Removing smartphone integration from its vehicles opens the door for GM to grow its in-vehicle subscription revenue. Yep π©
this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2025
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I'll happily celebrate whatever loss hits Google.
but this is so shitty I prefer Google
We need a Linux OS and DE for cars
i use carch btw
KDE Plasma Car: can use Customize Panel to move around physical parts of the car (HELP the steering wheel is inside the engine somehow HOWDOIFIXTHIS)
Help I used grub to switch engines but forgot to switch fuel type now it only boots into emergency mode
Money.
There I wrote the whole article in one word.
Could it be money?
It's money, isn't it?!
So, by utilizing built-in systems, the car manufacturers would indeed be able to collect more data about how you use the systems in place, while also possibly getting more money out of you through subscriptions.
It's not money. The executives of these companies revealed the reason they are doing this is because they believe they can provide a better end user experience. They wouldn't lie would they?
Nooooooo that's totally unlikely. It's probably just for our best!
They think they'll get more money, but they don't realize that people won't even consider their cars due to lack of integration. I recently bought a used car for my kid. One of the nicer ones I looked at didn't work with his phone, so we eliminated it from consideration.
Guess I can remove Chevy/GM from my future vehicle short list.
I can't wait to get a rental car that doesn't allow me to use my own maps.
You want the Rental+ package for an extra $39.99, which enables the car's built-in Garmin.
Rent seeking behavior. They want subscription revenue instead of wanting to deliver what consumers want.
For the most part, it's believed that carmakers are doing way with Android Auto support simply as a way to expand their control over user data. Because Android Auto utilizes your phone's connection, all of the data that runs through it goes straight to Android and the phone manufacturer. So, by utilizing built-in systems, the car manufacturers would indeed be able to collect more data about how you use the systems in place, while also possibly getting more money out of you through subscriptions.
You are unfortunately correct.
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How long until they start putting some kind of DRM in cars that prevents you from just installing an aftermarket android auto head unit?
They've been trying that for a while. They do it by routing critical cat functions through the radio that don't need to go through there.
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So manufacturers can bill you monthly for the same features...
The big question is why we started adding computer operating systems to our vehicles to begin with. But the answer is still the same as ClydapusGotwald states...money. I'm starting to think the answer to most of the worlds woes is...money. Maybe money has been the problem all of this time. Fuck money. We can utilize our resources and feed and house everyone without that shit but then there wouldn't be any space billionaires and we need them to save us all. /s
The big question is why we started adding computer operating systems to our vehicles to begin with.
Originally, automakers tried to shoehorn proprietary subscription services into their vehicles for GPS and roadside assistance and satellite radio. But the opt-in for these services was scant, because they were obnoxious to set up and overpriced relative to - say - a TomTom or a cell phone's core features. And you could get after-market integration added to your vehicle through its entertainment system, so why bother with the clunky manufacturer options.
CarPlay and AndroidAuto were concessions that automakers began to adopt because they sold more vehicles that way. Reversing this out will likely have the same effect it did the first time - by driving people to foreign car companies like Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Kia.
I already see Kia cars on the road fucking everywhere. And moves like this will only accelerate the trend, I'm sure.
why we started adding computer operating systems to our vehicles to begin with.
Because fuel injection operates better than even the most high tech carburetors across a wider range of environments. And if you have more sensors and active feedback you can better control everything from emissions to warm up time. Everything trickles down from racing / luxury vehicles. Once you have processors involved, might as well do fancy things with them inside the cabin too.
A lot of the dash / center console nonsense is consumer cost cutting, but frankly it should've been separate from the start. Any budget phone is a better GPS / media platform than a half-baked system by a vehicle manufacturer. At this point it should just be a USB-C or bluetooth connection so the device without the bargain basement processor can do the heavy lifting for a user interface.
At this point it should just be a USB-C or bluetooth connection so the device without the bargain basement processor can do the heavy lifting for a user interface.
But that's what car play and android auto are
No those are links between two separate systems. I just want to use my phone screen and the car's speakers / power.
Oh gotcha, a simple head unit
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Knobs are better
Back to the days of rip out the head unit and stick one in that does have the features you want?
I imagine theyβll try to make this increasingly difficult; maybe even impossible.
It already is for a lot of modern cars. Especially EVs. I imagine they are so tied into the functionality of the car that it makes the vehicle impossible to drive without the OEM headunit.
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I just had a little magnetic clip for my air vent where I could attach my phone and put up a map.
I'd sooner go back to doing that than use a "Gemini-based AI assistant" in my fucking car.
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I wish I could develop my own apps on my own car. I mean I own the car.. why can't I "sideload" my own created apps? Their apps are sht anyways.
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I am always surprised I don't hear more discussion about Automotive Grade Linux.
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2015 cars came with bluetooth support for hands free calling using your phone. This was great.
After that, it was replaced with carplay or android auto as the only means to get hands free calling. Stupid...stupid.
Plus, last 2 new cars i bought, i had to take the interior roof apart so i could access the built in cellular antennae wire and remove that spyware P.O.S. And by the way, car works fine without it.
They didn't really replace it though. Pretty much every modern car sold today has Bluetooth. You don't have to use android auto.
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Why I like Android Auto:
- I can plan my route on my phone at home and see the map on the big screen instead the little phone ui, or worse putting in the adress manually with the keyboard wheel in Korean instead of copy and pasting it from the Element chat
- I already have all my music on my phone, I don't want to copy and organize it again for hours in my car
- I already have integration with many apps on my phone, I don't want to set everything up again on the car, especially I can't copy and paste my long ass passwords from my KeePassXC into the car and need to painstakingly put in every password with their clunky keyboard, if they even have a keyboard.
I could go on forever. But as long as I can connect bluetooth and set up my phone somewhere so I can see the map while driving I'll be OK. The worst part, at work what I do is car infotainment system software, but it never has any of the features I would want from a car.
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Honestly, I think consumers allowing manufacturers to start integrating screens into cars was a mistake.
Knobs and dials are way easier to nevigate blind (whilst focusing on the road like we're meant to), and none of that stops you plugging in your own third party device for other features, or replacing the headboard yourself.
Giant tablets with complex menus are dangerous to drivers, and only serve to milk the consumer for things they already had access to in their car as standard not 10 years ago.
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