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I'm glad to see that I'm not alone in that being an absolute requirement for a car purchase. I guess it's not surprising that GM is making another stupid move t

I'm glad to see that I'm not alone in that being an absolute requirement for a car purchase. I guess it's not surprising that GM is making another stupid move though.

Moto7451 4y ago
Definitely not alone. Some VP doesn’t get it and is going to find themselves in a new job elsewhere after they figure out what they just committed themself to. I love GM cars once you remove their terrible UI and escape to CarPlay/Android Auto. The biggest issue with cars is that they rely on a touch screen for controls and the UX is awful. I now have an Audi and a Porsche and the MMI suite is Android based. This isn’t too bad but the services and mapping are far behind Apple and Google.
Robotbeat 4y ago
If it’s that dominant I wonder if there needs to be some anti-trust action done with Apple?
- MBCook 4y ago
  On what grounds? Because people like it too much? Apple isn’t forcing anything. They don’t have exclusive contacts. Almost every car with CarPlay supports Android Auto. Customers are just demanding it.
  - calciphus 4y ago
    Apple does restrict access to much of their platform for only Apple-based access. There's exactly one company stopping Google or anyone else from building a compatible car system that runs for both Android and ios, and that's Apple. The use of private APIs and preventing competitors from using them, to secure another market (car infotainment systems) certainly should run afoul of anticompetitive laws in spirit, even if it doesn't to the army of lobbyists and lawyers the most valuable company in the world can muster. By comparison, nothing (not even Google) is stopping Apple from producing CarPlay for Android. All the APIs are there. They could even distribute it in the Play store. Compare the PhoneLink capabilities between iPhone and Android, vs the macOS integration Apple offers iOS.
    - MBCook 4y ago
      Are you comparing the car infotainment OS with the CarPlay feature running on the phone? I was not talking about the infotainment OS. No one has an Apple OS running on a car so I don’t know how they could dominate the market.
    - alistairSH 4y ago
      Uh, my Honda's factory radio is literally an Android device. It happily allows CarPlay from my iPhone. CarPlay is (very roughly) the phone pushing video to the car's head unit like it's an external monitor (with a UI tailored for the size/location/usage of a typical car display).
    - sokoloff 4y ago
      I have a ~$175 Android head unit that offers CarPlay functionality in one of our daily drivers. There's nothing stopping car makers or head unit/car infotainment systems makers from creating CarPlay compatibility in their devices.
Marsymars 4y ago
> I'm glad to see that I'm not alone in that being an absolute requirement for a car purchase. My issue is that my #1 requirement (no functionality that requires a touchscreen to use) basically pre-empts me from having any other requirements.
- unethical_ban 4y ago
  Mazda may come close. They have the control knob in the center. I agree no touchscreen for AC/volume knob and some other things, but zero touchscreen at all (even for radio and menu) seems out there. Time to get a 2001 Cherokee.
  - Marsymars 4y ago
    Note that I’m not requiring zero touchscreen to be present, just that I don’t have to use the touchscreen for any functionality in the vehicle. My 2011 car can accomplish everything perfectly well without a touchscreen while I’m wearing giant ski mitts in -30 weather; I’m not interested in a downgrade.

I'm glad to see that I'm not alone in that being an absolute requirement for a car purchase. I guess it's not surprising that GM is making another stupid move though.

Moto7451 4y ago

Definitely not alone. Some VP doesn’t get it and is going to find themselves in a new job elsewhere after they figure out what they just committed themself to. I love GM cars once you remove their terrible UI and escape to CarPlay/Android Auto. The biggest issue with cars is that they rely on a touch screen for controls and the UX is awful. I now have an Audi and a Porsche and the MMI suite is Android based. This isn’t too bad but the services and mapping are far behind Apple and Google.

Robotbeat 4y ago

If it’s that dominant I wonder if there needs to be some anti-trust action done with Apple?

MBCook 4y ago
On what grounds? Because people like it too much? Apple isn’t forcing anything. They don’t have exclusive contacts. Almost every car with CarPlay supports Android Auto. Customers are just demanding it.
- calciphus 4y ago
  Apple does restrict access to much of their platform for only Apple-based access. There's exactly one company stopping Google or anyone else from building a compatible car system that runs for both Android and ios, and that's Apple. The use of private APIs and preventing competitors from using them, to secure another market (car infotainment systems) certainly should run afoul of anticompetitive laws in spirit, even if it doesn't to the army of lobbyists and lawyers the most valuable company in the world can muster. By comparison, nothing (not even Google) is stopping Apple from producing CarPlay for Android. All the APIs are there. They could even distribute it in the Play store. Compare the PhoneLink capabilities between iPhone and Android, vs the macOS integration Apple offers iOS.
  - MBCook 4y ago
    Are you comparing the car infotainment OS with the CarPlay feature running on the phone? I was not talking about the infotainment OS. No one has an Apple OS running on a car so I don’t know how they could dominate the market.
  - alistairSH 4y ago
    Uh, my Honda's factory radio is literally an Android device. It happily allows CarPlay from my iPhone. CarPlay is (very roughly) the phone pushing video to the car's head unit like it's an external monitor (with a UI tailored for the size/location/usage of a typical car display).
  - sokoloff 4y ago
    I have a ~$175 Android head unit that offers CarPlay functionality in one of our daily drivers. There's nothing stopping car makers or head unit/car infotainment systems makers from creating CarPlay compatibility in their devices.

Marsymars 4y ago

> I'm glad to see that I'm not alone in that being an absolute requirement for a car purchase. My issue is that my #1 requirement (no functionality that requires a touchscreen to use) basically pre-empts me from having any other requirements.

unethical_ban 4y ago
Mazda may come close. They have the control knob in the center. I agree no touchscreen for AC/volume knob and some other things, but zero touchscreen at all (even for radio and menu) seems out there. Time to get a 2001 Cherokee.
- Marsymars 4y ago
  Note that I’m not requiring zero touchscreen to be present, just that I don’t have to use the touchscreen for any functionality in the vehicle. My 2011 car can accomplish everything perfectly well without a touchscreen while I’m wearing giant ski mitts in -30 weather; I’m not interested in a downgrade.