Apple Wanted CarPlay to Become an Operating System, Android Should Look Over Its Shoulder

Without a vehicle, Apple's automotive expansion revolves around CarPlay and Apple Maps. And thanks to a new report, we now know how Apple wanted to transform CarPlay to fuel its automotive strategy.

The demise of Project Titan doesn't mean Apple abandons the car world. The company only surrenders from a hardware perspective, giving up on plans to build the vehicle that offered first-hand access to its software and services. Now that the Apple Car is no more, Apple must find a way to bring its software and services to other vehicles, mainly by partnering with other carmakers.

Aston Martin and Porsche have already confirmed they will adopt the new-generation CarPlay later this year, with Apple expecting other big names to follow in their footsteps in the coming years.

However, Apple's strategy made slow progress (ironically, just like Project Titan), so the company internally considered several changes to its software strategy, including what has been described as a potential transformation of CarPlay into a full operating system.

You're not wrong if you believe you've heard this somewhere else. Google has already done the same thing with Android Automotive, an evolved version of Android Auto that runs at the vehicle level. Unlike Android Auto, which requires a mobile device to power the experience, Android Automotive is pre-installed from the factory and is responsible for the infotainment capabilities behind the wheel.

Thanks to deeper integration into the vehicle, Android Automotive can provide more advanced features, including voice commands to control the air conditioning system. Google Maps can monitor the battery level and offer charging stop suggestions when the range drops below a certain threshold.

Apple wanted CarPlay to adopt the same strategy, but the company reportedly hit another roadblock. Turning CarPlay into an operating system would have required Apple-designed chips, which would have turned it into a costly platform. Apple would have had no option but to charge carmakers, and considering CarPlay is available free of charge, the company worried that the adoption in the long term would suffer.

Apple liked the idea of upgrading CarPlay into an operating system, mainly because it would have also benefited from the deeper vehicle integration. Like Android Automotive, CarPlay would have accessed more data, giving Apple full control of the infotainment experience.

Apple eventually abandoned the idea and decided to keep CarPlay 2.0 (the version launching this year) an iPhone-powered experience. The new system will still require dedicated hardware, so it won't run in vehicles where the existing CarPlay version is already available.

However, it doesn't mean Android Automotive has won the battle.

Apple decided to stick with an approach that customers are already familiar with, so connecting an iPhone to the vehicle to run CarPlay won't be a major shortcoming.

Furthermore, Apple won't lose the integration with the vehicle, as it's working directly with carmakers adopting CarPlay 2.0 specifically to get the new system ready for their cars. Like Android Automotive, CarPlay 2.0 will allow carmakers to retain their brand identity with a unique look and feel of the experience. Apple is involved directly in this customized experience, and the strategy is considered one of the reasons the adoption of the new-generation CarPlay improves slowly.

Turning CarPlay into an operating system would have allowed Apple to ship updates outside iOS. The current CarPlay version gets refinements as part of iOS updates released for iPhones.

Apple's biggest challenge is to pave the way for mass CarPlay 2.0 adoption. The company announced the new-generation CarPlay in 2022, promising to release the first vehicle announcements by the end of 2023. Porsche and Aston Martin confirmed the adoption of CarPlay 2.0 in the last days of the year, but the revolution Apple teased is far from kicking off.

CarPlay 2.0 will use all screens on the dashboard, including the instrument cluster, and offer a more consistent experience for someone committed to the Apple ecosystem. It'll include widgets and other familiar iPhone features, likely making the transition from mobile devices to the head unit more straightforward.

Google is improving Android Auto in the same direction. Android Auto is getting options to allow the home screen wallpaper and the stock icons to migrate to Android Auto, offering more consistency between the infotainment screen and the mobile device. However, Apple believes the upgraded experience powered by CarPlay 2.0 will win users, eventually giving carmakers no option but to adopt the system.

Apple's data shows that nearly 80% of new-car buyers in the United States consider CarPlay a must-have feature of a vehicle. Apple said customers are ready to abandon purchasing a new vehicle without CarPlay, so the company hopes that buyers will eventually become the ones to dictate the new trend and support the mass adoption of the new-generation version.