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Comment by gowings97 | Hacker News Reader

Infotainment has been commoditized by way of Android Automotive and Carplay.

The perception that there is a subscription revenue opportunity for intotainment is misguided - the TAM is insignificant, and the net loss of prospective Customers that refuse to buy a vehicle without Android Auto or or Carplay far outweighs any potential subscription revenue.

This will go over about as well as Cadillac Cue did from 2013-2017.

Source - I work in the automotive industry, live in the Detroit suburbs, and live and breathe this stuff every day.

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Yup. All buyers who care about having a good infotainment setup will avoid GM, leaving them with only buyers that don't care about it as much. Are these the buyers they think will then pony up $30 a month for their store-brand version?

OnStar is dead, guys. It's not coming back. Don't destroy your actual business (cars) by trying to cosplay as a "tech company SaaS vertical"

I wouldn't go so far as to say that lack of Carplay would be a complete deal-breaker for me but it would sure be a huge entry in the "cons" column.

It wouldn’t be a dealbreaker for me if I was buying a low cost used car, although at this point it has been around for long enough that even the beater Camry rental I’m driving right now has it.

But if I’m paying big bucks for a new car I can’t imagine not having CarPlay. Ironically it’s the expensive “high-tech” brands like Tesla and Rivian that don’t support it.

My Tesla driving friend let his Tesla subscription lapse over a card failure last week, and the infotainment system, that has Spotify -- with an account he pays for -- no longer functions.

But like, if he paired his bluetooth, he'd get Spotify playback capability, he'd just have to use his voice to explore Spotify music.

Meanwhile, me in my 2004; with an aftermarket radio - with wireless tethering to my phone OR a google Fi sim, can do Carplay OR independently run maps and spotify -- for $0 extra a month.

You can still do wifi tethering and then the build in service will work.

According to the email I got from Tesla about an upcoming end of free Premium Connectivity, Music Streaming still works when tethered to a smartphone.

The main drawback of letting the subscription lapse is loss of live traffic data on the map. The other lost feature is satellite view maps. Everything else works when tethered via wifi.

Having used proprietary infotainment systems in the past and currently using carplay, for me it would 100% be a complete deal-breaker. (Unless of course I'm buying a car that predates the technology)

I'm choosing cars that predate the technology based on availability of aftermarket CarPlay module.

Yup, this reads like they decided to "buy a guy to build GMplay" rather than just use CarPlay. unlikely to go well.

They have this misguided perception that EVs require some deep level integration via some customized build of AAOS, that can't already be solved by individual apps on a smartphone.

Namely - customizing charging times at home for off-peak rates / usage, identifying chargers on a specific route or daily commute, pre-warming or pre-cooling a car (which can be done already today because all these vehicles have LTE or 5G modems already), saving profiles that save mechanical preferences / functions like mirror / seat settings.

People want buttons and knobs to control mechanical functions like HVAC, mirrors, and seats. People don't see the value associated with the premium price of having an driver to passenger end to end full screen display, such as what was first implemented on the Mercedes EQS and is now being implemented on the (Chinese made) 2024 Lincoln Nautilus.

a fully integrated OS is a better experience, if done right. unfortunately, the trend here is towards monetization (enshittification?) of everything in the UX: monthly data plan, onstar, required GM login for any smart features to work, mandatory mobile app installation.

I downsized vehicles from a new one with Carplay to one with no touch screen and once your hands+fingers learn locations of buttons it is blissful to drive.

I can adjust nearly anything without taking my eyes off the road. I miss Carplay for the maps functionality but a properly placed phone holder can accomplish the same. I don't need 14" display of maps and entertainment options.

I would also suggest that EV's that require a large screen to explain charging options, rates, usages, etc. are doing it wrong. If the EV and its charging systems (internal and external) are that complex to monitor and manage then you have larger problems about UX.

It has the feel of the recorded music industry when Napster was in full swing.

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