General Motors is making a big change for its future electric vehicles. It plans to ditch Apple CarPlay and Google"s Android Auto in those cars in exchange for its own integrated infotainment systems that will be co-developed by Google and will have many of the company"s apps and services.
While GM already offers its Google-based infotainment system on a few of its vehicles, Reuters reports that it will begin to phase out CarPlay and Android Auto in its EVs with the new 2024 Chevrolet Blazer. GM will continue to offer CarPlay and Android Auto in its gas-powered vehicles. However, the carmaker plans to no longer offer combustion light vehicles for sale by 2035.
The article stated:
Buyers of GM EVs with the new systems will get access to Google Maps and Google Assistant, a voice command system, at no extra cost for eight years, GM said. GM said the future infotainment systems will offer applications such as Spotify"s music service, Audible and other services that many drivers now access via smartphones.
The article hints that GM is looking to get some revenue with subscription services on its infotainment car systems.
This could be a big issue for Apple, which launched CarPlay in 2014 and has since seen the smartphone mirroring system become adopted by most of the major car makers. However, it appears that GM wants a system that includes much of a smartphone"s features without the car owner having to use their phone.