GM faces backlash after dropping CarPlay and Android features

With the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV going on sale this summer, General Motors has announced that it will stop supporting CarPlay and Android Auto. Instead, a built-in system will provide drivers with more features than the current iPhone technology. 

The harsh response to GMs’ decision quickly spread through social media, with some consumers declaring they would not purchase a car without CarPlay or Android Auto.

To illustrate, customer Will Lindley told The Detroit Free Press that he was considering trading in his wife’s 2016 Cadillac SRX for a new EV but claimed it wouldn’t be from GM. Lindley and his family say that learning of GM’s plans to gradually remove Apple CarPlay and Android Auto from its upcoming EVs is a deal breaker. He is now considering buying the all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E produced by GM’s nearby rival.

Lindley, like many consumers, wants the option to mirror his smartphone’s screen onto the car’s infotainment display. Instead, GM will offer an infotainment system powered by Google that will include apps like Spotify, Google Assistant, Google Maps, and more.

On the other hand, according to Alan Hall, a spokesperson for Ford, “We will continue to offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto because customers love the capability that enables easy access and control of their smartphone apps, especially our EV customers.” Ford’s decision was made using “a combination of data from outside sources and confidential internal customer feedback,” Hall added. 

One prominent influencer, tech writer Walt Mossberg, wrote a piece for The Verge titled “Everyone hates GM’s decision to kill Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for its EVs,” where he writes, “I think this is a huge blunder, which puts greed over consumer choice. Without Car Play, I wouldn’t buy a car, and I imagine millions of other people feel the same way.”

Critics point out that the new system will give GM data on its customers’ driving, listening, and charging behaviors. The information gathered may impact GM’s upcoming subscription offerings, which several manufacturers are attempting to develop to generate additional sources of revenue.