GM will ditch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all its cars, not just EVs

GM plans to drop support for phone projection on all new vehicles in the near future, and not just its electric car lineup, according to GM CEO Mary Barra.

In a Decoder interview with The Verge’s Nilay Patel, published Wednesday, Barra confirmed GM will eventually end support of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on both gas-powered and electric cars as the company proceeds to a major rollout of what it’s calling a new centralized computing platform, set to launch in 2028.

In place of phone projection, GM is working to update its current Android-powered infotainment experience with a Google Gemini-powered assistant and an assortment of other custom apps, built both in-house and with partners. GM’s 2023 decision to drop CarPlay and Android Auto support for the EVs in its lineup has proved controversial, though so far GM has maintained support for phone projection in its gas vehicles.

Here’s the full exchange with Barra:

Let me ask you the second part of that question again, because, again, we’re talking so much about the future, and I understand the argument about the future you’re making, but you still have the smartphone projection in the gas cars. Why is it still in the gas cars?

MB: A lot of it depends on when you do an update to that vehicle. When you look at the fact that we have over 40 models across our portfolio, you don’t just do this and they all update. As we move forward with each new vehicle and major new vehicle launch, I think you’re going to see us consistent on that. We made a decision to prioritize our EV vehicles during this timeframe, and as we go forward, we’ll continue across the portfolio.

So we should expect new gas cars will not have smartphone projection?

MB: As we get to a major rollout, I think that’s the right expectation. Yes.