Porsche's Decision to Fully Embrace CarPlay Sets It Apart from GM and Competitors

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【Summary】Porsche is embracing CarPlay, unlike GM, and is expanding its focus on the platform. The My Porsche app for CarPlay now includes climate controls and other in-car features. Porsche believes that CarPlay offers a familiar user interface and experience, aligning with the iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices that customers already use. The company wants to provide a seamless experience for users both inside and outside the car.

FutureCar Staff Oct 04, 2023 11:17 PM PT

Porsche's Decision to Fully Embrace CarPlay Sets It Apart from GM and Competitors

Porsche is taking a different approach than GM, Tesla, and Rivian when it comes to CarPlay. While those companies are abandoning CarPlay in their EVs, Porsche is expanding its focus on CarPlay. In a recent interview with ArsTechnica, Cyril Dorsaz, Porsche Digital's principal product manager, explained why the company believes CarPlay is the future.

Dorsaz discussed the motivation behind integrating climate controls, lighting, and more into the CarPlay experience. The company learned through customer research that customers were not happy with having to switch back and forth between different controls in the car. The goal is to provide a feature-rich and user-friendly experience for drivers.

Even during the development process of the new My Porsche app, the company made conscious decisions about the font to use. They opted for the San Francisco font to maintain consistency with other apps in the ecosystem. The aim is to create a familiar user interface and experience for customers who are already familiar with Apple products.

However, the My Porsche app for CarPlay is currently only supported on the 2024 Porsche Cayenne. There is no decision yet on whether older models will receive support. Additionally, Android Auto users may not have a similar experience due to the lack of an equivalent automaker toolkit and lower incidence of Android use among Porsche customers.

Porsche's approach to CarPlay is in contrast to GM, Tesla, and Rivian, who are prioritizing complete control over the in-car experience. Many iPhone users have expressed their dissatisfaction with GM's decision in particular. It remains to be seen whether GM will reconsider its decision. Ford has also voiced support for CarPlay in light of GM's choice.

While Porsche is committed to CarPlay, Apple's next-generation CarPlay platform is still awaited. Apple announced the platform at WWDC 2022 and stated that the first cars with the new CarPlay will be announced by the end of this year. Time is running out for the release of the next-gen CarPlay.