GM kills the only solution from Apple Carplay and Android Android for EV for bikes

A Michigan dealer sold a carplay and Android automatic mirror system, until GM intervenes

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Remember the good old days when radio head units were a unique business, and dealers or suppliers on the secondary market could quickly and easily improve your car stereo with a screwdriver and a little elbow fat? The gradual replacement of single and double-din head units for proprietary provisions, screens and software has been announced as progress. But when car manufacturers decide that they no longer want to include functionality, it leaves the owners frustrated without option.

This is what happened when General Motors decided to drop Apple Carplay and Android Auto for its Ultium EV platform. Naturally, customers were a little upset, but a dealer came to the rescue, offering to install a spare solution that allows a screen mirror.

Read: why the pattern of GM software thinks that Ultifs can beat Apple Carplay

But now GM has arrested it, according to The reader. The dealer says GM asked them to stop offering the kit. In addition, the kit manufacturer pulled the product from its website, saying that it was no longer viable to continue selling it.

Mirror dreams

In 2023, General Motors made the controversial decision to delete Android Auto and Apple Carplay support from its new generation electric vehicles. Instead, he would offer his own compatible software solution for smartphone: Ultified.

At the time, GM defended this decision, saying that it helped the company offer “more integrated experience more integrated than you can create with the vehicle” by building a system from zero. The future of autonomy, as well as other features such as the preconditioning of batteries, were all listed as reasons why GM technology was the way to follow.

As is often the case, the secondary market has come to the rescue when the automotive and white media services (WAMS) developed a kit which allowed an integration in OEM of the two most popular screen applications.

The only problem was that the Wam Kit was not something that an amateur or an occasional user could install. Instead, it required a specialized touch. Only one dealer, Lafontaine Chevrolet in Plymouth, Michigan, was used to offer professional installation.

The block without surprise

As you can easily guess, GM was not very satisfied with the situation. The company has launched an investigation into the kit, and a company spokesperson said: “The spare services that introduce unrelated features, carefully tested and approved by GM can cause involuntary problems for customers. These problems may affect critical security characteristics and can also cancel parts of the vehicle warranty. ”

All this looks like a specialized kit which, at best, modified and, at worst, has fully bypassed the software owner of GM. And with the amount of data that cars can collect today, there is also a question mark on the protection of its personal information after the installation of a third party device. As we have pointed out on several occasions, however, it is also a big problem for the car manufacturers themselves and how they use the data from the owners, so it’s a bit the kettle calling the black pot.

Are we at the mercy of car manufacturers?

With the WAMS system offered only by a concessionaire and the complexity of the kit preventing DIY installers, we can assume that with the only closed distribution channel, WAMS could not see a future in the product.

However, this is another brutal reminder that, as cars become more in charge of technology, we are increasingly at the request of manufacturers who can decide to end the support of the main arguments at any time. Not to mention putting features already installed behind a paid wall despite the equipment already there. Of course, they could call them subscriptions, but milking their customers Try to take advantage of a software update by any other name always smells of fish.