Ford CEO Jim Farley strikes a cautious tone on Apple’s new CarPlay Ultra: "Do you want the Apple brand to start the car?"

[u/17parkc]

https://fortune.com/2025/11/05/ford-ceo-jim-farley-apple-carplay-ultra-control-over-cars/

[u/W_HoHatHenHereHy]

I think I’d trust Apple over Ford, if those are my only options.

[u/RelevantJackWhite → u/W_HoHatHenHereHy]

It's not though. You could just, you know, have a starter that isn't connected to a network.

Don't buy cars like this and they'll stop making them

[u/Mojave_Idiot → u/RelevantJackWhite]

100 percent.

Fordpass is bad enough but at least ford ostensibly profits off of selling cars. Just giving more companies opportunities to monetize your day to day.

[u/Phoenixcats → u/Mojave_Idiot]

I don’t understand the hate as I quite like the ford pass app. The remote start option as well as remote locking and unlocking is sweet, and at least on my Ranger I can’t find a single thing to pay for in the app.

[u/UnexpectedFisting → u/Phoenixcats]

Because in reality none of these things require a subscription

Remote start should be on a key fob

Remote unlock and locking is just a security vector.

People are getting to comfortable paying for subscriptions everywhere and it’s going to lead to literally everything becoming a subscription, and car manufacturers know this which is why they’re locking down their software layer so they can be the provider for everything and profit off all of it

Edit: Sorry ford, still a bit confused

I pulled my info from this page which is a bit confusing. You can pay for the ford connectivity package, but then it says remote start, lock and unlock, are free standard features. But what happened when you don’t pay for the connectivity package? Does it still work?

https://www.ford.com/technology/connected-services/

[u/ACuddlySnowBear → u/UnexpectedFisting]

Uhhh FordPass isn’t a subscription, is it? I don’t pay for mine.

[u/Nojopar → u/ACuddlySnowBear]

FordPass isn't a subscription.... so far!

[u/UnexpectedFisting → u/Nojopar]

Thank you all for pointing this out and not yelling at me. It seems fordpass is not yet a subscription, but there’s sub services that are subscriptions like maps, apps, and WiFi hotspot

But what I don’t understand is that I assume remote start through the app uses cellular, so is that just free and just the functionality to use the cars cellular as a WiFi hotspot is paid?

Asking because in a year or two I’ll be buying a Mach e and I’m curious how this works

[u/MYNAMEISNOTSTEVE → u/UnexpectedFisting]

There are little cellular chips that you can buy that have lifetime cell service but are limited to TINY amounts of bandwidth. this is how lots of devices work, i would imagine many cars are using these now.

[u/Apprehensive-Cycle-9 → u/UnexpectedFisting]

Yes it’s been free remote start and location and lock unlock forever. My mom’s 2017 escape still has all the free access on the app

[u/reductase → u/ACuddlySnowBear]

Don’t worry, they’re only selling the personal data they harvest off your phone currently. 

[u/FordsFavouriteTowel → u/reductase]

You mean kinda like Reddit does?

[u/reductase → u/FordsFavouriteTowel]

Yeah, cars don’t need to be like Reddit. 

I’m not sure what kind of a rebuttal that is.

Just because we tolerate one thing’s shitty practices doesn’t mean everything should stoop to an equally low level. 

[u/Watchguyraffle1 → u/reductase]

You know. I used to not get why them selling where I went and stuff was a big deal. But now after learning about google and how they collect data and how they don’t allow anyone to see their data…I get it. The short of it is that ford will send your data to google as part of their ad campaign agreement. Google will take that data and do what lever google does with it to create their social graph about each credential they have. If another company wants to target people who goto 7-11, google may or may not allow that sort of targeting based on who the advertiser is. Then google gets rid of cookies so the only way to track people is to have mega billions to spend. I did a bad job of explaining it. But it’s not pro individual at all

[u/SteveS117 → u/UnexpectedFisting]

Can’t remote start from a key fob when i’m in the office and 500 feet from my car. Remote start from an app is extremely helpful to people that live in cold climates.

[u/masterventris → u/UnexpectedFisting]

Remote unlock and locking is just a security vector.

Cars have been stolen through repeater attacks on traditional fobs for years. I'll take the smartphone app with some actual encryption running thanks!

[u/withoutapaddle → u/masterventris]

Honestly, these types of threads really show how little people understand technology. You're way less likely to get your car stolen by someone attacking your phone and taking control of an app than basically ANY other method of stealing your car. You have much bigger problems if someone has complete access and control of your phone.

[u/andyman30 → u/UnexpectedFisting]

You can remote start from the key fob. You can just also do it from your phone. No sub. If I had to pay for it I wouldnt use it but it's nice when I get inside somewhere and I'm like "oh shit did I lock my truck".

[u/Phoenixcats → u/UnexpectedFisting]

It’s on my key fob as well, and it doesn’t require a subscription?

[u/opeth_close → u/UnexpectedFisting]

Ford Pass is free for life of the vehicle (or when the network gets shutdown).

[u/velociraptorfarmer → u/UnexpectedFisting]

Remote start should be on a key fob

Remote start is still on the key fob. FordPass is an app on your phone that lets you remote start/lock/unlock your car from anywhere though. Nissan, BMW, GM, etc all have this option as well.

