An Increasing Number of Carmakers Are Rejecting the New Apple CarPlay. The Reason: Control

Apple CarPlay, a basic infotainment system that brings your iPhone to your dashboard, has been with us for years. The new CarPlay goes much further, replacing all screens and controls in the car, but its arrival has been much slower. In addition, an increasing number of carmakers are not integrating it in their vehicles.

Why it matters. While Apple says most consumers will only consider buying CarPlay-compatible cars, several manufacturers deny it entry, leaving only their operative systems.

This trend reflects a shift in the industry toward greater protectionism and control over the digital customer experience.

Context. CarPlay will celebrate its 10 birthday in 2024 and is popular among users. The new, much more aggressive version is central to the controversy. Rivian, Tesla, and General Motors, among others, refuse to integrate it into their cars. Mercedes has stopped including it. Aston Martin and Porsche have been encouraged to do so in their most recent models.

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Rivian is the latest to say no to CarPlay. Here's what CEO RJ Scaringe told Decoder, a podcast from The Verge:

“We want to control the ecosystem. CarPlay isn’t consistent with how we think about really creating a pure product experience.”

Scaringe also used a precise analogy, saying that if Rivian adopted CarPlay, it would be like Apple implementing Windows on its devices instead of developing iOS or macOS. Interestingly, there have been several rumors in recent months about a hypothetical alliance between Rivian and the Tim Cook-led company to build Apple cars.

The new CarPlay, announced in 2022. Image | Apple

In detail. Here's what manufacturers say:

• They want a consistent and harmonious digital experience throughout the car.
• CarPlay can’t take advantage of all the car’s features. For example, opening the front trunk.
• They prefer to integrate popular features and maintain control selectively.

Despite the current popularity of CarPlay among consumers who want to buy a car and already have an iPhone in their pocket, this updated version faces much more resistance from manufacturers who prefer to sacrifice short-term convenience in exchange for long-term control.

This article was written by Javier Lacort and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.

Images | Leo Visions (Unsplash) | Apple

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