Car Makers Can’t Make Software

Patrick George writing for The Atlantic About GMs decision to drop CarPlay going forward:

Last month, General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced that new cars made by the auto giant won’t support CarPlay and its counterpart, Android Auto. Ditching smartphone mirroring may seem to make as much sense as removing cup holders: Recent preliminary data from AutoPacific, a research firm, suggest that CarPlay and Android Auto are considered must-have features among many new-car shoppers.

But according to GM, the company can create an even better experience for drivers by dropping Apple and making its own software. And like it or not, the move says a lot about where the auto industry is headed.

Every car I've owned for a very long time has had CarPlay. It's not the reason I buy a car, but it's something I always check before I do. For longer drives, I'll plug in my phone and use it hands-free without a second thought.

I've spent time with Teslas, and they're the only cars that have managed to get close to the same level of usability. I don't love having to tap a screen for every small thing, I still prefer physical controls, but the software side is excellent. Calendar integration, destinations, quick access to apps. It all makes sense.

The problem is, most car makers have had years to get this right and never have. My current Kuga has SYNC 3, which runs on BlackBerry's QNX. Which sounds terrible and it gets worse when you actually use it. So when I hear that GM thinks it can build something better now, I'm sceptical. I don't know what's changed, but I'd be surprised if this shift away from CarPlay makes anyone's life easier behind the wheel.

The pattern is familiar. Big company decides they can do something better themselves. Announces it with confidence. Then delivers something worse than what already existed. I've seen this enough times with tech companies to know how it usually ends.

GM's reasoning is that they can create a "better experience" by controlling the whole thing themselves. Maybe. But when was the last time an in-car system from a traditional manufacturer was genuinely good? The track record isn't encouraging. Not to mention they have a history of selling your data and making drivers experiences worse.

Apple and Google have spent years refining their systems based on how people actually use their phones in cars. GM is starting from scratch with different priorities—probably ones that involve collecting even more data or selling you subscriptions. That's not creating a better experience for drivers.

I'm not saying it's impossible for GM to pull this off. Just unlikely, and in the meantime, everyone buying a new GM car is the test subject. CarPlay isn't perfect, but at least it works. That's more than I can say for most of what car companies have built on their own.