GM Again Attempts to Explain Its Decision to Drop CarPlay in New EVs

American automaker General Motors (GM) last year announced it would be phasing out support for CarPlay and Android Auto in its new electric vehicles, in favor of its own software platform called Ultifi. The decision has been very controversial, as many drivers consider CarPlay to be a must-have feature in a new vehicle. In 2022, for example, Apple said 79% of U.S. buyers would only consider a vehicle that works with CarPlay.

carplay widescreen dashboard
To make matters worse, GM's rollout of Ultifi went rather poorly, with some early reviewers of the Chevrolet Blazer EV last year experiencing technical issues with the platform. Some of those problems have since been resolved, but it is clear that the automaker might not be as effective at developing software as a tech company like Apple.

In a statement shared with MacRumors last year, GM said its software strategy is "driven by the benefits of having a system that allows for greater integration with the larger GM ecosystem and vehicles." In other words, the automaker wants to control the entire in-vehicle experience, which is both a reasonable and a risky decision.

In a recent interview with The Verge's Nilay Patel, GM's senior vice president of software Baris Cetinok further attempted to defend the automaker's decision to phase out CarPlay. Cetinok worked at Apple between 2012 and 2021, helping to spearhead the launch of Apple Pay, Find My, iCloud Drive, and more, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Cetinok joined GM months after it announced its decision to phase out CarPlay and Android Auto, but unsurprisingly he stands by the automaker's decision. He told Patel that GM believes with "strong conviction" that creating its entire in-vehicle experience provides "a better customer experience" with "end-to-end magic."

2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV Ultifi2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV with GM's Ultifi software platform

"But we have a strong conviction that effort pays off in a better customer experience," said Cetinok, speaking on the Decoder podcast. "You get the most out of your vehicle because now we're the company that builds the vehicle and is also creating the infotainment experience, the cluster experience, the app, and everything. We're going to build that one day and maybe a voice assistant on top of it. The only way you can create that end-to-end magic is to have a strong conviction that you want to own all of these."

He said GM wants to offer a seamless experience that does not require having to switch in and out of phone mirroring systems like CarPlay and Android Auto.

"When you want to create something so seamless, it's hard to think about getting into a car and going, 'Okay, so I'm doing highway trailering, but let me flip to a totally different user interface to pick my podcast,'" said Cetinok. "By the way, it's a single app-obsessed interface — it's still hard to believe. So I pick my podcast, flip back to trailering. Oh, now I can also do Super Cruise trailering. Let me manage that. Then, wait, we're now getting into potentially Level 3, Level 4 autonomy levels that should be deeply integrated with talking to the map where the lanes lie. But wait a minute, the map that I'm using doesn't really talk to my car."

The full transcript of the interview with more CarPlay commentary is available on The Verge.

Related Roundup: CarPlay

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 With Apple's Own 5G Modem 'Confirmed' to Launch in March

Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
airtag purple

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch Next Year With These New Features

Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development. Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag. Timing Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Magic Mouse Next to Keyboard

No, Apple CEO Tim Cook Didn't Say He Prefers Logitech's MX Master 3 Over the Magic Mouse

Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false. The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

Apple Releases iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 With Security Fixes

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Surpass iPhone 6 as Thinnest iPhone Ever

Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick. "We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote. If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
bug security vulnerability issue fix larry

Make Sure to Update: iOS 18.1.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 Fix Actively Exploited Vulnerabilities

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices. With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...
at t turbo indicator iphone 16 pro max v0 8hrh7w5f3w1e1

AT&T Turbo Indicator Showing Up in iPhone Status Bar for Subscribers

Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence. Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476 The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

18 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Wednesday November 13, 2024 2:09 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 next month, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as well....

Top Rated Comments

kinless Avatar
2 weeks ago
"Conviction" is the same as "Courage", just corporate BS to justify their short-sighted actions. I'm in the market for a new ride in the next 6-12 months, and it sure as hell ain't going to be GM.
Score: 78 Votes (Like | Disagree)
joshseibert Avatar
2 weeks ago
Good luck with that decision.

Also what a terrible name — Ultifi. Also also that interior is a mess.
Score: 62 Votes (Like | Disagree)
centauratlas Avatar
2 weeks ago
It is just insanity not to support both. Yes, GM wants to control everything but people have all their information in their phones and not integrating the two won’t end well.

Who wants to have a subscription for maps when they are free and current with Apple Maps and Google maps?
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
itsthenewdc Avatar
2 weeks ago
He's so oblivious to most consumers wanting the vehicle to adapt to the user's ecosystem (phone, computers, watch, etc.) rather than a consumer adapting to a car ecosystem that exists nowhere else and with no apps.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wizec Avatar
2 weeks ago
It’s simple for me. No Carplay, no sale. I’ve bought 4 new GMs in the last 8yr. No more unless they reverse course.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cocky jeremy Avatar
2 weeks ago
They'll come crawling back.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)