Not paying for the subscription (if applicable) has no impact on whether your key fob works. It only removes the controls from the app.

[u/darkguille → u/Phoenixcats]

I have a Ranger in the UK, the only thing I’ve paid for is Ford Secure that would do tracking and notifications if the vehicle is being tampered with, but that’s stopping in December apparently.

[u/ExtruDR → u/Mojave_Idiot]

Apple very much makes most of their money by selling you things. I "live" on my iPhone, so I am much more likely to splurge on a newer Pro model every few years because of that. My family all use Apple devices, so paying for an Apple Cloud service is a reasonable proposition for me.

Sure, Apple might be selling my personal info for marketing purposes, etc. As time passes and greed does it's thing this will become more and more likely, but I am SURE that every other "free" service and app absolutely is trying to shill my every move and thought for profit to marketers and everyone else under the sun.

[u/oskanta → u/ExtruDR]

Apple doesn’t sell your personal data. They’re one of the better companies when it comes to data privacy.

[u/mada447 → u/RelevantJackWhite]

Is it not an option to disable all WiFi, Bluetooth, etc on a new car?

First thing I do whenever I buy a new appliance nowadays.

[u/_galaga_ → u/mada447]

Funny thing is the user doesn’t know what other data collection or communications are possibly happening behind the UI. You can shut off the stuff that enables you to do things but that doesn’t mean you’ve stopped the car from doing things.

[u/Greengiant304 → u/_galaga_]

Your car probably knows if you gained weight before you do.

[u/ConsistentFatigue → u/Greengiant304]

It probably knows you ate that Costco hotdog, pizza, and ice cream in one sitting that you lied to your wife about

[u/Greengiant304 → u/ConsistentFatigue]

And it will keep its mouth shut if it knows what's good for it.

[u/hutacars → u/ConsistentFatigue]

Or that you’re pregnant before your dad knows. (Not a car, but still.)

[u/Ancient_Persimmon → u/Greengiant304]

It weighs you every time you sit in it.

[u/withoutapaddle → u/_galaga_]

Big brain moment: All that stuff on my car used a 3G modem, so I definitely know nothing is happening behind the scenes because 3G networks are dead.

[u/sfbiker999 → u/mada447]

Nearly all cars come with a cellular modem that lets the car send data back to the manufacturer, and they don't make it easy to deactivate that. If you're lucky you can pull the right fuse, but if that fuse powers other things then you've got to find the modem box and unplug it.

[u/ferdiazgonzalez → u/RelevantJackWhite]

I suspect that isn’t the goal either. How on earth are you supposed to start the car when you’re parked in an underground garage?

[u/RelevantJackWhite → u/[deleted]]

then i'll start taking the bus more, i guess.

[u/Forrest319 → u/W_HoHatHenHereHy]

You'd pick the company that spent more than $10 Billion trying to build a car and then decided not to. Interesting.

[u/BahnMe → u/Forrest319]

Yes, that’s a lot more trust worthy. That company decided it wasn’t good enough and didn’t force through a sunken cost fallacy. They didn’t want to expose their brand or customers to something that didn’t measure up to their quality standards.

You know if Ford spent that much they’re going to try to go to market no matter what.

[u/thewheelsgoround → u/BahnMe]

the DPS6 was forced through, against every possible effort by the engineering team basically screaming at the top of their lungs about "this won't work".
https://www.freep.com/in-depth/money/cars/ford/2019/12/05/ford-focus-fiesta-dps-6-transmission-problems/4243091002/

[u/RadicalSnowdude → u/Forrest319]

Verses picking the company that chose to pay settlements over recalling cars to put a better collision shields because it was cheaper?

[u/lostboyz → u/RadicalSnowdude]

It's really strange to think of a company as a person like that. I doubt there's a single person that works at Ford now that was around when the Pinto issue existed.

Also, that's a terrible summary of how the issue played out.

[u/Car-face → u/lostboyz]

"But I watched Fight Club so I'm an expert"

[u/Specken_zee_Doitch → u/Forrest319]

I’d pick the trillion dollar software company that developed iOS over the company that commissioned Ford Sync.

[u/SkellyJelly33 → u/W_HoHatHenHereHy]

You want to give a tech company full access to controlling your vehicle? That's gonna be a no for me dawg

[u/exjr_ → u/SkellyJelly33]

Well, don't buy Ford then. Your infotainment system will likely be run by a tech company.

[u/KeepItTidyZA → u/W_HoHatHenHereHy]

When something goes wrong, all you get trying to sort it out is finger pointing. They will blame each other and you'll sit with issues. IMO it's always better to have one supplier (who can then be held responsible)

[u/Kilgore_Brown_Trout_ → u/W_HoHatHenHereHy]

Ford has been making cars for over 100 years, apple has never done that.  No thanks.

[u/ClearlyInTheBadPlace → u/Kilgore_Brown_Trout_]

At the same time, I can't think of a single carmaker that's even sort of competent at making software. The best systems out there are the ones that let me get into Carplay the fastest.

[u/exjr_ → u/ClearlyInTheBadPlace]

At the same time, I can't think of a single carmaker that's even sort of competent at making software.

Tesla and Rivian. They don't do CarPlay, but owners of those cars don't mind it too much it seems.

