I love CarPlay. I remember the days of connecting my iPhone to my car through a Bluetooth adapter or the car's built-in Bluetooth and then buying my Subaru Crosstrek with CarPlay built in. It was like giving someone a cold glass of water in...well, you probably get the reference. If not, look up the quote from Steve Jobs about iTunes coming to Windows.
I'm definitely not the only one who loves CarPlay. Survey after survey comes out showing that people prefer CarPlay to the built-in infotainment system in cars so much that they wouldn't even consider buying a new car that didn't have support for the feature.
Now, a new survey from JD Power continues to prove that point. Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, said in a statement “Automakers keep pouring additional features into their vehicle infotainment systems, but it appears to be creating needless complexity. Owners struggle to perform simple audio-related tasks, so it begs the question whether automakers are actually in tune with the desires and needs of their customers.”
Here comes CarPlay to the rescue
When the firm questioned consumers about what they loved and hated about their cars, the infotainment system became a clear area of dissatisfaction with drivers. The survey found that "Despite satisfaction improving 5 points this year to 823, infotainment remains one of the lowest-scoring categories industry-wide."
The only thing that seems to make people happier about the screen in their car is - you guessed it - CarPlay. The report found that "While satisfaction with in-vehicle infotainment systems averages 805, it is higher among owners who use Android Auto (832) or Apple CarPlay (840). This shows that customers prefer to have the simplistic usability of their phone extended into their vehicle more so than what manufacturers are providing."
These results aren't surprising, and Apple knows it. The company continues to push its next-generation CarPlay that takes over more aspects of the vehicle, something that it showed off at WWDC back in June. The first vehicles with next-generation CarPlay are expected to roll off the production line as soon as late this year, so we'll see if Apple can continue to take over the car — even if the Apple Car is dead.
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