Apple Cloud exec hits the road to lead GM's software department

AppleInsider

Mike Abbott, the former vice president of engineering for Apple Services, has departed to head up General Motors' newly created software department.

Abbott, joining as a senior leadership team member, will head up a newly-integrated software department. The department will focus on developing vehicle and enterprise software technologies and solutions.

The organization will deliver digital services and features to retail and commercial customers from start to finish.

Abbott joined Apple in 2018. In his role, he oversaw work on Apple Cloud Services like iCloud+, Mail, FindMy, FaceTime, and more.

Before working at Apple, Abbott worked at Twitter as Vice President of Engineering. At the time, he primarily focused on building out Twitter's infrastructure.

He also worked at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins as a partner on its digital team.

The cloud exec's departure isn't Apple's only recent exit. In April, Apple executive Doug Beck left the company to take on a full-time Department of Defense position.


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sigma902

Interesting that this hire is occurring after GM recently announced dropping CarPlay going forward. GM will create its own infotainment system. I could see him contributing to the infrastructure for a highly mobile, global system. 

Mike Abbott was given an unusual amount of public awareness at a pre-recorded WWDC interview with the CEO of Box a couple years back. Mike was on-screen (split-screen) for 15+ minutes.

teejay2012

Will the GM version will need be a lot better than CarPlay to make buyers notice? I think so. At this point,  everyone has an iPhone or Android phone that can integrate with cars. I am curious what features GM would offer that would make me swoon, apart from the features of the EV model itself.

chasm

Mr. Abbott is no fool, he's going to go grab a huge cash pile while the grabbing is good.

GM's plan to replace CarPlay with a Google-designed data-mining subscription service will likely be hated by customers, because GM will be taking AWAY a choice they had. As the CEO of Ford of noted, **70 percent** of Ford buyers are Apple customers. GM buyers are similarly likely to be Apple customers, and their smartphones will soon be rendered useless in GM's electric vehicles, PLUS they get stuck with a monthly bill just so they can use their car's second-most important feature.

I predict a LOT of buyers bringing their new EVs back for a refund because they can't use CarPlay. I also predict Mike Abbott will be back at Apple, or at least have separated from GM, within five years.

bakerzdosen

teejay2012 said:

Will the GM version will need be a lot better than CarPlay to make buyers notice? I think so. At this point,  everyone has an iPhone or Android phone that can integrate with cars. I am curious what features GM would offer that would make me swoon, apart from the features of the EV model itself.

At this point, it won't matter. Unless GM does a complete and very public about-face (by listening to their customers...) many people won't even give the new system a try (myself included.)

They have received nothing but bad press about this, and every single time GM is mentioned, this issue comes up.

The only people that will be willing to consider their EVs will be people who really don't understand what CarPlay or Android Auto is - and frankly, those people aren't going to be considering EVs yet.

entropys

gM probably wants Abbott to set up the subscription service hooks into their new interface. 

citpeks

chasm said:

Mr. Abbott is no fool, he's going to go grab a huge cash pile while the grabbing is good.

GM's plan to replace CarPlay with a Google-designed data-mining subscription service will likely be hated by customers, because GM will be taking AWAY a choice they had. As the CEO of Ford of noted, **70 percent** of Ford buyers are Apple customers. GM buyers are similarly likely to be Apple customers, and their smartphones will soon be rendered useless in GM's electric vehicles, PLUS they get stuck with a monthly bill just so they can use their car's second-most important feature.

I predict a LOT of buyers bringing their new EVs back for a refund because they can't use CarPlay. I also predict Mike Abbott will be back at Apple, or at least have separated from GM, within five years.

Jim Farley gets it.  Aside from being a genuine car guy, he built the Lexus brand while at Toyota.  Product is king in the auto business, but there are plenty of marques that have the product, but not the support, or the customer satisfaction and reputation that he helped create from scratch.

If anyone doubts that was an easy task, look at where Lexus' peers, Infiniti and Acura, stand in the market in comparison.  Infiniti never gained membership to the elite club with the Germans, and Acura never figured out what it wanted to be, aside from a nicer step up from a Honda.  Mazda's effort was stillborn and never even launched.  Genesis has some nice stuff, but not making an investment in stand-alone stores was a mistake, forcing their customers to mix with the hoi polloi at Hyundai dealerships.

The OEMs have always been wary of the tech companies coming in and taking their lunch of in-car revenue.  Farley's probably right in that battle should have been fought sooner, and was lost a decade ago.  People live their lives on their phones, with their apps, subscriptions, and preferences already set up, transferable to and instantly familiar in any vehicle that has Car Play or Android Auto.  To deny them that choice, as GM will do, is foolish.  Not unlike the telco companies failing to recognize that what customers want from them is dumb pipes, not to serve as the ones creating the content customers seek.

edited May 2023

welshdog

citpeks said:

Jim Farley gets it.  Aside from being a genuine car guy, he built the Lexus brand while at Toyota.  Product is king in the auto business, but there are plenty of marques that have the product, but not the support, or the customer satisfaction and reputation that he helped create from scratch.s seek.

He does get it. I've never been a Ford person and I have never owned an SUV (prolly never will), but some of those limited edition Bronco Sportd I see out there are really cool and catch my attention. Under Farley they seem to know how to spark interest and create desire in customers for their vehicles. They've brought back the mid-sized Ranger and introduced the smaller Maverick - realizing that not everyone can afford a $50-80k F-150. Their electrification plans also seem to be fairly well thought out. I love the fact that Farley laughed at GMs CarPlay decision. He get's it and he gets the joke is on GM.

ihxo

Apple's Cloud is probably their weakest product.

jony0

JP234 said:

welshdog said:

citpeks said:

Jim Farley gets it.  Aside from being a genuine car guy, he built the Lexus brand while at Toyota.  Product is king in the auto business, but there are plenty of marques that have the product, but not the support, or the customer satisfaction and reputation that he helped create from scratch.s seek.

He does get it. I've never been a Ford person and I have never owned an SUV (prolly never will), but some of those limited edition Bronco Sportd I see out there are really cool and catch my attention. Under Farley they seem to know how to spark interest and create desire in customers for their vehicles. They've brought back the mid-sized Ranger and introduced the smaller Maverick - realizing that not everyone can afford a $50-80k F-150. Their electrification plans also seem to be fairly well thought out. I love the fact that Farley laughed at GMs CarPlay decision. He get's it and he gets the joke is on GM.

Hopefully the new Maverick will be a better vehicle than the original Mercury Maverick (AKA Ford Pinto)!

Actually it was the Ford Maverick AKA Mercury Comet and Ford Pinto AKA Mercury Bobcat