I read an article recently on the American website motortrend.com with the headline “GM Says It’s Ditching Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for Your Safety” which I thought was interesting.

I was aware that in early 2023, General Motors had announced they would be phasing out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity on its new Electric Vehicles and eventually all the products they release. Needless to say, the buyers weren’t happy, however rather than caving into consumer pressure, GM recently came out at a recent Chevrolet Blazer EV launch to reiterate that one of the reasons for not using the Apple or Android platform was as much about safety and referred to the distraction caused by mobile phone usage whilst behind the wheel. Their theory is that by negating drivers using their actual mobile phone to access things like maps and music etc, means they can concentrate more on driving and so enhances safety, which you can’t argue with.

However not that I’m a sceptic ….. but I’ve found that there is generally an altruistic motivation for most reasons companies do things and although safety may be a factor and an admirable by product for the GM decision, I can’t help but feel it isn’t a driving force for the change.

This article by Scott Evans looks into the Apple/Android decision by GM and interestingly also covers GM’s new ‘Ultifi’ infotainment software that integrates with Google and other apps like Spotify, the data and money consequences of such a decision as well as an interesting reply from GM at the end of the article.

GM Says It’s Ditching Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for Your Safety – motortrend.com

There used to be a time where vehicle manufacturers relied solely on servicing to maintain a continued revenue stream over the years from a vehicle, obviously that’s all changing!