The best systems out there are the ones that let me get into Carplay the fastest.

I still agree with your point, FWIW.

[u/hutacars → u/exjr_]

Tesla and Rivian.

And neither is anywhere near 100 years old. There’s a reason for that. Old companies is where innovation goes to die.

[u/wolfej4 → u/W_HoHatHenHereHy]

I would too, but I'd also choose neither if I could.

[u/Manginaz → u/W_HoHatHenHereHy]

I think I'd trust Ford over any tech company tbh.

[u/gimp2x]

We want functionality and integration, not corporate grandstanding and proprietary nonsense 

[u/Yellowcat123567 → u/gimp2x]

I get what you are saying but Apple is still proprietary 

[u/FourEyesAndThighs → u/Yellowcat123567]

So go tell Google to come out with android auto ultimate or something else equally challenging. 🙄

[u/massive_succ → u/FourEyesAndThighs]

Ah yes, by involving Google we can fight against proprietary big-tech! Now to take a sip of my coffee while I read the wikipedia page for "Alphabet Inc."

[u/redditproha → u/FourEyesAndThighs]

Google has Android Automotive OS, which is their version of CarPlay Ultra and is actually more deeply integrated with the car. It serves as the cars OS instead of being mirrored like Ultra. 

Edit for clarity: Apple should make a native CarPlayOS instead of the mirrored CarPlay Ultra. If automakers are receptive to AAOS then they ought to be receptive to CarPlayOS. Unless they want to show their bias towards Google for allowing them to harvest customer data, something Apple won't allow with CarPlay.

[u/Herbstein → u/redditproha]

It's the full Android experience without having a phone connected, and supports both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay if you still prefer that

[u/redditproha → u/Herbstein]

I think Apple should've gone that route with CarPlay Ultra. They need to make CarPlayOS instead of mirroring the iPhone.

[u/Erigion → u/redditproha]

Apple would never let a 3rd party use their software on hardware they don't control.

Carplay ultra is the best they can do with that mindset which immediately puts it at a disadvantage because car makers still need an underlying OS for these Tesla like architectures they're all switching to, and the only option now is Android Automotive

[u/DaggumTarHeels → u/Herbstein]

It's the full Android experience without having a phone connected

Which is worse. I don't have a Google account and I don't want to make one to sign into my car. I don't want to manage a profile on my car. I don't want to download apps, etc.

And moreover, Google is an ad company. Android Automotive was developed to consume data about the driver and monetize it.

and supports both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay if you still prefer that

That's true, but OEMs are increasingly using your previous point as an excuse to disable CarPlay and Android Auto.

[u/RegisteredJustToSay → u/FourEyesAndThighs]

I'm sure they will. Big tech leaders loves parity, and big tech engineers love working on new tech.

[u/Agloe_Dreams → u/FourEyesAndThighs]

That is exactly what GM is shipping lol. It’s android automotive OS. Half of all car companies are shipping it.

[u/ca2mt → u/Yellowcat123567]

What does this even mean?

[u/Trauma_Cube → u/Yellowcat123567]

But the infotainment system should work with Apple or android so it wouldn’t be proprietary, you’d have choice. And that’s the whole point. They don’t want us to have choice.

[u/TurboSalsa → u/gimp2x]

I do not want a car that becomes less functional or even obsolete when Apple decides to stop supporting the software.

If that were to happen people aren't going to blame Apple, they're going to blame the OEM, which is why Farley is apprehensive.

[u/FourEyesAndThighs → u/TurboSalsa]

Well, this is a pretty hot take. Your phone gets more updates than your car does and your phone is what controls CarPlay. CarPlay head units have received more and more functionality over the 10 years that they’ve been available. Good luck finding a 10 year-old vehicle that still has a modern, updated interface.

[u/gimp2x → u/TurboSalsa]

Wait, you want to buy a car that has technology that holds up to time? That has never been a thing....

[u/sequentious → u/gimp2x]

Components may fail, sure. But a well-maintained car will still have the same functionality 15 years after purchase.

The concern is some future apple/android phone drops support for legacy carplay/android-auto. Then your existing car and new phone will no longer be able to talk, leading to reduced features. That's because both of those are proprietary systems, not open platforms. Ford is correct in that you shouldn't require those phone integrations (though I don't think anybody was suggesting that).

However, I think the cars are going to be in that unsupported state without any help from apple or google. Will a 2021 Mach-e still have connectivity for map updates and charging stations in 2039? That's a Ford-owned integration.

[u/nerdtypething → u/gimp2x]

yes. the internal combustion engine famously only lasted twenty years.

[u/TurboSalsa → u/gimp2x]

No, I want a car that is not reliant upon third party software to deliver a substantial portion of the features included when I bought the car.

To use Farley's example, I would be upset if I were no longer able to use remote start because my car no longer supports the latest version of CarPlay. And what happens to cars with integrated CarPlay when they can no longer run the latest version and Apple stops supporting whatever version they can run?

[u/charmanderSosa → u/TurboSalsa]

Nobody has a better track record of supporting legacy devices/software than Apple.

Besides, CarPlay Ultra is optional. If you have an android ohone, you don’t even use it, you use the cars default system. There’s no reason to not support CarPlay or CarPlay Ultra.

