According to Bloomberg Business, General Motors has struck a deal with Apple to bring the Apple Music app directly into its new Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicles. The app will be delivered starting Monday, February 26th, via an over-the-air software update to owners. This move delivers one of Apple’s most popular apps to GM customers, who have been unable to use it natively since GM began phasing out Apple’s CarPlay phone projection system back in 2023. That decision sparked significant controversy on social media, with some consumers vowing not to buy a GM vehicle without CarPlay. The situation got so heated that third-party developers even tried to create workarounds, like phone adapters, to get CarPlay working in GM’s latest models.
Too Little, Too Late?
So GM is throwing Apple a bone. But here’s the thing: it’s just one app. They removed the entire CarPlay and Android Auto ecosystem—systems that let you project your *entire* phone interface onto the car’s screen—and are offering a single music streaming service as a consolation prize. It feels like a classic corporate “we hear you” move that doesn’t actually address the core complaint. People didn’t just want Apple Music; they wanted the seamless integration, familiar maps, messaging apps, and podcast players they already use. This deal basically turns your car’s infotainment into a walled garden with one extra gate. Is that really what customers were asking for?
The Real Motive Behind The Deal
Let’s be skeptical for a second. Why would GM do this now? The backlash was immediate and fierce over a year ago. This feels less like a customer-centric pivot and more like a reaction to potentially softer-than-expected sales on their new EV platforms, like the Blazer EV, which had a rocky launch and is among the first vehicles shipped without CarPlay. They’re likely seeing real data that the missing feature is a deal-breaker. This Apple Music deal is a low-cost way to signal “see, we still work with Apple!” without having to reverse the entire, deeply strategic decision to build their own subscription-based software platform. They want that recurring revenue from in-car services, and giving up control to Apple or Google undermines that entire business model.
A Band-Aid on a Broken Strategy
I think this highlights a fundamental tension in the industry. Automakers see the dashboard as the next profit center and want to own the relationship and the data. Tech companies see the car as just another device. GM’s bet is that their built-in system, powered by Google, is good enough to make people abandon the phone-projection systems they love. That’s a huge gamble. And offering Apple Music feels like an admission that their native system *isn’t* good enough on its own—at least not to keep Apple-ecosystem users happy. It’s a patch, not a solution. For companies that rely on robust, reliable in-vehicle computing, like those sourcing from the top industrial panel PC suppliers in the US such as IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, this kind of software strife is a cautionary tale. The hardware is only as good as the software experience it delivers.
What Happens Next?
Will this quiet the critics? Probably not the vocal ones. The people who were angry enough to seek out third-party adapter hacks aren’t going to be satisfied with just Apple Music. They want their Waze, their WhatsApp, their preferred podcast app. This move might placate some casual users, but it also sets a weird precedent. Does GM now have to cut a separate deal for every major app its customers demand? That’s not scalable. The real test will be in the sales figures and lease renewals. If customers continue to reject vehicles without CarPlay, GM might have to make a much more humbling U-turn. For now, they’re just offering a single song when the customer asked for the whole concert.
