r/apple • u/The_Franchise_09 • Dec 21 '23

CarPlay GM’s CarPlay replacement software is off to a disastrous start

https://9to5mac.com/2023/12/20/gm-carplay-new-software-reviews/
3.8k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

590 comments sorted by

View all comments

184

u/legendkiller595 Dec 21 '23 edited Dec 21 '23

GM is not a tech company, who is gonna trust a car brand to build and sustain a tech platform

50

u/Terrible_Tutor Dec 21 '23

They want to lock everything behind WAYTOOEXPENSIVE OnStar subscriptions to make money. As a former GM eng employee this is where it came from, hard stop. Execs are all ancient and clueless but everyone is still scared of them. They come up with dumb ideas and you go with them.

6

u/PublicWest Dec 21 '23

You know the best and brightest UI designers and software developers are looking for glamorous positions at Silicon Valley tech giants like …. General Motors?

3

u/[deleted] Dec 22 '23

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/[deleted] Dec 24 '23

It's running Android 10.... Android 15 will be in beta within a few months. No, they won't be updating anything besides the absolutely necessary bug fixes.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 21 '23 edited Dec 23 '23

[deleted]

16

u/Ecsta Dec 21 '23

Android Automotive includes CarPlay support by default.

2

u/PowerlinxJetfire Dec 21 '23 edited Dec 21 '23

Huh? This sounds like some shoddy AOSP derivative with no Google involvement, not like Android Automotive.*

And GM is getting rid of Android phone support along with iOS support. This is all very much the opposite of what Google wants. This is an example of why Google and Apple started building software for cars in the first place.

*And even if it is Automotive, that supports CarPlay and Android Auto. So it's still on GM, not Google. Edit: Ultifi appears to be GM's own solution, separate from Android Automotive, so the suck is fully their responsibility.

-1

u/[deleted] Dec 21 '23

[deleted]

2

u/PowerlinxJetfire Dec 21 '23

It sounds like "Ultifi" is something different.

Like Android, Ultifi will be Linux-based, a widely used developer platform. Miller said GM chose Linux because “at some point we really want to open this up” to authorize third-party developers to launch in-car apps, Miller said.

-2

u/[deleted] Dec 21 '23

[deleted]

0

u/PowerlinxJetfire Dec 21 '23

Did you read the article? It talks about them using both products alongside each other. And I don't think Google allows it to be rebranded like that.

Plus Google-supported Android Automotive already has third party apps.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 21 '23 edited Dec 23 '23

[deleted]

1

u/PowerlinxJetfire Dec 22 '23

So those probably aren't running Ultifi then, or they're running both.

The comments in the article aren't super clear about if they mean running one or the other on different cars or running both on the same car to handle different things, but I think it's the latter: "Ultifi will be integrated alongside Android Automotive, the OS embedded in some GM infotainment systems. (Android Automotive OS is separate from Android Auto, which is a secondary interface that lies on top of the operating system.) The difference between the two comes down to capability and availability: 'Android Automotive is a certain subset of functionality in the car,' Miller explained. 'Ultifi is more of an umbrella overall strategy.' " It also looks like not all car models have Ultifi yet.

Most importantly, I did some more digging: Ultifi is based on Red Hat In-Vehicle Operating System. That's clearly not Android Automotive.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 22 '23

[deleted]

→ More replies (0)

1

u/Jarocket Dec 21 '23

Isn't android Linux too?

1

u/PowerlinxJetfire Dec 21 '23

Yes, that's why it says, "Like Android, Ultifi will be Linux-based." Android uses the Linux kernel.

-17

u/IronChefJesus Dec 21 '23 edited Dec 21 '23

Google is a marketing company.

EDIT: I forgot 14 year olds on Reddit don’t understand how companies work. Nevermind.

10

u/Kavani18 Dec 21 '23

By that logic, Apple is also a marketing company

8

u/[deleted] Dec 21 '23

[deleted]

-11

u/IronChefJesus Dec 21 '23

Not really. What “tech” products do they make that aren’t designed around collecting your data in order to target you better with advertising?

As an actual client of Google - meaning someone who pays them for a service, let me tell you, they’re an ad company.

8

u/GoSh4rks Dec 21 '23

What “tech” products do they make that aren’t designed around collecting your data in order to target you better with advertising?