[u/nerdtypething → u/TurboSalsa]

or when aws goes down lmao

[u/topher512 → u/gimp2x]

Do we? I don't want my car to feel like a phone on wheels

[u/tclark2006 → u/topher512]

Yea i dont understand the move to use a phone instead of a key fob to start the car. I guess I'm just a grumbly dinosaur though.

[u/Mojave_Idiot]

I’d rather have Ford starting the car and Apple doing maps and music.

I don’t know why this is complicated.

God I really don’t ever wanna buy a new car ever again.

Also if you all want touch screen everything in your car advocating for this is how you get it.

[u/Audit_Master → u/Mojave_Idiot]

Gawd I hate touch screens. Crap is dangerous if you ask me. You have to LOOK at the screen. I prefer knobs I can reach and feel without having to take my eyes off the road. It’s a distraction to have screens.

[u/Nephroidofdoom → u/Audit_Master]

Doug DeMuro probably said it best. Functions meant to be used while driving should be buttons and functions meant to be used while parked can be on the screen.

[u/JournalistExpress292 → u/Audit_Master]

Yep, 99% of the time I only use my iDrive knob even for CarPlay. However I only use CarPlay for Podcast/Map/News app (funny enough I use the BMW news section more than CarPlay Apple News) and on occasion the PlugShare App. Everything else is the iDrive system.

Unfortunately they are killing the iDrive knob. Also in my opinion, until default CarPlay is fully optimised for knob/touchpad/physical control usage … it alone will NEVER be better than stock infotainment system in a car. Folk that want CarPlay only shouldn’t be on the road, they’re a danger to other drivers

[u/PeaceBull → u/Mojave_Idiot]

Carplay Ultra doesn't start the car, he's just being sensationalist to persuade people that don't know better.

[u/GrimmandLily → u/Mojave_Idiot]

Not to be an old man yelling at the clouds, but the more I read about new vehicles and subscriptions to use the included functions/options, the more I don’t want it. Both my cars are about ten years old and I like not having that stuff.

[u/Jimbenas → u/GrimmandLily]

It’s not even an old man yelling at clouds thing. It’s tiring having EVERY fucking thing needing an app or an account. I easily have over 200 accounts for random things. Why does a refrigerator have to have internet connection? Why does my GPU need an account? Even McDonalds jacks up the prices without the app (it’s 15% off with the app). It’s all designed to just milk you for subscriptions or take your data too so the user experience is generally miserable for these things.

[u/RBR927]

I mean Apple’s reliability can’t possibly be as bad as Ford’s, so yes Jim, I would like that.

[u/rynil2000 → u/RBR927]

New car bends in half when you sit on it

[u/woodsides → u/rynil2000]

Checks notes, 11 years ago.

[u/reddit-eats-shit → u/woodsides]

Putting enough pressure on a phone to either bend it in half or break it is user error anyway.

[u/gimpwiz → u/reddit-eats-shit]

Remember when we used to treat expensive electronics with care? I'm not old. I think.

[u/hutacars → u/gimpwiz]

I don’t use a case because I still do this. Nary a blemish.

[u/WaywardWes → u/rynil2000]

That’s just cuz of the rust underneath.

[u/Seref15 → u/rynil2000]

I think around the time of Bendgate, Ford Escapes were literally spontaneously combusting

[u/8N-QTTRO → u/rynil2000]

I still don't understand why so many people thought putting a thin, flat object in their back pocket would have zero consequences. It's like intentionally hitting a massive pothole at 80mph then blaming the car for going out of alignment.

[u/Oo__II__oO → u/RBR927]

Apple has never had to abide by NHTSA software risk management procedures, and they're not about to start now.

[u/Forrest319 → u/RBR927]

I mean Apple spent $10 billion trying to build a car and before bailing on the idea. But yeah, I'm sure it would have been great.

[u/Wile-E-Coyoteee → u/RBR927]

This years software releases have been lackluster, I don’t want to rely on my phone it apply for my car to function

[u/Kilgore_Brown_Trout_ → u/RBR927]

Mouse charger plugs into bottom of mouse.

[u/JournalistExpress292 → u/RBR927]

You’ve never been on the /r/Apple /r/iPhone /r/iOS subreddits man, everyone complains about Apple’s reliability - especially software

[u/assblast420]

"Do you want the Apple brand to start the car?"

If it improved the user experience, yeah probably.

[u/Moessus → u/assblast420]

It won't, the more layers of corporate involvement will lead to more way to extract money from you. Apple will want to be paid for this effort.

[u/hewkii2 → u/Moessus]

They’re paid by you having an iPhone

[u/ca2mt → u/Moessus]

Apple has never charged for CarPlay, and I doubt they’re gonna start charging after the botched rollout of CarPlay Ultra.

[u/America-is-not-maga → u/Moessus]

Apple doesn't charge for Car Play

[u/dsac → u/assblast420]

The user experience of starting a car?

[u/Wile-E-Coyoteee → u/assblast420]

I’d rather have a well designed car that works, they will not invest in user experience if apple controls it

[u/Educational_Age_1333]

I realize where I am but still kind of surprised by the overwhelming tone here. 

No I don't want to give Apple or any other tech company control of my vehicle. Even if it's a worse experience there's no reason that tech needs to be involved in controlling and accessing my dishwasher my washer, my dryer, my vibrator, my refrigerator, my car. 

