Ford says no to CarPlay Ultra.
Via the Decoder Podcast (article by MacRumors):
On the latest episode of The Verge's Decoder podcast, released today, Ford CEO Jim Farley told guest host Joanna Stern that the automaker does not entirely like Apple's current implementation of its CarPlay Ultra software system for vehicles.
"We don't like the execution in round one of Ultra, but we're very committed to Apple," said Farley. "I've talked to [Apple CEO] Tim [Cook] many times about this."
Farley implied that Ford is currently passing on CarPlay Ultra because it would result in Apple having "control of the entire experience inside a vehicle."
In addition, he said it is important that Ford's entertainment system of choice integrates with its Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
"We just believe ADAS integration with your entertainment system is so critical when you're flying down the highway with your eyes off the road, you know, in three or four years at 80 miles an hour on the I-5," he said.
When it announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra in May, Apple said the system can show information from a vehicle's advanced driver assistance systems, but it sounds like certain functions provided by Ford's systems would not be supported.
Here’s some more of the conversation between Jim Farley and Joanna Stern:
Jim: “We just believe ADAS integration with your entertainment system is so critical when you're flying down the highway with your eyes off the road, you know, in three or four years at 80 miles an hour on the I-5.
Jim: And, you know, you're watching a movie or whatever we're going to be all doing or having a Chad GPT moment or having a wearable on, you know, we just don't think that a system from tech company who's not integrated the car is going to save your life.
Joanna: But it sounds to me then that you're really forced with the reality that you've got to build your own.
Jim: Yes. Yes. But the good thing is now versus five years ago, or a couple years ago when you and I talked, Android Auto is really advancing nicely. And we've learned a lot about how to build the experience on that.
What Jim probably means is Android Automotive, which is completely different from Android Auto and what many car manufacturers use to build their own custom experiences:
Android Automotive is an operating system and platform running directly on the in-vehicle hardware. It is a full-stack, open source, highly customizable platform powering the infotainment experience. Android Automotive supports apps built for Android as well as those built for Android Auto.
CarPlay Ultra is still built on a tethered system to your phone, which just sounds archaic when compared to having a built-in system that just works every single time.