GM Again Attempts to Explain Its Decision to Drop CarPlay in New EVs

American automaker General Motors (GM) last year announced it would be phasing out support for CarPlay and Android Auto in its new electric vehicles, in favor of its own software platform called Ultifi. The decision has been very controversial, as many drivers consider CarPlay to be a must-have feature in a new vehicle. In 2022, for example, Apple said 79% of U.S. buyers would only consider a vehicle that works with CarPlay.

carplay widescreen dashboard
To make matters worse, GM's rollout of Ultifi went rather poorly, with some early reviewers of the Chevrolet Blazer EV last year experiencing technical issues with the platform. Some of those problems have since been resolved, but it is clear that the automaker might not be as effective at developing software as a tech company like Apple.

In a statement shared with MacRumors last year, GM said its software strategy is "driven by the benefits of having a system that allows for greater integration with the larger GM ecosystem and vehicles." In other words, the automaker wants to control the entire in-vehicle experience, which is both a reasonable and a risky decision.

In a recent interview with The Verge's Nilay Patel, GM's senior vice president of software Baris Cetinok further attempted to defend the automaker's decision to phase out CarPlay. Cetinok worked at Apple between 2012 and 2021, helping to spearhead the launch of Apple Pay, Find My, iCloud Drive, and more, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Cetinok joined GM months after it announced its decision to phase out CarPlay and Android Auto, but unsurprisingly he stands by the automaker's decision. He told Patel that GM believes with "strong conviction" that creating its entire in-vehicle experience provides "a better customer experience" with "end-to-end magic."

2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV Ultifi2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV with GM's Ultifi software platform

"But we have a strong conviction that effort pays off in a better customer experience," said Cetinok, speaking on the Decoder podcast. "You get the most out of your vehicle because now we're the company that builds the vehicle and is also creating the infotainment experience, the cluster experience, the app, and everything. We're going to build that one day and maybe a voice assistant on top of it. The only way you can create that end-to-end magic is to have a strong conviction that you want to own all of these."

He said GM wants to offer a seamless experience that does not require having to switch in and out of phone mirroring systems like CarPlay and Android Auto.

"When you want to create something so seamless, it's hard to think about getting into a car and going, 'Okay, so I'm doing highway trailering, but let me flip to a totally different user interface to pick my podcast,'" said Cetinok. "By the way, it's a single app-obsessed interface — it's still hard to believe. So I pick my podcast, flip back to trailering. Oh, now I can also do Super Cruise trailering. Let me manage that. Then, wait, we're now getting into potentially Level 3, Level 4 autonomy levels that should be deeply integrated with talking to the map where the lanes lie. But wait a minute, the map that I'm using doesn't really talk to my car."

The full transcript of the interview with more CarPlay commentary is available on The Verge.

Related Roundup: CarPlay

Popular Stories

apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Tuesday July 15, 2025 11:07 am PDT by
Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, and now a more specific timeframe has surfaced. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that Apple's public betas should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23. In other words, expect the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more to be available at some point next week. Apple will be releasing...
iPhone 17 Colors

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Revealed in Latest Leak

Wednesday July 16, 2025 6:50 am PDT by
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. MacRumors concept In a report for Macworld today, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The report includes ...
Apple Hornsby

Apple Store Near Sydney Permanently Closing Later This Year

Monday July 14, 2025 6:14 pm PDT by
Apple today said its store at the Westfield Hornsby shopping mall, in Hornsby, Australia, will be permanently closing in October. Apple Hornsby In a statement shared with Australian tech news website EFTM (via Reddit), Apple said that it has decided not to renew its lease at Westfield Hornsby. Apple said all affected retail employees will be given the opportunity to work at Apple's nearby...

Top Rated Comments

kinless Avatar
9 months ago
"Conviction" is the same as "Courage", just corporate BS to justify their short-sighted actions. I'm in the market for a new ride in the next 6-12 months, and it sure as hell ain't going to be GM.
Score: 78 Votes (Like | Disagree)
joshseibert Avatar
9 months ago
Good luck with that decision.

Also what a terrible name — Ultifi. Also also that interior is a mess.
Score: 62 Votes (Like | Disagree)
centauratlas Avatar
9 months ago
It is just insanity not to support both. Yes, GM wants to control everything but people have all their information in their phones and not integrating the two won’t end well.

Who wants to have a subscription for maps when they are free and current with Apple Maps and Google maps?
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
itsthenewdc Avatar
9 months ago
He's so oblivious to most consumers wanting the vehicle to adapt to the user's ecosystem (phone, computers, watch, etc.) rather than a consumer adapting to a car ecosystem that exists nowhere else and with no apps.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wizec Avatar
9 months ago
It’s simple for me. No Carplay, no sale. I’ve bought 4 new GMs in the last 8yr. No more unless they reverse course.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cocky jeremy Avatar
9 months ago
They'll come crawling back.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)