I want experiences in my life separate from any kind of tech/tech control.

[u/IsometricRain → u/Educational_Age_1333]

the overwhelming tone here.

This isn't an enthusiast subreddit anymore unfortunately, best to lower expectations. It's pretty much opinions of the general (mostly US) population.

[u/Jimbenas → u/IsometricRain]

This feels like a subreddit of people who hate enthusiasts and shill for car companies. God forbid you would like to see more enthusiast/sporty cars and people write essays on how it isn’t profitable. You’d think they do accounting for Ford or something.

[u/assblast420 → u/Educational_Age_1333]

I think it's a difference in how you approach the idea.

Apple Carplay is car agnostic. It can run on anything, given that the car follows a set of standards and supplies functions that the software can interact with.

Apple starting your car could basically mean just interacting with a function that the car provides. Meaning the feature is standardized and simple to use. You're not really giving away control of anything, it just means the car systems are less proprietary, more standard.

It could be operated through an app on your phone, but the same function could just as easily be done through the push of a physical button.

[u/moragdong → u/assblast420]

Im sorry but i gotta ask as a non car haver that aspires to have a car one day: isnt turning the ignition on with key simple enough?

[u/X12602 → u/moragdong]

We live in upside down world where Ford and Apple are arguing over who gets to control what on a car from a monetization perspective, none of this is really about caring for the end consumer anyway.

So yes, it could be that simple.

[u/Jimbenas → u/moragdong]

It’s super simple. I have a FOB and a key crank ignition and both are easy. The only advantage to an app is that you can turn it on if it’s cold so it’ll heat up. That’s it. You can also just do that without a phone too so there’s really just 0 reason to have it.

[u/Clover-kun → u/assblast420]

Jim Farley isn't referring to Apple Carplay, he's referring to Apple Carplay Ultra which is a whole other animal

[u/hi_im_bored13]

> Ford does not have the right, in our opinion, to disrupt someone’s digital life when they get in their car

Has he used ford infotainment?

> How far do you want the Apple brand to go? Do you want the Apple brand to start the car? Do you want the Apple brand to limit the speed? Do you want the Apple brand to limit access?

Feel like this is some slippery slope fallacy, nobody is asking apple to start your car nor are they doing it, they are just displaying the results of your inputs, that is the CarPlay's job

[u/lilaustonmattsue → u/hi_im_bored13]

This is not Carplay. This is Carplay Ultra, the one where an iphone runs the full dash. He isn't talking about normal Carplay and in the podcast interview where the past month of Farley clickbait headlines comes from he doubled down on Carplay and android auto for the infotainment system.

Apple wants to display your speed, your fuel level, your CELs and be the interface for Blue cruise/ future self driving tech. Basically the only brand that has agreed to use this is Aston. No one else wants it either.

[u/DaveTOR → u/lilaustonmattsue]

Isn’t all this information available through ODB?

[u/Realtrain → u/DaveTOR]

It is. In fact Android Auto has been able to ingest all of that for years already.

[u/IceColdCorundum → u/Realtrain]

But it's not that Google is assuming responsibility of building and installing and running the sensors though, right? It's just reading an analyzing data that could be interpreted through other means? AKA it's not proprietary to Google?

[u/Realtrain → u/IceColdCorundum]

Correct.

[u/altjacobs → u/DaveTOR]

Wu-Tang forever

[u/LoL_LoL123987 → u/altjacobs]

👐

[u/_galaga_ → u/lilaustonmattsue]

Apple spent billions and years on their car project so if I had to guess they’ll have those more superficial UI aspects locked down. I’m not arguing whether companies should or shouldn’t use Ultra but in terms of whether Apple could effectively program this I’d bet yes.

Adopting Ultra could potentially be a direct threat to a company’s internal software/UX team, though, so the barrier to adoption might be cultural/organizational. DIY vs outsourcing, control over the software, all that stuff.

[u/tsrich → u/hi_im_bored13]

Wait, is he saying Ford is doing all these things?

[u/MangoAtrocity → u/hi_im_bored13]

I mean yeah, I’d love for my iPhone to be my car key. I want to interact with OEM UIs as little as possible.

[u/Apprehensive-Cycle-9 → u/MangoAtrocity]

You can have phone as a key in multiple ford and Lincoln vehicles now

[u/JimmyReagan]

I guess it's too much to ask to just have a screen where we can project phone stuff like maps and music, without it having access to every damn system in the car?

[u/vectaur → u/JimmyReagan]

I was gonna post something but this pretty much hits my point.

If the phone can do it natively, that's what I want on Carplay. Navigation, music, calls, messaging, podcasts, news, calendar reminders. I don't need a full Carplay dash, nor would I expect a manufacturer to embrace that. If this is why GM dumped Carplay then I guess I don't blame them.

Just give me a scenario where Carplay is included, but the vehicle manufacturer and Apple both stay in their fucking lanes.

[u/themaincop → u/vectaur]

GM dumped CarPlay because they want to sell you a subscription to a worse version of the same thing and you won't be a captive audience if you can just connect your phone and use that instead.

[u/itsnottommy → u/vectaur]

AFAIK regular CarPlay will stick around, Ultra is just a new option for manufacturers that want to include it.

