, regardless of what kind of car you drive. In recent years, automakers have realized how much money they can make from in-car technology: Maybe they charge a subscription fee for hands-free highway cruise control. Maybe they charge for apps that let you control aspects of the car from your phone. Maybe they sell data that your navigation system collects about you.

Apple sees tremendous value in expanding its presence in your car: The next step is CarPlay Ultra, which enables your phone to temperature? Ask Siri to do it. It’s an Apple lover’s dream and a car company’s worst nightmare.