GM’s Electric Blazer And Its Future EVs To Lose Apple Carplay And Android Auto Support

Most drivers would probably agree that about mid-way through the 2010s, in-vehicle infotainment systems (IVI) took a big step forward in usability with the debut of smartphone projection. The two most common projection systems that are supported by most automakers are Apple Carplay and Android Auto. Starting with the launch of the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV this fall General Motors is revising its IVI strategy for EVs and dropping support for smartphone projection.

What is smartphone projection?

Let’s start with a quick primer on what these projection systems are. Modern IVI systems are essentially graphical interface computer systems with some sort of underlying operating system, usually either Linux, QNX or Android. While most modern vehicles have touchscreens, there is also in many cases a mix of some physical knobs and switches as well. The base IVI provides an interface to functions like radio, bluetooth, navigation and climate control. To say that most people aren’t particularly fond of the interfaces developed by the automakers would be an understatement.

Apple Carplay and Android Auto are apps that run on this IVI computer and take the driver inputs from whatever touch, physical or voice controls the vehicle provides and translates them into the control language that the corresponding phone operating system understands, either Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android. Those commands are sent to a phone that may be connected by a USB cable or a wireless interface where the phone processes it and then streams back an interface that is displayed on the vehicle screen. This projected interface is what we see as Carplay or Android Auto. The apps used in either of these interfaces such as Apple or Google Maps, messaging or media apps like Spotify, Apple Music or PocketCasts are all running on the phone with the output displayed on the car screen.

Android Automotive

Several years ago, Google launched Android Automotive (which is distinct from Android Auto, but let’s not get into a branding discussion here) which is a version of the full Android open-source operating system optimized for use to drive complete IVI systems. Automakers can create their own app launcher interface to run on top of this just as Android phone makers do. Volvo, Polestar, GM, Renault, Honda and Stellantis have all launched Android Automotive-based IVIs that all have a different look and feel but mostly similar functionality.

Automakers also have the choice to use Google Automotive Services (GAS) which is analogous to Google Mobile Services (GMS) for phones. GAS and GMS are suites of Google proprietary applications including Play Services, Maps, Assistant and the Play app store that automakers can license and use in their vehicles. While GM and others all use GAS, Stellantis has chosen to use Amazon’s Alexa voice services, TomTom maps and some other proprietary apps for Uconnect 5.

Get into recent vehicles from Volvo, Polestar or GM and while they have different app launcher interfaces, they all offer the same set of services and Maps, Assistant and other apps will look the same. Users can log into a Google account and it will sync the data with the same account running on a computer, tablet or phone and all of your contacts and other preferences will be there.

Until now, all of these Android Automotive based systems have also included support for Android Auto and Apple Carplay projection. There’s really not much need to use Android Auto unless you were driving a rental or borrowing someone’s car and didn’t want to log in with your account. However, for those using Apple iPhones, (just over half of Americans but a smaller proportion of users globally), Carplay support provided access to phone data and apps that might be exclusive to iOS like Apple Messages or the Overcast podcast app.

So What is GM doing now?

Starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV coming this fall, new electric vehicles from GM (and possibly the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX that it will build for Honda beginning in 2024) will no longer include smartphone projection support. One of the reasons that automakers choose to utilize Android Automotive is the ability to integrate those GAS apps with vehicle systems, something that is much more difficult with apps that are running on a separate device like a phone.

For example, when a driver opens Google Maps on Android Automotive in an EV, a destination search includes charging stations as a point of interest category. While users can search for chargers in maps on the projection system, the phone doesn’t have knowledge of the vehicle’s current state of charge. When running on the IVI the integration can help to find chargers that are within range.

“These experiences and more can only come to life for customers when we integrate infotainment systems with key vehicle systems and make everything easy to use,” said Edward Kummer, GM’s chief digital officer. “Some examples include intelligent EV routing based on real time vehicle sensor data, locating charging stations and sharing real time station availability, creating navigation routing options, optimize for advanced driver assistance technologies like Super Cruise and in the future Ultra Cruise and a great voice command system to control all these features to give customers seamless access to the full breadth of these experiences within our advanced in-vehicle displays.”

According to Kummer, when drivers use an external projection system, they get an inconsistent user experience while driving. For example, with Android Automotive, the full Maps display can be shifted from the center screen to the cluster display in front of the driver, something that isn’t really supported with projection. Routing optimization is particularly important for EVs. On longer trips planning when and where to stop and how long to charge at each location can have a major impact on overall length of the trip.

While there are apps like A Better Route Planner that can help with this, they can be complex to use and aren’t supported in the projection systems anyway. Apps for charging networks like Electrify America, EVGo and Chargepoint can run in the projection systems and help drivers find chargers and even add the destination to the navigation route. But they all run independently and don’t share information and determining where to stop can be cumbersome and confusing while enroute. GM is integrating real time data from across multiple networks into its Ultium Charge 360 platform in the vehicle and can help automatically find the best places to stop for a charge.

Since features like Google Maps and Assistant require data connectivity, GM is including eight years of complimentary connectivity with the purchase of the vehicle.

The Support Problem

As IVI and other vehicle software platforms become more complex, the challenge of integrating everything and making all the pieces run smoothly and reliably together becomes increasingly difficult. As automakers including GM seek to enable faster and more efficient over-the-air updates to all vehicle systems, trying to maintain integration with external devices that the manufacturer doesn’t control becomes very problematic. With Android Auto and Apple Carplay being updated on their own individual schedules and possibly varying based on the age of the phone being used, keeping everything aligned becomes a real software management problem.

It’s also a potential cybersecurity risk. Modern software-defined vehicles already have numerous potential attack surfaces that bad actors could use including the cellular data connection, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC and even tire pressure sensors. Adding random phones into the mix is another potential pathway. Eliminating that pathway makes the security challenge slightly easier.

So What Happens to iPhone Users?

For Android phone users, this won’t be much of an issue. They already have Google accounts and will have access to most of the same apps running directly on the IVI. The situation is a bit more complicated for Apple iPhone users. While projection is going away, the IVI will continue to support traditional bluetooth streaming for hands-free calls, media and messaging. The bluetooth interface in the GM IVI includes media browsing capability so drivers don’t have to touch their phones.

Drivers won’t be able to bring up the Messages app in Carplay anymore, but they can be read back through the bluetooth interface using the older Siri pass-through system. Unfortunately, Apple CEO Tim Cook has made it pretty clear that the company has no plans to expand it’s Messages platform to Android, otherwise such a hypothetical app could just be loaded from the Play store and run in the IVI.

A Sign of the Times?

While legacy automakers have over the past eight years almost universally included phone projection support in their IVIs, newer EV-only players like Tesla, Rivian and Lucid have not included that capability. They each have proprietary systems without Android support, but within those systems they have implemented some similar types of integration to what GM is planning. Some like Rivian and Lucid use Alexa and support some built in streaming apps like Spotify and Tune-in among others.

It may turn out that as the rest of the industry continues to accelerate toward an electrified future, they may follow a similar path whether they are using Android Automotive or some other platform since they will face the same sort of software support challenges and the need to integrate vehicle data with IVI features. It could be that projection was just a temporary bridge technology that lasted little more than a decade.

Other GM EVs that have launched before the Blazer including the GMC Hummer, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Silverado and Bolt will continue to include projection support along with all of GM’s internal combustion vehicles. EVs that follow the Blazer including the Chevrolet Equinox, Cadillac Celestiq and GMC Sierra EV along with as yet unannounced models will forgo projection support.