GM Resumes CarPlay for Pickup Trucks
General Motors has launched a new generation of in-car systems in the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, reintroducing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto into the main screen, alongside fuel levels, tire pressure, Super Cruise, and towing information in a split-screen format. Software head Michael Wahlstrom stated that customers want the simplicity of their mobile phone operations while having access to vehicle functions, with the interface integrated in collaboration with Apple and Google.
This marks a reversal from the direction taken since 2023, when the company initially removed mobile projection from Ultium electric vehicles in favor of promoting an in-car Google system; in 2025, Mary Barra mentioned that after the new central computing platform launches in 2028, gasoline vehicles would also gradually phase out mobile projection. Surveys indicate that about 79% of new car buyers only consider vehicles equipped with CarPlay, a feature available in approximately 98% of new cars on the market; among truck users, 55% of CarPlay users view its absence as a dealbreaker, with about 42% of GM owners expressing similar sentiments. Dealers have warned that customers may go to competing showrooms, and the aftermarket has even developed kits to restore projection functionality.
The new interface does not hand over the entire screen to mobile devices. Projection occupies a large card, while towing, vehicle status, and maps remain visible alongside, and the bottom climate control bar does not disappear. The high-contrast screen, Super Cruise 3D traffic visualization, hitch camera, and towing light checks are all integrated. This system is designed to be extendable to electric, gasoline, and diesel vehicles, but the company has no further updates on whether projection will be restored for electric vehicles; a spokesperson emphasized that pickups are the best-selling model, and gasoline pickups will retain projection, now with deeper integration.
Who is buying and who is selling: buyers are placing orders for pickups with familiar mobile interfaces, while sellers are offering automakers' self-built app stores and subscription access. The event is driven by demand data, with funds flowing back into the highest transaction volume of gasoline pickups through software closed-loop narratives. Beneficiaries include Apple, Google, and dealers needing to deliver vehicles, while those under pressure are the in-car teams wanting to keep navigation and media within their own systems to charge service fees. The electric vehicle line remains tied to Google's built-in system, indicating that the closed-loop experiment has not been concluded with this pickup reversal.
Public materials confirm the split-screen plans for the two 2027 pickups but do not provide a timeline for restoring functionality across the entire electric vehicle lineup.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
GM's removal of CarPlay aimed to transform the cabin from a mobile peripheral into a proprietary operating system: data, navigation subscriptions, advertising space, and voice assistants are kept within the vehicle. The focus on electric vehicles first was due to the new architecture being easier to modify and having fewer users. This resulted in a clash with the pickup truck's core market—America's best-selling vehicle is not a laboratory model but a work vehicle that needs towing and a familiar interface.
The capital path has shifted from "in-car systems as platforms" back to "transactions preceding platforms." Self-developed interfaces, Google integration, and Super Cruise visualization remain, but projection is allowed to occupy a permanent card, acknowledging that the application distribution rights cannot be reclaimed for now. The aftermarket kits have already sent price signals: missing features will be compensated by third parties, albeit with a poorer experience and more complicated responsibilities. Collaborating with Apple and Google on split-screen functionality shifts the conflict from a toggle to layout.
Competitors like Volkswagen and Renault have also attempted to weaken projection, while Tesla has never adopted CarPlay, using its own screens to lock users into its ecosystem. GM lacks Tesla's application density but has learned to lock the door first. The industry phase has shifted from "independent automaker operating systems" to "coexisting with mobile devices on high-volume models." If the 2028 central computing platform still plans to eliminate projection, it must first prove that its own applications can replace maps and podcasts; the pickup reversal indicates that evidence is still insufficient.
Structural judgment indicates a transfer of pricing power. The mechanism is that the pricing power of cabin software does not lie with who writes the code, but with who controls the first habits of buyers after they open the car door. Mobile systems possess contact lists, podcast memories, and navigation, while automakers hold towing capacities and driving assistance. Split-screen functionality represents a temporary ceasefire: automakers retain instrument clusters and subscription access, while mobile devices maintain content access. The first to achieve a similar ceasefire on electric vehicles can frame the strategic contraction of 2023 as user research rather than a lost order.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
The first habit is in the mobile phone; the in-car system can only split the screen.
The best-selling model determines how tightly software can lock users in.
Subscription access cannot compete with dealbreakers.