CarPlay & Android Auto have a stranglehold on the new car market
Recent data indicates that nearly every newly manufactured car now comes equipped with either Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, responding to the growing consumer preference for these connectivity features.
Tesla had one of the best infotainment systems
A report from Straits Research found that 98% of newly produced vehicles were compatible with either CarPlay or Android Auto. Meanwhile, 80% of prospective car buyers strongly preferred having these smartphone-based infotainment systems in their new vehicles.
Automotive manufacturers increasingly embrace modular hardware architecture, which allows them to lower infotainment systems' costs. Additionally, they are actively developing technology to make integrating smartphone functionality into in-vehicle infotainment systems more affordable.
Tesla has one of the best infotainment systems worldwide, as demonstrated by an 86% satisfaction rate reported by surveyed owners. Similarly, BMW's iDrive has earned a noteworthy satisfaction rating of 80%.
However, General Motors is moving in the opposite direction with a partnership with Google to develop an infotainment system and cut out CarPlay and Android Auto. So, starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer, future electric vehicles from GM won't have smartphone-based systems for entertainment.
But the report also notes that the proliferation of infotainment systems has unfortunately contributed to a rise in distracted driving-related fatalities. In the United States alone, these fatalities increased by a staggering 22% in 2022, resulting in 3,142 deaths compared to 2021.
Overall, the Automotive Infotainment Systems Market in the U.S. is expected to grow at the rate of 6.26%, driven by Increasing demand for connectivity and seamless integration of advanced vehicle technologies.
In 2021, the global market for automotive infotainment systems was valued at $29 billion. According to the forecasted period, it is anticipated to reach $56 billion, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8% from 2022 to 2030.
As auto manufacturers work to add CarPlay and Android Auto into vehicles, Apple will unveil the next generation of CarPlay technology. Scheduled for release in 2023, CarPlay will function as an operating system designed specifically for cars.
It will assume control of the car's instrument cluster, displaying essential gauges such as fuel and oil levels, engine temperature, mileage per gallon, and additional information.
So far, partners for the new version include Acura, Audi, Ford, Honda, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Nissan, Polestar, Porsche, and Volvo.
Read on AppleInsider
Tesla had one of the best infotainment systems
A report from Straits Research found that 98% of newly produced vehicles were compatible with either CarPlay or Android Auto. Meanwhile, 80% of prospective car buyers strongly preferred having these smartphone-based infotainment systems in their new vehicles.
Automotive manufacturers increasingly embrace modular hardware architecture, which allows them to lower infotainment systems' costs. Additionally, they are actively developing technology to make integrating smartphone functionality into in-vehicle infotainment systems more affordable.
Tesla has one of the best infotainment systems worldwide, as demonstrated by an 86% satisfaction rate reported by surveyed owners. Similarly, BMW's iDrive has earned a noteworthy satisfaction rating of 80%.
However, General Motors is moving in the opposite direction with a partnership with Google to develop an infotainment system and cut out CarPlay and Android Auto. So, starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer, future electric vehicles from GM won't have smartphone-based systems for entertainment.
But the report also notes that the proliferation of infotainment systems has unfortunately contributed to a rise in distracted driving-related fatalities. In the United States alone, these fatalities increased by a staggering 22% in 2022, resulting in 3,142 deaths compared to 2021.
Overall, the Automotive Infotainment Systems Market in the U.S. is expected to grow at the rate of 6.26%, driven by Increasing demand for connectivity and seamless integration of advanced vehicle technologies.
In 2021, the global market for automotive infotainment systems was valued at $29 billion. According to the forecasted period, it is anticipated to reach $56 billion, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8% from 2022 to 2030.
As auto manufacturers work to add CarPlay and Android Auto into vehicles, Apple will unveil the next generation of CarPlay technology. Scheduled for release in 2023, CarPlay will function as an operating system designed specifically for cars.
It will assume control of the car's instrument cluster, displaying essential gauges such as fuel and oil levels, engine temperature, mileage per gallon, and additional information.
So far, partners for the new version include Acura, Audi, Ford, Honda, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Nissan, Polestar, Porsche, and Volvo.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
I will not buy a car without the CarPlay.
The navigation is terrible, its just a top down view with confusing (and sometimes contradicting) step by step directions - like Apple Maps 5 years ago. Granted, it now has Apple Music, but if you share a car, your wife destroys your algorithm because you cannot switch easily to her Apple Music account. Sure, Tesla can integrate your Contacts and Calendar, but again, no way to switch easily in a shared car. Sending texts is possible, but cumbersome. Not to mention that there are no Audiobooks, WhatsApp, etc.