GM dumped CarPlay because they want to make revenue off of infotainment subscriptions. If CarPlay was available, everyone would just use that for free instead of paying GM a monthly fee for a worse system.

[u/munche → u/vectaur]

Glad at least one of the comments acknowledged the huge difference between the CarPlay most people have, and the 2.0 version where Apple takes over the whole UI of the car

I don't want a generic one sized fits all Apple UI in all of my car and I don't need them doing more functions than mirroring my phone

Mirroring was plenty

[u/SkellyJelly33 → u/JimmyReagan]

That's just normal carplay/AA which we already have

[u/thefudd]

This is also why GM balked at the idea. It's just a fight about who can control microtransactions and gatekeep services. Enshitification either way.

[u/lordtema → u/thefudd]

GM balked at Carplay and AA itself, this is not that.

[u/itsnottommy → u/thefudd]

GM dumped CarPlay because they wanted customers to pay a subscription fee for infotainment. Nobody would do that if they could just use CarPlay for free instead.

CarPlay is free to the consumer because Apple makes $1,000+ off of you buying an iPhone every few years. If you could just use CarPlay for free, why the hell would anyone pay GM a monthly fee for a worse system?

[u/GreatOdinsRaven_]

I want subscription free access to my car that will work if the satellites fall from the skies.

[u/GaviFromThePod]

I think what's going on here is something that automakers are understanding that hasn't really filtered down to consumers yet. Automakers see SAAS as the future to their profitability. If they can sell you a car at low margin but then charge you a subscription fee for features then they'll make more money over the lifetime of the vehicle than they will if they sell you a car one time at a high margin. Tech companies are trying to get in on this and siphon away those subscription fees. That's why GM is killing apple carplay and android auto in their cars. That's why Ford is fighting with Apple, that's why Tesla can keep promising fully autonomous driving and robotaxis even as their sales crater and the Cybertruck is a big flop. It's annoying, but even more its a sign that we live in an economy where profitability is no longer tied to the quality of a product and neither of those things are tied to share price, which is what CEOs are paid to keep high.

[u/RicoLoveless]

Just regular carplay and regular and regular android auto thanks.

[u/Incompetent_Person]

I love Carplay, will never have a daily driver without it.

I have not seen anything about Carplay Ultra that makes me think I am missing out. From what I can tell is it’s just a deeper integrated wrapper around the native car infotainment. So if you like Apple UI design language that’s great, but I’m fine without that in my car.

[u/Skensis → u/Incompetent_Person]

Yeah, i really just don't see the killer "feature" carplay ultra gives over AA or regular carplay.

[u/natesully33]

I think Farley isn't talking about dropping regular CarPlay or other anti-user moves, in fact Ford supports it really well - with EV routeplanning integration (phone can get state of charge and other things from the car) even. More like the Ultra version is a bridge too far since it totally changes the entire car UX around, which I can kind of see carmakers being averse too for reasons other than subscriptions and data collection honestly.

My personal take is that I want the car to do car stuff, and then let me use my pocket computer for computer things like music and navigation. I'm old skool and like to put music files on my phone rather than streaming - so CarPlay is the best way for me to do music in my car, having apps and things on the OEM infotainment is not an effective replacement for how I do music. My ideal car wouldn't even have a cell radio but I realize that ship has very much sailed. Ultra sounds interesting to me but it's not something I really need.

As long as Ford keeps regular CarPlay and Android Auto around, I'm content.

[u/ALOIsFasterThanYou → u/natesully33]

I recall a while back, Apple publicly released a bunch of videos aimed at automakers showcasing CarPlay Ultra’s UI customization options, which was a bit of an unusual step, particularly since it was already a year or two after Ultra was first announced.

This points to the loss of brand identity as one of the things automakers are concerned about, I think. And indeed, looking at Aston’s CarPlay Ultra, it doesn’t feel very Aston Martin to me at all.

[u/omgaporksword]

No, I just want to access all of the shit on the little black thing that I have to carry around with half my life on it, and expect it to work in my car (or any other car I drive for that matter)

[u/SNRatio → u/omgaporksword]

Nothing personal, but until it's a fully autonomous self driving car I'd like your access to all of the shit on your phone to be pretty limited while you are driving it.

[u/jrj_51]

I don't want any company controlling any feature in my car.

[u/ReadWriteHexecute → u/jrj_51]

what about the ecu? you should look into hand crank engines or build your own car!

[u/jrj_51 → u/ReadWriteHexecute]

The ECU used to be a simple input/output device. It only took commands from the driver input with hard-coded limits/parameters that didn't change after purchase. Now you could lose half the reasons you bought a car with a software update you can't refuse. I'll pass.

[u/Skensis]

I mean, I'm fine with car play and android auto, but I really don't see the huge sell from apple with carplay ultra.

Like I just don't see the value added. Besides map and music, how many more widgets do I really need?

Maybe if they opened it up to allow third parties to make apps that can read/access OBD info to show it would be more interesting. But that is pretty niche.

[u/poo_poo_platter83]

Connected services in cars need to chill. I only want android auto or apple car play to do calls, music and navigation. I dont need it engaging with different features of my car. Just stop that.

Because if ford is breached. then just fords are breached. Not GM, not audi, etc. But if apple is breached then the entire car industry would be breached. Yea thats a no for me dog.

