General Motors is justifying its decision and standing its ground after it removed the Apple CarPlay system from its vehicles and exclaimed that there are still no plans to bring back this in-car smartphone experience. It is almost two years since GM removed the CarPlay and the company faced significant controversy from analysts and GM car owners for their decision against the system.
With this, GM is still firm on its belief that its homemade infotainment system called "Ultifi" is still the way to go, with the company continuing its development and keeping it for its future vehicles.
GM Still Says 'No' to Apple CarPlay System
A recent interview with GM's software vice president, Baris Cetinok (via The Verge's Decoder podcast) revealed that the company is still focused on keeping Apple's CarPlay out of its infotainment systems. Cetinok, a previous Apple executive, joined General Motors to help with its plans to develop its proprietary systems that replace CarPlay, and they believe that this will be the best fit for their customers.
According to Cetinok, GM's development of the Ultifi may have faced its fair share of problems in the beginning, but they believe that it is the "most deeply integrated experience" for its user base.
However, the GM executive attested to this move being a "hard decision" for the company, but over time, they saw its value in offering an experience that is meant for its customers to enjoy, exclusive to its cars.
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GM's 'Ultifi' is Leading Its Infotainment
Ultifi is currently powering the more modern GM vehicles that came along with it after ditching Apple CarPlay, and so far, the company claimed that it offers the "end-to-end" integration from devices to cars.
This "direction" that GM is taking does not see any backing down from its move, particularly as it offers the "best" for its customers and their experiences, and the world will see it soon. With the Ultifi, GM customers will get the "most" out of their in-car experiences that prioritize its users with its seamless features.
Companies Attesting to CarPlay
Despite renowned car companies leaving behind Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on their infotainment systems like GM and Tesla who opted for their self-made systems for connections, there are still those who believe that these third-party systems are the way to go. GM's biggest rival in the US, Ford, has made it clear that CarPlay and Android Auto are staying, saying that it promotes improved safety and connectivity.
It has been a long debate among the car industry's fans and users whether this decision to remove these third-party infotainment systems is the way to go, particularly as the likes of GM and Tesla opted to create their 'special' systems for car owners. That being said, Porsche, the renowned German performance car company, maintained its support for CarPlay despite the torn market.
Apple made significant developments in improving the CarPlay experience for the vehicles where it is still available, as well as the future ones that will no longer require wired connections for the hands-free experience soon. However, despite these developments, GM is not shaken, and it is committed to offering the Ultifi as the main infotainment system, in the wake of its struggles.