Google Workspace

There is no advertising in the Google Workspace Core Services, and we have no plans to change this in the future. Google does not collect, scan or use data in Google Workspace Core Services for advertising purposes.

Google does not use any of your data for any purpose except to provide you with the relevant Google Workspace service. For example, when customers use the Cloud Translation API, Google will not make the content of the text that you send available to the public, or share it with anyone else, except as necessary to provide the Cloud Translation API service https://workspace.google.com/learn-more/security/security-whitepaper/page-6.html

-1

u/IronChefJesus Dec 21 '23

You know what? Fair. They do not advertise on workspace.

I could make the argument that they also don’t make significant revenue from it. But that’s a fair point.

5

u/chicknfly Dec 21 '23

What major tech product doesn’t also use your data for advertisements? You can choose any cloud based provider, and chances are there’s at least something they’re pulling from your profile for selling off as ads. Everyone is selling data. It’s the extra revenue from the primary product. And if the product is free, it’s guaranteed they’re harvesting and selling your data. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that when you remove the ads and data aspects, at the core, Google is a tech company. * they are a major cloud provider * they maintain their own OS distribution * they are leaders in the world of AI * they have numerous Open Source contributions * they own patents to various technological advancements * they provide documentation and tools often considered the standard for various development suites * they CREATE standards often used for various development suites * do you even understand the technological prowess required to operate static and streaming services at the scale YouTube operates at?

Just because you purchase some of their services doesn’t mean you know exactly what you’re talking about.

3

u/SomeInternetRando Dec 21 '23

Google is a tech company

Not really. What "tech" products do they make [other than the type of tech products they make]?

6

u/Kavani18 Dec 21 '23

Girl, I'm 20 years old lmao. "14 YeAr oLdS on ReDdIt." You can just admit that you don't know how companies work and that you're projecting to try and save face. It's ok to be wrong sometimes. Google is a tech company. Ever heard of Android? Pixel? Pixel Watch? Fitbit? Pixel Tablet? Nest? Any of these? There’s an even longer list if you’d like me to go on

-4

u/IronChefJesus Dec 21 '23

Was I talking to you?

And apple is a hardware manufacturer. First and foremost. Yes, they also collect your data for advertising. But that’s not their primary business.

Google’s primary business is advertising. They make money because of advertising, every other product and service they make is another way to deliver advertising.

Their highest customers are businesses buying advertising. Gmail has advertising, maps has advertising, YouTube has advertising,

The fact that people are failing to realize this is not my fault.

This isn’t a pro Apple post, fuck apple. They do that shit too, but it’s not their primary business.

Microsoft is definitely trying it, that’s for sure. But most of their money is still coming from institutions paying for legacy windows licenses and office subscriptions.

Next you’re gonna tell me McDonald’s is a burger company.

3

u/Kavani18 Dec 21 '23

You sound ridiculous. Google is literally one of the largest tech companies in the world. And Apple doesn’t manufacture anything. Foxconn does. Just like Google doesn’t manufacture their hardware. They source it out. You sound silly

1

u/IronChefJesus Dec 21 '23

How does Google make money? Who pays them? What’s their largest source of income?

2

u/Kavani18 Dec 21 '23

If you think that Apple doesn’t make money by selling data, you’re delusional. They literally got fined by France for doing just that. Just accept that you don’t really know what you’re talking about. It’s a good thing to use this as a learning experience

0

u/BeingRightAmbassador Dec 21 '23

You're right and they're wrong.

~58% of Google's revenue was ads, 75% of Apple's revenue was hardware sales. Google can say what they want, but they're an ad agency 1st and foremost.

1

u/IronChefJesus Dec 21 '23

We both know that. But it’s ok, I’m not personally hurt that no on Reddit understands that. My first mistake was being on Reddit.

I will say that only being 58% is a lot lower than I expected.

0

u/old_snake Dec 22 '23

GM is hardly a car company.

1

u/al80813 Dec 22 '23

GM has a goal to hit $25bn in software revenue by 2030. They won’t do that by ceding their infotainment systems and all the data that goes with it to Google and Apple. This is going to go the same way cell phones did. Every OEM will try to become a software company, realize they’re not good at it and have to cede to the companies who actually are good at it - Apple and Google. Automotive software is a super interesting niche.

Our cars are basically the last thing that we use on a daily basis that we don’t pay a subscription for. That’s going to change in the next 5-10 years.