Normal Motors believes phasing out standalone Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity will assist enhance security, the corporate not too long ago instructed Motor Development.

At a media occasion for the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV, the primary car to get a brand new Google-based infotainment system that drops Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, GM head of product for infotainment Tim Babbitt instructed Motor Development that the brand new system makes it much less seemingly that drivers will choose up their telephones whereas behind the wheel.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have stability points that may end up in gradual responses, poor rendering, and dropped connections, Babbitt mentioned. And if issues aren’t working correctly on the automotive’s display, drivers might be tempted to make use of their telephones, he argues, whereas admitting that GM hasn’t examined this speculation.

The reliability of CarPlay and Android Auto can certainly be a difficulty because of issues like poor wi-fi connections, compatibility points with the quite a few Android telephones in the marketplace, and backwards compatibility points that have an effect on older iPhone fashions, Motor Development notes. GM believes it is fixing this by including most of the options drivers use on their telephones—akin to Google Maps—on to the infotainment system. This theoretically makes them extra secure, whereas giving GM extra direct entry to knowledge generated by customers.

A Normal Motors spokesperson instructed Motor Authority, “We wished to succeed in out to make clear that feedback about GM’s place on cellphone projection have been misrepresented in earlier articles and to strengthen our valued partnerships with Apple and Google and every firm’s dedication to driver security. GM’s embedded infotainment technique is pushed by the advantages of getting a system that permits for higher integration with the bigger GM ecosystem and automobiles.”

GM introduced in April that each one future EVs would get the Google-based infotainment system. Following the Blazer EV, the Chevy Equinox EV, Cadillac Celestiq, and GMC Sierra EV are all scheduled to launch with out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Manufacturing points have delayed the launch timing of a few of these fashions, nevertheless.

The choice to take away CarPlay and Android Auto would not apply to combustion-engine automobiles, however GM has indicated that it’s going to remove most gas-powered automobiles from its lineup within the coming years. The automaker in 2021 declared an “aspiration” to take away tailpipes from its light-duty automobiles by 2035 and plans to make Buick and Cadillac all-electric by the tip of the last decade.

Observe–This story was up to date with a remark from a Normal Motors spokesperson.