Pardon me while I eat a little crow.
Nobody was more skeptical than me when General Motors decided to exclude Apple CarPlay from in its latest EVs.
I’m an infotainment system snob. A super-user, playing music in endless shuffle mode from my iPhone, perpetually making calls, receiving and sending texts. I’m more likely to start a trip without my prescription Wayfarers than my iPhone — paired, playing and prepped to read and respond to texts.
For years, I’ve watched GM — in fairness, just about every major automaker — fail miserably every time it tried to beat Apple at its own game: mirroring smartphone features on vehicle infotainment screens.
I expected the worst when GM banned CarPlay from its most advanced vehicles. What were they thinking?
The deal-maker: Real-time route-planning
It
turns out, GM knew what it was doing.
The new system, which combines Google navigation and real-time access to the vehicle’s battery with hands-free calling, texts and music through the Optiq’s AKG audio system, gave me everything I wanted.
It functioned reliably over two weeks and 2,350 miles, found every destination I requested — even allowing me to veto charging companies I didn’t trust, providing a list of options that didn’t add time to my trip. It played my tunes and displayed their cover art. The system read incoming texts and allowed me to dictate replies.
Its one shortcoming: no access to addresses in my Apple contacts. I had to duplicate them in Google contacts to request “Directions to John Phelan’s house,” for instance. I recommend that, incidentally. My brother grills a mean tri-tip.
Hey, GM: Fix this.
Owners won't welcome GM's infotainment system until it’s as easy to set up as CarPlay — two or three steps, accomplished in less than a minute.
A continuously updated online video showing how to pair vehicles with the latest IOS would be good. Link it to the vehicle’s app, while you’re at it.
Until GM manages that, a laminated card with up-to-date, step-by-step directions in every new EV would be a good start. Hang it from the rearview mirror so every new owner’s aware of it before they drive off the lot.
Ideally, every dealer should also have an infotainment specialist to pair new owners’ phones, as an acquaintance recently experienced at a BMW dealer.
I still love CarPlay, and I appreciate automakers that engineer their vehicles to work with it.
But I didn't miss it during my long drives in the Cadillac Optiq.
I thought GM’s decision would drive owners away from their new EVs.
Instead, it created one more reason to buy them: world-class route-planning and smartphone integration.
Contact Mark Phelan: mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: I’m convinced: GM’s new EVs don’t need Apple CarPlay