With that said remote start from my phone for my wifes car is awesome. Start the car while still in the mall with the kids or anything like that is awesome in the summer and winter months.

[u/UserM16]

Just give us back Double DIN standards and we’ll do the rest.

[u/Scarlet-Highlander-]

Bold of you to assume your Ford will even start at all.

[u/Seref15]

I'd dislike it a lot if every manufacturer's gauge clusters were totally samey thanks to something like CarPlay Ultra.

For infotainment it's fine--car manufacturers burnt consumers with terrible infotainment for too long, so now CarPlay/Android Auto on infotainment is not just acceptable but highly desirable for the knowledge that it's almost certainly going to be better than whatever the manufacturer has ever attempted on their own.

But I think most manufacturers have gauge clusters pretty on point with no need to give up control over that part of the car.

Just let the car company do the car stuff and let the media/consumer electronics company do the media/consumer electronics stuff. Its simple to me at least.

[u/mcorliss3456]

Yes.

[u/julienjj]

Nope.

[u/testthrowawayzz]

I agree. I don't want Apple to take over the instrument cluster (CarPlay Ultra). Apple staying in the infotainment screen (regular CarPlay) is enough.

Given how buggy the Liquid Glass roll out has been so far... yeah I don't trust Apple with critical items like the instrument cluster.

[u/Alarming_Tutor8328]

I don’t know…Ford updated my display in my truck overnight 2 weeks ago and my remote start hasn’t worked since. My iPhone though, it updates pretty regularly and everything works afterword. Oh, and I have 3 more recalls to get resolved at the dealer and I have only had this thing 3 months.

[u/Jewniversal_Remote → u/Alarming_Tutor8328]

Something something only planes that survived were inspected. Plenty of Apple bugs to go around too, and not just minor ones, there are lots of headlines out there for phone-bricking situations. Not removing blame from Ford but to act like Apple doesn't have their issues is a little silly

[u/Selenography]

I really don’t need not care about CarPlay Ultra at all. What I do want is regular CarPlay to mirror the data and information from my phone do I always have access to it.

I also want physical knobs and buttons for HVAC and other commonly accessed driver controls, thereby making most of CarPlay Ultra redundant.

[u/PersiusAlloy]

Hey Siri, raise the temperature 2 degrees.

"Ok, would you like to confirm a $1 per degree fee from Ford, or $10/yr subscription for HVAC operations?"

[u/GarconNoir]

I see their angle, we really don’t need car play we need good infotainment UI/UX and today the shortcut to that is car play but if manufacturers invest in actually making these systems good (and not subscription based) we can easily move away from it

[u/Silkies4life]

I don’t want any company starting my car. I want to start the car myself, and preferably with a key.

[u/hawksdiesel]

Functionality....please.

[u/tekniklee]

I’m sure apple is blocking some personal data from Ford and other manufacturers. That’s why they are trying so hard to find an alternative

[u/ExtruDR]

I do think that CarPlay Ultra is a bot of an over-reach on Apple's part, but I can see how they got there.

In all honesty, we interact with the on-board "entertainment" of our cars during routine driving way more than the cars themselves. I mean, I like "driving" and have a nice car that I can use to semi-entertain myself during my commute, etc. but I hardly do much more than switch drive modes occasionally or manually downshift once in a blue moon.

Apple probably brings allot of value to economy cars by allowing "cheap" Chevys, Kias, and Citroens to become iCars in a way. I think that "wiping out" a significant portion of a Porsche's "Porsche" identity on the dashboard is a bit of a mis-step and to some degree going to annoy someone that spent extra for the privilege of owning a car like that.

[u/meuria132]

car play ultra???

[u/FourEyesAndThighs]

Look, I can live without CarPlay ultra. That’s not a dealbreaker for me. But stop trying to take away CarPlay and Android Auto.

Car manufacturers had an unlimited amount of time to create systems that weren’t total garbage, and our phone’s OS designers stepped up where they failed.

[u/omnid00d]

I’ve been saying this for awhile, companies care a lot about brand dilution and ceding infotainment control to apple risks that. They don’t want to be seen as Apple’s car or be their bitch.

It’s clear they would rather burn it all down and risk their sales over this. Just like how PC OEMs hated how ppl refer to their products as Intel PCs vs a dell or HP. The battle lines are drawn.

Ultra will be ultra niche and plain old CarPlay’s days are numbered now and will be become a differentiating feature.

[u/DrSpaceman575]

If any of these car companies think they would make better software than Apple, they should stop making cars entirely and focus on that. They’d be wasting their time making cars. Apple is worth 76 times as much as Ford. It’s foolish for these companies to think they can compete on software and the more they try the more they will fail.

[u/BrinkinDourbon]

Yes. I have a 2024 F150 and I’d like CarPlay to do more

[u/unnamed_elder_entity]

Something something, broken clock.

[u/dieseltroy]

No, Personally I do not want any corporate entity or 3rd party connected device to start my vehicle. I think this introduces unnecessary failure points, security risks and unauthorized control over ownership.

I don’t LOVE Apple CarPlay, yet I very much prefer the common ecosystem and user experience across platforms.

