Severing Connections: Implications of GM’s Decision to Embrace a Built-in, Native Operating System -- Forrester Reports

• In a surprising development General Motors (GM) has announced that it will be eliminating Android Auto and CarPlay from its upcoming electric vehicles (EVs) from mid-year 2024.

• In its stead, GM envisions a built-in, native OS - which has garnered significant criticism from consumers.

• To offset some of the inevitable pushback, the US automaker has added that Android Auto and CarPlay will continue to be available in its ICE models and will only be phased out of its EV line up.

General Motors (GM) has announced that it will be eliminating Android Auto and CarPlay from its upcoming electric vehicles (EVs) from mid-year 2024. In its stead, GM envisions a built-in, native OS. Needless to say, this development has invited significant criticism from consumers.

GM has declared that it has always viewed Android Auto and CarPlay as a temporary step in the long-term move towards a more seamlessly integrated native OS. To offset some of the inevitable pushback, the US automaker has added that Android Auto and CarPlay will continue to be available in its ICE models and will only be phased out of its EV line up.

At first glance, the decision appears surprising since GM’s customers have long been accustomed to integrating their smartphone device with the car’s infotainment system: CarPlay in the case of iPhone and Android Automotive in the case of Android phones. In both cases, this has enabled safer, smarter, hands-off, eyes-off use of smartphone features and functions. Using voice commands or touch controls, drivers have been able to make calls, listen to music or navigate – all while driving.

According to analysts at Forrester, GM is confident that its built-in OS will support a more convenient in-vehicle infotainment experience. Unlike Android Auto and CarPlay, the OS is embedded into the vehicle, obviating the need to connect/plug in the occupant’s device. A native OS also offers specific information— battery parameters or the location of nearby charging stations, for instance—for EVs.

There are apprehensions that customers will no longer have the flexibility to choose from various data plans offered by smartphone companies. Instead, they will be a captive target for the automaker who could potentially charge inflated rates for data usage with little option for the customer but to subscribe to such plans. Needless to add, such data subscription represents a lucrative revenue stream for the automaker. Detractors also point out that beyond developing the OS, GM also has to assume the responsibility of providing regular software updates including, most critically, those related to security.

This development also needs to be viewed not solely as an act of eliminating Apple/Google from the screen mirroring business or value chain, but from the larger perspective of Google widening its reach because of Google Automotive Services (GAS). GAS arms OEMs with all that they need within the infotainment/cockpit controller which was previously restricted to the customer’s phone.

There are two reasons why GM wants to do this:

1) Integration and cost efficiency: Since all future GM vehicles will run on Google using GAS, they no longer need to offer additional hardware to project the phone on their infotainment device. GAS replicates this for GM. This helps them reduce costs, albeit a fraction of a few dollars per vehicle. However, considering the millions of vehicles that are sold with phone projection capability, the cost savings add up quite nicely to the tune of a few million dollars.

2) Push for more connected services features and eliminating the need for a data plan on the phone completely: Navigation will be pushed as a service in GM vehicles, thereby spurring more connected vehicle features. However, there are some valid doubts about how many customers will be willing to purchase this at a hefty price tag of US$ 599. This is a double-edged sword for them and might backfire. Consumers would expect navigation to be part of the infotainment device and charging them to use navigation and subscribe to a data package is where the issue will lie. Taking the data plan out of the consumer’s mobile is going to be a difficult task for GM. At the same time, consumers do not want to pay up subscription charges for redundant features such as Google Maps on their phone vs Google Maps on their infotainment using GM’s subscription plan.

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