Americans have a strong affection for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
These systems effortlessly transform any car’s dashboard into a familiar interface. Your go-to Spotify playlists are readily available, Google Maps guides you home, and the car’s display mirrors your smartphone’s screen.
The popularity of these features is undeniable, to the point where they are considered essential. A survey conducted by AutoPacific in July revealed that over 60% of prospective car buyers would not consider purchasing a new vehicle without Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
Currently, this preference is understandable. However, the appeal is beginning to show some fractures, primarily because these systems are essentially surface-level interfaces that overlay the car’s existing technology.
In response, General Motors, the largest automaker in the United States, has decided against continuing to feature Apple and Google interfaces in its upcoming vehicles.
Instead, GM is introducing a new lineup of electric vehicles, utilizing its proprietary software. This move shifts away from Silicon Valley’s influence, relying instead on technology developed by their own engineers in Detroit.
To see how that gamble plays out, I spent a week in two GM vehicles that fully embrace the post-CarPlay future: the Chevy Silverado EV Trail Boss and the Cadillac Vistiq.
As with most press loans, the batteries were topped off, and an E-ZPass was already stuck to the windshield during our trip in New York City.
We tested the top-trim Silverado EV – the 2026 Trail Boss
Cadillac’s Vistiq is the company’s smaller three-row SUV
Our verdict, however, isn’t sponsored.
On paper, ditching Apple CarPlay sounded like heresy. In practice, we can see how it might actually work — but only if automakers resist the urge to nickel-and-dime drivers with subscription fees.
2026 Chevy Silverado EV Trail Boss
This year, the Trail Boss sits at the top of the Silverado EV lineup.
Where last year’s top RST trim leaned sporty, the Trail Boss goes the other direction — squarely into the dirt.
To increase its off-road prowess, it rides two inches higher for rock-scraping clearance, wears chunkier tires designed to claw through loose terrain, and carries a price tag to match the ambition. Our tester rang in at $91,845.
Is this the truck that finally converts EV skeptics — the folks who grumble about near-six-figure prices, battery weight, and whether electric trucks belong anywhere near a trailhead? Probably not.
But the tech case is more nuanced than you might expect.
Nearly every reflexive move you’d make with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto — skipping tracks, scrubbing through a podcast, jumping straight to navigation — is accounted for here.
The Silverado is a massive, expensive EV truck. It probably isn’t enough to convince EV skeptics – but the tech inside is a great roadmap for the automaker’s future plans
GM’s tech is easy to read and very intuitive. Within two days, we were fully adjusted to their toggles
The Silverado’s massive 17.7-inch center display easily integrates all of the car’s safety guidance
After a day or two, muscle memory kicks in, and the absence of CarPlay fades into the background. GM’s placement of each important phone function is intuitively placed at the bottom of the 17.7-inch display.
Where GM’s system actually pulls ahead is in vehicle-aware features that CarPlay fundamentally can’t offer.
We mapped the route to a trailhead 180 miles away. The navigation system knew we were starting with 390 miles of range, factored in the terrain and temperature, and automatically suggested a charging stop on our return trip.
Even the voice assistant understands truck-specific commands: ‘Set max charge to 80 percent’ or ‘Show me charging stations with pull-through spots’ work without fumbling through menus.
These aren’t revolutionary features, but they do require the infotainment system and the vehicle computer to actually communicate — something phone mirroring was never designed to do.
2026 Cadillac Vistiq
Cadillac is busy reinventing itself as a serious luxury EV brand — and, quietly, doing a very good job of it.
Detroit’s poshest automaker lost its footing in the late 2010s, churning out a lineup of vague, forgettable vehicles that couldn’t hang with Lexus, BMW, or Mercedes.
But its new wave of electric models — the Lyriq, Escalade IQ, Celestiq, Optiq, and now the Vistiq — finally feels like a deeply thoughtful plan.
Join the debate
How would losing Apple CarPlay change your driving experience — for better or worse?
We were pleased with the Vistiq’s eye-catching body curves
The three-row Vistiq is a well-laid out luxury SUV with tons of space in all three rows
Cadillac is also launching self-driving features, like GM’s SuperCruise for highways
The Vistiq uses augmented reality in its heads-up display – the projections get larger as the vehicle gets closer to the navigation’s guidance
Of that bunch, the three-row Vistiq is the most exquisite value.
Our $98,000 tester is striking from every angle, from its jewel-like front grille to the sharp, angular LED taillights. Inside, the luxury continues uninterrupted: supple leather seats, a sweeping curved digital display, and no cheap plastics in sight.
And just like the Silverado EV, the tech is seamlessly integrated.
Augmented-reality navigation projects bright blue directional markers onto the head-up display, making it nearly impossible to drift into the wrong lane at a complicated interchange.
Voice commands work, too.
A driver can ask the car to raise the temperature in the third row, turn up the volume in the second, or switch off the heated steering wheel — all without lifting a finger.
Once again, these are features Apple and Google can’t access.
On its own, the Vistiq is a beautifully crafted luxury SUV. Layer in GM’s latest software, and — against all expectations — this is a car that makes a credible case for life after CarPlay.
Mary Barra, GM’s CEO, has said the CarPlay-less system will soon roll out into all new cars, including gas vehicles
Verdict: We see the vision, and it could work…
GM’s gamble matters for anyone considering a future Chevy, GMC, or Cadillac — even if you’re not ready to go electric just yet.
When asked if GM shoppers should expect all future cars to come without CarPlay, CEO Mary Barra told The Verge’s Decoder podcast: ‘As we get to a major rollout, I think that’s the right expectation. Yes.’
That’s a dramatic break from the rest of the industry. Only a handful of automakers — most notably Tesla and Rivian — have fully walked away from Apple and Google’s phone mirroring.
We’ve tested Rivian’s system, too, and it works for the same reason that GM’s does: it talks to the car in ways Apple and Google simply can’t.
The automakers are flexing their driver-related knowledge superiority: Navigation knows your battery. Driver aids know where you’re headed. The overall product feels less like a phone app and more like a fully-integrated tech ecosystem.
There is, however, a sure way to make this entire strategy collapse.
If automakers start charging subscriptions just to unlock basic infotainment features, the goodwill evaporates instantly. Wrapping all of a driver’s tech into one seamless system only works if it feels like progress — not a paywall.
The same goes for Orwellian-esque data collection.
Without those mistakes, GM’s post-CarPlay future looks promising. Screw it up, and drivers will be begging for their iPhone-like screens back.
