The battle for control of the screens in your vehicle rages on. While most automakers offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto’s phone mirroring software in their vehicles, some are still holding back on the system, preferring instead to create and control their own infotainment ecosystems.
Apple CarPlay started as a system called iOS in the Car, created with help from BMW. It evolved into the CarPlay we see today over the last decade. Android Auto, Google‘s phone projection software, followed shortly after CarPlay and was first adopted by Hyundai Motor Group before becoming more widely available.
According to StatCounter, as of January 2025, 58.81 percent of U.S. smartphone users have Apple devices while 40.81 percent use Android-based devices.
Tesla and Rivian are part of a small handful the automakers that have never offered Apple CarPlay or Android Auto in their vehicles, preferring to use their own infotainment software environments.
Aston Martin
Rivian’s CEO RJ Scaringe told The Verge last year that as much as he loves Apple products, they doesn’t mesh with how he and the company want to deliver a pure Rivian experience. He also noted the difficulty in switching in and out of the app to control different vehicle functions (Rivians are near-buttonless vehicles with almost all functionalities controlled via touchscreen) as being a reason his company steered clear of the system.
In 2022, Apple premiered a new version of the CarPlay system that is designed to take over more in-car screens and operate more vehicle functionality than CarPlay can today. At the Worldwide Developers Conference in June of 2023, Apple touted a partnership with Aston Martin and Porsche that would allow the phone to take over the gauge cluster and other screens, sometimes using automaker-specific graphics, however, nothing has materialized so far.
Some car companies are pushing back. Mercedes-Benz says that it won’t support this new more immersive system, but it will allow customers to use the current style.
Other automakers have pulled back on the technology entirely, including General Motors. The Detroit-based automaker stopped installing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in December of 2023, citing safety concerns, but also echoing Rivian’s reasoning, explaining that the company can do more with a tailored experience than the apps that a phone projection system allows.
Automotive experts have noted that the user interface GM offers customers lags behind CarPlay in usability and appearance. GM’s software performs in a similar fashion to how early screen-based audio systems accessed music files a decade or more ago with users having to access a file folder system within the operating system to listen to Apple Music.
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“Today, customers can control maps, music and cabin climate with their voice, see hands-free Super Cruise-capable routes, and what their state of charge will be at the end of their trip. With software updates, customers will see continual enhancements,” Baris Cetinok, senior vice president of software and services at General Motors, told Newsweek.
The company also noted that while it has rolled out its new infotainment system in select electric vehicles (EVs), GM continues to offer CarPlay and Android Auto in 34 of 40 models across its brands.
“We see opinions shifting as customers experience our vehicles every day and as we continue to roll out software updates. We’ve seen early success with positive customer feedback around the Blazer EV, Equinox EV, and Silverado EV RST, which all launched with GM’s infotainment system last year,” said Cetinok.
Automotive marketing research and product-consulting firm AutoPacific conducts annual surveys regarding in-car features demand. Is 2024 Future Attribute Demand Study ranked wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto’s as the most desirable feature, as chosen by those surveyed that intend to purchase an electrified vehicle in the future.
In addition to brand interface customization, by removing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto from vehicles, automakers are removing data sharing and profit opportunities with those companies.
“Automakers have most of this information already. They know where you drive and charge, if you tow often or accelerate or brake hard, so they’re not losing much when the phone is used. In vehicles with Google applications, Google gets that information whether a phone is used or not,” Sam Abuelsamid, vice president of market research at Telemetry Insights, told Newsweek.
General Motors
Most automakers offer complementary use of infotainment system functionality for extended periods of time upon the purchase of a new vehicle. When automakers control more of those services, they are able to extract more revenue from customers who wish to continue using those services via a subscription model.
“The biggest potential downside for consumers is the need to eventually pay a subscription for a data package in order to use Google services and apps once these introductory periods expire,” Abuelsamid said.
