Photo: Mercedes/autoevolution edits
Say what you want about CarPlay, but the future doesn’t look good for the new-generation experience announced with much fanfare by Apple at WWDC in 2022.
However, the automotive world and Apple have been surprisingly tight-lipped about CarPlay 2.0 since the original announcement at WWDC. Apple has never come up with more feature updates or details about how CarPlay 2.0 will upgrade the infotainment experience, and carmakers didn’t rush to confirm its adoption.
The new-generation CarPlay has just received the first major blow.
Mercedes is the first big carmaker to confirm that adopting CarPlay 2.0 is not part of its plans, explaining that it’ll stick with the original version of CarPlay and Android Auto in its cars.
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
Its reasoning makes perfect sense, though.
Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius discussed his company’s plans regarding CarPlay in a recent podcast, revealing that the carmaker wants to maintain full control of the software in a car. Mercedes has nothing against CarPlay, and Källenius explained that the main reason for not adopting the new-generation experience is that an in-house developed operating system would unlock more capabilities that wouldn’t otherwise be available.
Källenius touted “assisted and automatic driving” as the reason for investing aggressively in vehicle software. “It’s not just infotainment,” the CEO explained, emphasizing that the Mercedes-Benz operating system will be in charge of more advanced capabilities, including automated driving and other vehicle functions. The infotainment is still one small part of the entire system, and going all-in on CarPlay wouldn’t be the right decision.
“If you want to create a superior customer experience, you need to think about that as a whole. And only the manufacturer can tie all of it together,” he said.
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
General Motors hoped it’d start a revolution last year when it announced that Android Auto and CarPlay would no longer be available in its future EVs. GM went all-in on Android Automotive, blocking Android Auto and CarPlay in its cars, starting with the 2024 Blazer EV.
Mercedes has no intention of going the same route, as the company will continue to offer Android Auto and CarPlay in its cars.
“We have Apple CarPlay, we have Android Auto. If, for some of the functions, you feel more comfortable with that, then you will switch back and forth. Be my guest, you can get that, too,” the Mercedes CEO explains.
The future of Apple’s new-generation CarPlay
Mercedes not adopting CarPlay 2.0 could be the beginning of a disaster for Apple, as the entire automotive space is investing aggressively in software.
One of the main reasons for becoming so committed to vehicle software is their intention to retain control of the infotainment system, especially as some plan to turn the head unit into a money-making machine. With in-house developed software, carmakers can prepare subscription systems that would eventually bring home the bacon.
Others want to go the same route as Mercedes and develop their operating system to power more advanced capabilities that CarPlay and Android Automotive wouldn’t be able to access.
Apple seems late to the party, and the company’s delayed announcements seem to have hurt the adoption of the new-generation experience. CarPlay 2.0 was announced approximately two years ago, and only two carmakers confirmed they’d be offering the new system in their cars. Mercedes was even on the list of brands expected to offer CarPlay 2.0 in future models, and with this announcement, it’s very clear that nothing is set in stone in terms of infotainment in the automotive world.
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
The company that is losing big right now is Apple. Users are perfectly fine with the existing CarPlay experience, albeit I admit I’d sometimes want more advanced features, too, but the current version already serves its purpose well and offers a solid feature lineup.
Without en-masse adoption of CarPlay 2.0, Apple loses traction in the automotive world. The company has already killed off the Apple Car, and without a vehicle to spearhead its push in this world, the iPhone maker has no option but to focus heavily on software and services. If CarPlay 2.0 doesn’t work as expected, Apple has to come up with something new, and it’s already too late for rethinking the strategy.
Apple is working with several carmakers to offer the updated CarPlay experience, as the company wants to be deeply involved in the development process. Each carmaker has the tools to customize the look and feel of the system, as Apple gives them the resources to preserve the brand identity. However, this work takes frustratingly long, and everything happening right now means Apple could lose the battle not only with Android but also with carmakers fighting for independence in the software world.
