Toyota chooses Ford over Apple, will eschew CarPlay in favor of SmartDeviceLink

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2016
Future Toyota models will offer in-dash infotainment systems compatible with Ford's SmartDeviceLink system rather than Apple's CarPlay, the Japanese automaker announced on Monday.




SmartDeviceLink is an open platform based on the AppLink framework developed for Ford's own vehicles. It fills essentially the same role as CarPlay or Android Auto, but allows the vehicle manufacturer to retain control over the look and feel of the user interface.

Toyota's announcement comes nearly a year after the company first discussed its plans not to adopt CarPlay, despite being one of the first automakers to sign on.

"We may all eventually wind up [with CarPlay or Android Auto], but right now we prefer to use our in-house proprietary platforms for those kinds of functions," a Toyota spokesperson said at the time.

Ford has continued to push SDL as an industry standard -- with some success -- even as it enables CarPlay and Google's rival Android Auto in its own vehicles. Major automotive software supplier QNX has announced support for SDL in future products, while automakers including Mazda and Subraru have shown public support.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 45
    magman1979magman1979 Posts: 1,292member
    Thank you Toyota, you've just eliminated yourself even more so as a potential purchase in 2-3 years when I enter the car buying market again. Wasn't enough you had recall after recall, now you want to side with shit software too?

    Good on you!
    chasmlatifbpnolamacguyneil andersontrustnoone00kingofsomewherehotdamn_its_hot
  • Reply 2 of 45
    Thank you Toyota, you've just eliminated yourself even more so as a potential purchase in 2-3 years when I enter the car buying market again. Wasn't enough you had recall after recall, now you want to side with shit software too?

    Good on you!
    I agree with you. This is sad, but not terribly surprising. It's why Apple has to do something big in this arena.
    magman1979jahblade
  • Reply 3 of 45
    And yet people still say Apple's car efforts shouldn't be about building their own vehicle but designing the OS for existing manufacturers. This is exactly why Apple needs to control the whole thing. Why be beholden to the whims of existing auto companies?
    magman1979nolamacguylostkiwitrustnoone00damn_its_hotmac fan
  • Reply 4 of 45
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Thank you Toyota, you've just eliminated yourself even more so as a potential purchase in 2-3 years when I enter the car buying market again. Wasn't enough you had recall after recall, now you want to side with shit software too?

    Good on you!
    Toyota's US operations CEO has been making a lot of really questionable decisions.
    magman1979chasmlostkiwidamn_its_hot
  • Reply 5 of 45
    I just bought a new car last week after test driving several vehicles that met my needs (6-7 passenger, AWD, etc). I really wanted something that would support Car Play, and the Ford Flex was on my short list because of SYNC 3 and the alluded to support. In the end after driving so many cars with all the tech options most manufactures have moved so much to the touch screen that I just don't hold out hope for this anymore. Even 3rd party head units don't stand much chance when it comes to newer cars when all the in car controls are in the unit. I hold out a little hope for a 3rd party system like the the SYNC lock pick device that could potentially bring aftermarket (hacked) support for car play to SYNC, enTune, and UConnect.
  • Reply 6 of 45
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    I don't know. . . To me it makes kinda makes sense. Doesn't Ford's open-source SmartDeviceLink work with pretty much all the mobile platforms? I realize the only two at the moment with any market-share are Android and iOS but I can see why they might want to cover all the bases. On top of that it allows them to differentiate from other auto OEM's, whether that ends up as a good or bad thing. It still works with iOS (or Android) so it's not as tho they're rejecting them. 

    Anyway, Toyota is far from the only manufacturer that may end up using SmartDeviceLink. Honda, Subaru, Citroën, Mazda and others are also considering it going forward. 
    edited January 2016 freshmakerafrodriflashfan207[Deleted User]
  • Reply 6 of 45
    emoelleremoeller Posts: 574member
    I own two Toyota's.  Great vehicles as the company used to be a leader in innovation.  This decisions, as well as their recent push to hydrogen fuel cells, and the poor implementation of the fourth generation Prius, means no more Toyotas for me.  I sold my stick in late 2013.
    tjwolflostkiwitrustnoone00
  • Reply 8 of 45
    schlackschlack Posts: 719member
    surprised...support for CarPlay will be a big plus when I shop for cars.
    chasm
  • Reply 9 of 45
    "but right now we prefer to use our in-house proprietary platforms for those kinds of functions"

