Automakers are in revolt over Apple CarPlay, and some, like Ford CEO Jim Farley, are questioning how much control the tech company should have over a car’s systems.
At the center of the conflict between Big Tech and Big Auto is CarPlay Ultra, the newest version of the popular CarPlay system that can mirror a user’s iPhone interface on a screen within a vehicle. Announced earlier this year, CarPlay Ultra is going a step further by displaying car functions like fuel level and speed. It also lets drivers control the air conditioning, radio, and driving modes, all from the same screen. Aston Martin is the only automaker that has fully integrated CarPlay Ultra into its vehicles.
While Ford is committed to Apple, CEO Farley said: “We don’t like the execution of Ultra in round one.
“I’ve talked to Tim [Cook] many times about this. Ford does not have the right, in our opinion, to disrupt someone’s digital life when they get in their car,” Farley told The Verge in an interview.
Farley later said Apple needs to make a decision on how much it wants to encroach into a vehicle’s systems. Giving an outside company power over a car’s mechanics could be a slippery slope, he added.