Your final point is thought provoking too. I'm not sure if Apple can "disallow" anything, because CarPlay (i.e., the receiving side that's built into the car) can perhaps be modified to interface with Android on the car's side, rather than letting Carplay control the car's screens, speakers and speakers directly. It would comparable to the way "hypervisors" and "virtual machines" work. Carplay (the side of CarPlay that runs in the car) could be forced into running as a virtual machine, allowing the "Androidvisor" to access anything on the iPhone, as long as the user has unlocked his iPhone and started up his CarPlay on his iPhone. In such a case, would you say it's Apple allowing Google full access, or would you say it's the end user allowing full access (since he unlocked his phone and connected it to an Android car)? I'm not sure myself.
Tesla's navigation system has been behind Apple Maps and Google Maps for awhile in terms of accurate and up-to-date data. For the first six months of ownership Tesla's navigation system directed me to take a non-existent road near my house. It took a couple of data updates before this problem was fixed. It is a good thing I didn't have FSD and FSD doesn't work on city streets yet or my Tesla would have driven itself through someone's house. (Yes, that is a bit of hyperbole.)
It is great that Tesla's navigation can help you plan long trips by routing you to your destination via Super Chargers. But it doesn't recognize Destination chargers or other chargers. And it doesn't give you alternate route options in this instance. (Alternate route options for shorter trips was a recent upgrade.)
I know I am suppose to keep my eyes on the road, but I do like being able to see my texts on the main dashboard and hear them being read. Tesla's texting is less than perfect. I hate the less than accurate dictation. I hate that sentences never start with capital letters unless the first word is "I". I hate that it stops listening and assumes your done after a short sentence. I hate the fact that I cannot have the texts re-read.
Adding Apple Music to Tesla's Infotainment system has been a small step forward, but it is so slow and buggy. I used to have to log out and log back in every other day. Now it is every couple of weeks.
As much as I love and want CarPlay, though, no other EV offers the performance and features of a Tesla. The biggest draw is the Super Charging network. I have planned family trips using hypothetical vehicles from other manufactures and it just doesn't work. Not enough fast chargers available or no fast chargers available. Not enough distance on a charge. Most importantly though is the combination of features. No other EV allows my disabled daughter easy access to the vehicle and has room for her wheel chair and lets all five of us sit inside.
Also the article implies there are cars that only have Android Auto or CarPlay and not both. Are there examples anyone knows of?
It used to be that Tesla was the only game in town. No longer. It was inevitable that the opposition would catch up with Tesla. They have not only caught up but in many cases, exceeded them.
But currently, this data sits in proprietary clouds and for a stand-alone car infotainment system to work, it would need to be given access to all these cloud files. If the stand-alone infotainment system is built by Google, Apple won't give it access to the files in the cloud, unless, maybe, Apple can rund its own sandboxed apps on the GM OS. A good comparison are TV sets: Samsung has its own TV OS, and Apple has a TV+ App on it, but Apple won't allow access to your rented or bought films on a Samsung App.
This would only be for Apple native Apps. I don't know if, say, Audible files that you purchased on an iPhone Audible App (with an Apple ID), can easily be accessed by an Audible App running on the GM OS built by Google.
Lots of questions that better paid people then me need to work out, but generally, being able to untether the car from a phone seems the right direction, as long as we do not lose access to all our files/data that we wish to have in the car. (I make no assumptions about the UI).
What we non-Tesla EV drivers need is integration of actual battery SOC with Apple Maps or the app A Better Route Planner. So far, only BMW and Porsche offer it.
All Automakers should be more conscious of people with alternate needs.
The infotainment system is not good at all. The sound is fantastic, as good or better than a Range Rover. But the navigation looks like Apple Maps 5 years ago, Apple Music is sluggish, Spotify cuts out in a tunnel and resets to the beginning of the playlist afterwards (what?), there is no way to change or turn off regen (much less have the brakes generate regen like they do on other EVs), it does not have automatic matrix LED headlights that maximise light driving at night while protecting on-coming cars from glare, basic autopilot does not adjust to speed limit changes and it leaves way too much space to the car driving in front. I rented a Tesla for a few days and was really disappointed, almost sad.
Full Self Driving may be better than other manufacturer's best driver support systems, but basic AP and Enhanced AP are equivalent to what others offer.
But each of the auto company brands (about 12 of them) that is owned by Volkswagen Group operates independently and generate revenue under their own brand. Porsche annual revenue is about $35B while Audi is closer to $60B. But their own Volkswagen brand autos (the auto company brand that cheated on the US smog emission test) is by far their biggest revenue generator at over $140B. So If Porsche autos were to violate an EU regulation and the fine is a percentage of annual revenue, would it be based on Porsche annual revenue or Volkswagen Group combined revenue of all the auto brands they own? I would think only Porsche annual revenue would be considered. But then again its the EU Commission making the rules.