GM's Plan To Drop CarPlay And Android Auto Has The Internet Baffled: 'That's A Mistake'

General Motors is making headlines doing General Motors things: It has announced that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will leave GM vehicles within a few years. As of now, GM's electric vehicles have already ditched the functionality, while gasoline-powered cars are going to be making the change as well. There's no exact timeline of when this will happen, judging by GM CEO Mary Barra's interview with The Verge. General Motors, however, has made an announcement that will see a large amount of change for 2028, seeking to overhaul new vehicle architecture with autonomous driving and AI functionality; in a move that surprises no one. 

GM's plan to drop CarPlay and Android Auto is a definite miss, there are no two ways about it. Giving drivers less choice in an age where cars are getting more and more expensive is a bit of a baffling choice. Additionally, actively taking away a feature that plenty of other cars have no plans to remove makes GM worse, just by comparison. 

I've driven dozens of new GM vehicles over the years. The CarPlay-less infotainment system that inhabits GM EVs like the Cadillac Optiq now isn't a bad system. You can still take calls and stream music, but it's much less intuitive to navigate, and it doesn't always play well with apps that are on your phone. Having some coherence between your mobile device and the operating system within your car is certainly a positive.

Now, GM isn't doing this just out of spite, nor are they taking commands from the ghost of William C. Durant. There is precedent for not having CarPlay or Android Auto in a new car. Two huge names in the electric car game, Tesla and Rivian, haven't had phone mirroring capability since the brand's respective inceptions, and those customers aren't really complaining. 

However, taking the feature away is a different move, and as one would expect, the online world isn't particularly happy about it. Specifically, users of the r/Android subreddit have noted that they won't even buy a future car from GM when the change makes its way to dealerships. One user went as far as to say "No Android Auto, no car." An r/cars user summed it up nicely with "That's a mistake." That comment has over 2,700 upvotes, so clearly more than a few users share the same sentiment. Going to other subreddits seems to provide similar opinions, meaning a lot of users really are not fans of this decision.

For drivers who aren't posting online about it, time will tell whether or not they will bemoan the new (lack of) functionality in their newly purchased Chevy, GMC, Buick, or Cadillac vehicle. As with every auto brand, the fans will not hold back from sharing their opinions. GM will get feedback one way or another, positive or negative. We might just have to wait and see.