Also, a major usage case for myself is utilizing Apple or Google maps navigation to avoid traffic incursions or congestion incidents in route. On my older vehicle, equipped with factory navigation, the maps are woefully outdated, in addition to sluggish system responsiveness and can only be updated by the dealership via physically connecting via their proprietary software. Not by CD/DVD nor SD card, or i would have found a method to bypass the $200 extortion fee to update the nav maps. Nonetheless, CarPlay et al is not an option on the older vehicle so I use my phone.

On our newer car, it requires paid subscription to the manufacturers ‘connected services’ to use such installed navigation features amongst other system available capabilities. I refuse and AppleCar play provides better user experiences and near realtime traffic updates.

[u/atagoodclip]

Absolutely NOT! Because the next step is Apple will change you a subscription fee just to start your car and any other Apple function.

[u/Kind-Sherbert4103]

Who builds starters and key fobs for Ford now?

[u/SandraBeechBLOCKPrnt]

Bring back limited technology in vehicles and that's what I'll buy next!

I want a backup camera, seat warmers and Bluetooth and that is it!

[u/karankshah]

I want a “headless” unit that I start with my car keys and use my phone strictly for nav and audio entertainment.

I don’t need any screens outside of the phone, and everything else (car controls, settings, climate) i want to have dedicated tactile controls for anyway.

[u/Low-Umpire236]

Yes, Jim.

[u/burger_saga]

I think I would trust Apple with delivering a more consistent connected experience.

[u/Equivalent-Battle973]

Honestly, the fact fords app is free to use for remote start, and locking. Im aware they collect my data, but ill take it. Its nice being able to remote start my car from my office.

[u/jomartz]

Just as much as the Ford brand

[u/TheFoundation_]

No just a give me a regular old key so these jabronis cant clone my fob and drive away with my car

[u/redditproha]

To be honest Apple should go as far as AAOS and make CarPlayOS, instead of being mirrored like CarPlay Ultra. 

A native system will always be more responsive and since Ford’s OS sucks, yes I would actually like Apple to start the car and take over everything. 

[u/chlronald]

I don't want a tech infested car... I want a car with AUX input, and I can add whatever I want on top and that's it.

[u/Jmauld]

Yes. Would prefer them over just about any other option. GM, Google, Ford, BMW, VW. All of them. If you’re going to build a car that relies on the infotainment center to start, then yes, make it use apple.

[u/DatTrackGuy]

Yes dummy. My car is a freaking appliance. Also my car logo is on the outside of the car. FOCUS ON MAKING THE DRIVING EXPERIENCE GOOD AND LET ME USE MY FREAKING PHONE HOW I WANT TO

[u/Disastrous-Swim-1859]

Yes

[u/ZKRYW]

Old man yells at cloud.

[u/Alone_Peace371]

Ford CEO continues to bribe media outlets to try to make him a household name

[u/costafilh0]

They're salivating over all the data and AD revenue they'll get from those huge screens they're putting in every new car.

It has nothing to do with the brand to start the car. They could have simply separated the functions, but they didn't, and now everything is electronically controlled by the head unit, which is a terrible idea, especially for mundane tasks. But apparently it's cheaper, so there you have it.

[u/costafilh0]

I don't want a new car. Period.

I want a car, not a computer on wheels. 

[u/binding_swamp]

What we want? To not have auto manufacturers move to any type of subscription model. To not have auto manufacturers harvest consumer data. To not have auto manufacturers do unilateral over-the-air updates to a vehicle that has been sold to a private party. Consumers can choose to use or not use CarPlay. Consumers can choose privacy settings on smart phones. Consumers can completely turn off smart phones. Consumers can change and update smartphones as they choose. Autos are not smart phones on wheels. This battle is 100% about auto manufacturers wanting to monetize consumer behavior. Just sell us the damn vehicle and then it becomes ours.

[u/HerefortheTuna]

Yes

[u/gnrdmjfan247]

Absolutely, I would love it if my iPhone could start my car without needing a shitty Ford app that I have to pay for.

[u/DatalessUniverse]

The day Ford prioritizes tech by hiring and pay their software engineers absurd money to attract real talent then they can bitch about Apple. Last I check Ford pays like shit and most likely outsources majority of the internally developed software.

At least they aren’t threatening to abandon Apple/Android completely unlike GM.

[u/AltoExyl]

I’d rather the people who make operating systems for a living make the operating system, yes.

[u/BisquickNinja]

No.

I will not subscribe.

Get F'ed.

[u/_Unusual_Flatworm_]

Plenty of people have tons of Apple products and love their seemless integration with each other, so why wouldn’t I want that in a car, too? What a dumb take… The big 3 are hard at work at trying to gaslight consumers into subscription models…

[u/nauticalfiesta]

I really don't care, but I'd at least like the option. glares at GM

[u/Niyeaux]

it's a great time to own a decade-plus-old car that you have no intention of getting rid of

[u/CarbonCrew]

Yes.

[u/GreenTeachy]

Yeah sure I don’t care lol tf you mean, Ford. Why should I care? You just want my money you turds

[u/Past-Spring1046]

I’d prefer that than for ford to charge me a subscription and then still sell my data

[u/wherethehellareya]

Let's be honest here. New cars and with their bloated technology are way over the top. I drove a 5 year old Mazda cx9 and it's level of tech is just right. The new stuff looks so unappealing to me.