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| March 10, 2025 | General Motors is not bringing Apple CarPlay back to its electric vehicles, despite a fresh wave of rumors. The confusion began after GM unveiled a redesigned software interface for gasoline-powered Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups — models that have always offered CarPlay. The update changes how CarPlay and Android Auto look in those trucks, but it does nothing for GM's EV lineup, which remains tied to Google's built-in platform. The company's 2023 decision to cut smartphone projection from its electric models is still in force.
GM's latest infotainment refresh targets the upcoming Silverado and Sierra pickups with combustion engines. Chief among the changes is a cleaner visual presentation for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on the center display, along with a redesigned look for native menus and vehicle functions. For anyone who has driven a modern GM truck, none of that is especially radical — gas-powered trucks have included CarPlay and Android Auto for years.
The announcement turned into a story only because a few news outlets described the refresh as a "reversal" or a "concession" to customers. That interpretation was inaccurate. GM never removed smartphone projection from its internal-combustion trucks and SUVs. The new design is exactly what it looks like: a styling update for software that was already there.
No one at GM said anything about electric vehicles. No executive walked back the policy that has kept CarPlay off EVs since the automaker's EV push began. The rumor mill did the rest.
The actual policy dates to 2023, when GM confirmed that its next generation of electric vehicles would rely exclusively on Google-built software. Every current GM EV now fits into that pattern, including:
None of these vehicles supports Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, whether connected through a cable or wirelessly. Instead, they run on Android Automotive with Google built-in: native Google Maps, Google's Gemini assistant, an app store through Google Play, and direct over-the-air updates that bypass the phone entirely.
For GM, that is by design, and it is deliberate across every EV brand the company owns.
The practical result is a strange divide within one dealership. A customer can buy a gas-powered Silverado tomorrow and enjoy full CarPlay integration on the way home. An Equinox EV buyer, parked in the same lot, gets a Google-branded dashboard with no way to mirror an iPhone's home screen.
GM executives have been open about the reasoning. CEO Mary Barra has argued that controlling the software stack allows a tighter connection between the vehicle, the cloud, and future services. That control also opens a direct revenue path: GM has publicly projected subscription revenue of $20–25 billion per year by the end of the decade, and every screen that belongs to the company instead of a phone is a potential storefront.
From that perspective, CarPlay is not a feature GM lost in EVs. It is the trade-off GM chose to make — willingly.
GM is not the only automaker to think this way, but its approach is increasingly unusual. Tesla has never supported CarPlay, and a few other EV startups have taken the same road. Most mainstream automakers, however, continue to offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in their electric models. Ford's Mustang Mach-E, the Toyota bZ4X, BMW's EV lineup, and the Hyundai Ioniq family all keep phone projection as a standard feature.
The Ram episode offers a contrasting example. When the redesigned 2025 Ram 1500 launched with a giant Google-powered display, CarPlay was missing at first. The backlash from owners and dealer staff was loud — and Stellantis eventually confirmed CarPlay would be added to the truck. It showed that consumer pressure can force a change of course.
GM has faced similar pressure, and has chosen to hold its line.
Meanwhile, Apple is pushing deeper into the car. Its next-generation CarPlay, now appearing in select vehicles from Porsche and Aston Martin, goes far beyond phone mirroring: it spans instrument clusters, climate controls, and core vehicle functions. GM's EVs will not get that experience anytime soon, which leaves the brand outside the next wave of Apple's automotive integration.
Part of the confusion around GM's decision comes from the difference between two similarly named technologies.
Android Automotive is an operating system that runs natively on the vehicle's hardware. GM's EVs use it, with Google's apps layered on top as Google built-in. The phone is not required; the car has its own apps, its own assistant, and its own connectivity.
Android Auto and Apple CarPlay work differently. They are projection systems that essentially let the phone drive the display. Everything familiar on your phone — apps, messages, navigation shortcuts — appears on the dashboard screen.
Gas-powered GM trucks get the projection version. Electric GM vehicles get the native operating system. They are different products with different philosophies, and GM is being careful to keep them separate.
For shoppers, the distinction matters on the test drive. Industry surveys have consistently ranked Apple CarPlay and Android Auto among the most-wanted features in a new vehicle. Many buyers treat them as must-haves, and the absence of smartphone projection has become a common objection on GM dealer lots.
GM's own EV software has earned respectable reviews, but that does not always offset the loss for customers who have built their digital life around an iPhone or a particular Android app setup. The company is betting that integrated Google services become comfortable enough that most owners stop reaching for their favorite phone interface.
Any real change in GM's policy would show up in clear signals: a statement from company leadership, CarPlay listed as an option in a future EV, or a shift in the automaker's official communications. None of that has happened. The truck interface announcement was not one of those signals — despite what some headlines suggested.
If anything, GM has confirmed it can still build a modern, phone-friendly infotainment experience for the models where it wants one. That makes the EV decision look more intentional, not less.
For now, the answer remains the same: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are alive and well in GM's gasoline trucks. In the company's electric vehicles, the smartphone projection era is over.
