RIVIAN'S CEO IS RIGHT. APPLE CARPLAY IS OVERRATED

Automakers are getting better at software than most customers realize, but they still cling to Apple CarPlay. How does that change?

Rivian's RJ Scaringe isn't the first automotive executive to foresee a future without Apple CarPlay. But he is the latest one to infuriate fans of the ubiquitous smartphone projection system by offering up reasons why Rivian doesn't intend to use it on its EVs. And it's time for those fans to consider that maybe automakers are moving beyond what Apple has offered for the past decade into something more suited to the future. 

To recap, Scaringe went on The Verge's Decoder podcast and said Rivian wants the in-car user experience to feel "consistent and holistically harmonious," which precludes hopping out of CarPlay to engage more Rivian-specific functions like opening the front trunk. I'd go further than that example and cite things like Rivian's software-based off-roading, ride height and drive mode controls—especially with the sleek-looking graphics suite coming to the 2025 models. "I think it often gets more noise than it deserves," Scaringe said of the system. 

Yet CarPlay has vocal, die-hard supporters, and their reaction was often fierce on social media—including from hopeful Rivian buyers interested in the EV brand's expanding lineup. One user described himself as "really shattered my hopes of getting one of their cars in the near future." Many others described the lack of CarPlay as a dealbreaker for any new vehicle purchase. 

The thing is, Scaringe is actually right. And Tesla, which has always done software in-house, is, too. And astoundingly, so is General Motors, which also famously (or infamously) is going without CarPlay. Car software is evolving so quickly that Apple CarPlay is beginning to look obsolete—at least, until its more aggressively modern iteration comes out.

Most drivers just haven't experienced it yet.

Yes, Car Software Is Getting Better 

To understand why people feel so attached to Apple CarPlay (and Android Auto, although as a longtime iPhone user, I'm far less qualified to weigh in there) it helps to start with a number: 12.6. 

That's not the name of some software version. It's the average age of cars on American roads today. People are driving their cars longer than ever, and can you blame them? Cars are better made than they've ever been, and besides the ultra-high interest rates and new car prices we're experiencing can make a new car purchase feel more out of reach than ever.

But if you're driving some car from the 2010s, as many people still are, CarPlay is a godsend. The past decade was when automakers really went full-court press with "infotainment systems" to control music, navigation, car settings and other features. And they were roundly terrible at it. Automotive chipsets were (and in many cases still are) primitive and slow compared to the smartphones most users knew and trusted, and what's worse, in-car menus, software features and the overall UX were a nightmare. 

I can't imagine wanting to swap that experience for the same set of Apple icons I've seen since the Obama years. And as Scaringe notes, you'd still have to exit CarPlay to execute several key functions on the vehicle like opening the frunk, especially as automakers like Rivian race to cut down on buttons and the costs therein. 

Needless to say, what you get today isn't what you have on a 2015 Subaru, or my older Mazda 3, or even some contemporary gas-powered cars. It's improving quickly, to the point where many EVs, in particular, feel as cutting edge as their powertrains. 

2024 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S

Perhaps the best example recently is Volkswagen, which—despite still being mired in disastrous software and tech headaches that led it to embrace Rivian instead—managed to upgrade the ID.4's OS into something pretty excellent. VW is far from out of the woods, but it's getting better at tech by quantum leaps with every new generation of cars.

Automakers May Not Want It, But Users Still Do

2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS interior

It's understandable, beyond the control of things like frunks, why automakers don't want to be beholden to Apple forever. They want to do their own thing. They want to control their own data, make their own maps and charging services, develop their own features and get you to pay for all of it. (Ideally as recurring revenue, too.) And if they can't be competitive on software, they risk becoming just hardware manufacturers instead. Others are kind of leaning into it, as Ford is doing with its next-generation systems.

Yet it's also equally understandable why buyers are so adamant their future cars still have Apple CarPlay. It works. It's what they know and love. Tons of people don't care about, understand or need the most advanced software features out there—they just want something that drives, plays their music and podcasts and has decent navigation. CarPlay does all of that for them with zero drama, and they don't have to learn something else if they buy or even rent a new vehicle. (Plus, we all know that car dealers are remiss at actually training buyers how to use this stuff if they understand it themselves.) 

This is the hurdle the automakers are going to have to overcome: just as lack of experience is a significant barrier to EV adoption, they have to convince a skeptical public to trust them on software when they haven't experienced this stuff yet. And that's a lot to ask after a decade-plus of in-car tech disasters that may have turned some people off permanently. 

New Apple CarPlay

Plus, CarPlay is changing as well. The next iteration seems poised to take over all of your car's screens, potentially, with an all-encompassing experience that goes well beyond mirroring a few apps. Apple's software game is never to be underestimated, but time will tell if car buyers want that, either. 

In the meantime, perhaps more of them should keep an open mind when they're considering what's next from Rivian, GM, Toyota, or the rest. The days of Cadillac CUE are behind us now, and let's all be thankful for that. 

Still refuse to part with CarPlay? Send me some hate mail: [email protected]

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2024-07-23T19:51:22Z dg43tfdfdgfd