Used to be you’d buy a car, get in, and drive. Controls were easy to understand and use. Your salesperson would deliver the car to you and show you how to unlock the doors, work the radio, and go over a few buttons and switches. You were out the door in under 30 minutes.
Today, vehicle delivery could take up to two hours to show you how everything works, and you’ll probably forget half of it after you drive away from the dealership.
The good news is, as vehicles become more autonomous, you’ll get some of that time back because you won’t need to know how it all works; you’ll be giving voice commands, or just wirelessly connecting your phone to do it all, which is better since you’re already familiar with how your phone operates. Systems like Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ have permeated your dashboard in a good way by using your phone’s apps for everything from music to navigation.
But Apple and Google want more.
Apple is working on a user interface overlay program that takes over the car’s display, including rearview camera, the instrument cluster, and more. Google wants to do the same, and General Motors already has adopted Google built-in and infotainment systems.
Of course, automakers must allow them to do this, so you’ll see Apple and Google cozying up to them to make it happen. But manufacturers must choose one or the other. Both cannot co-exist.
Since GM is already going with Google, if you own an iPhone, you may be out of luck. Ford and Lincoln are using both right now, but in the future will be forced to choose due to system complexity.
All this means that you will be caught in the crossfire. Your next vehicle choice may be determined by your phone’s operating system.
A lot of this technology was going into a car produced by Apple, but it cancelled the project and will focus on interior integration. Time will tell if this is all a good idea… or not.