    No surprise there. Auto manufacturers have their heads up their collective asses when it comes to infotainment. Every system I've used is slow and confusing to operate. BMW is doing the same thing because they want control over your dash (they don't want an Apple or Android screen replacing their own, even if it's only when the user requests it).
  • Reply 10 of 45
    Meh. I have my Apple Watch. It's like Wrist Play.
  • Reply 11 of 45
    And this is why Apple will make a car.  They tried to work with manufactures and got frustrated.  Just like they tried to work with Motorola and other phone companies.  But just like the bastardized Motorola Rockr, cars will continue to have crappy interfaces...and soon there will be a game changer.
  • Reply 12 of 45
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    "but right now we prefer to use our in-house proprietary platforms for those kinds of functions"

    No surprise there. Auto manufacturers have their heads up their collective asses when it comes to infotainment. Every system I've used is slow and confusing to operate. BMW is doing the same thing because they want control over your dash (they don't want an Apple or Android screen replacing their own, even if it's only when the user requests it).
    This article makes describes things with a little more clarity IMO. 
    http://techcrunch.com/2016/01/04/toyota-qnx-and-others-adopt-fords-smartdevicelink-platform-for-connecting-mobile-apps-and-cars/
    [Deleted User]
  • Reply 13 of 45
    tjwolftjwolf Posts: 424member
    This stinks.  I have a 2009 Prius and 2006 BMW (both of which have nearly 200,000 miles on them, so I will be in the market in 2016) and love my Prius so much, I was looking to buy another when the redesigned version showed up this year.  But then I saw the photos of the new Prius - and, boy, is it ugly!  I mean my Prius was ugly too - but at least it didn't pretend to be sporty - which the 2016 does!  Lack of CarPlay just put the last nail in the coffin for me.

    Whenever analysts suggested Apple would build its own cars, I scoffed.  I'd say "why would Apple build a car when it's trying to get CarPlay into car manufacturer's cars?  No car manufacturer would support CarPlay if Apple suddenly became a competitor!"  But if car manufacturers are not going to anyway, Apple may have to go that route!  Too early to tell though.  Quite a few manufacturers are beginning to support it, after all.

    Question: how can you tell whether a car manufacturer actually uses CarPlay or simply "supports" it - as Ford's system apparently does?  
    bobschlob
  • Reply 14 of 45
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,274member
    Like a lot of other commenters, I'm probably in the market for a new vehicle soon and CarPlay is NOT AN OPTION when it comes to vehicles I will consider. I'm sure Toyota will get the message from both iOS and Android enthusiasts soon enough, and reverse course on this by next fall.
  • Reply 15 of 45
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    CarPlay or no CarPlay my interest in all vehicles Toyota is barely above a pulse.
  • Reply 16 of 45
    rtdunhamrtdunham Posts: 428member

    Yes.  This:

    "Ideally, all of this shouldn’t make a difference for drivers. They (with, as I read it, this new ford proposal) should just be able to control their apps from their dashboard and steering wheel buttons, no matter what standard the phone maker, car builder and app developer decided on. In reality, though, having these competing standards will likely create some confusion with car buyers and it’ll be interesting to see how the car manufacturers try to alleviate this."
  • Reply 17 of 45
    blendsblends Posts: 11member
    SDL just makes sense. It ensures that all major platforms are supported. CarPlay is nice and all but I don't want it in my car when I have Hey Siri and steering wheel controls that work great already. When I plug my phone into the infotainment system in my car all I care about is music/audiobooks. My car's navigation system is excellent. 
    [Deleted User]
  • Reply 18 of 45
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,415member
    Thank you Toyota. CarPlay needs to go. We need an interface that interacts with a variety of platforms, not be restricted to a certain platform. And while I am an Apple guy, I want to be able to use an interface whenever I use a non-iOS device.
    freshmaker[Deleted User]
  • Reply 19 of 45
    I think this is very smart on Toyota's part.  My question would be can they support carplay and this to allow the customer to decide?  I would appeal to as many consumers as possible.  Since Apple fans tend to be loyal to a fault, this could eliminate a large group of people even if it can integrate with iOS...
    [Deleted User]
  • Reply 20 of 45
    Meh. I have my Apple Watch. It's like Wrist Play.
    You lost me at 'Meh."
    mac fan
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