Toyota won't have CarPlay-equipped vehicles anytime soon

If you're hoping to get a Toyota car with Apple's CarPlay system built-in, you'll have to hit the aftermarket, according to a New York Times report. Toyota said that "right now, we prefer to use our in-house proprietary platforms for those kinds of functions," adding that it currently has no plans to use either CarPlay or Android Auto, at least in the US. Though that's a small glitch in Cupertino's ambitious plans, other automakers are more bullish on it. Ford, for one, said that it'll start offering both Apple and Google's infotainment systems on select vehicles this year, and will make both systems available on all US cars by next year.

For now, Toyota will be sticking with its vanilla Entune systems, which have some interoperability with Android and iOS via an app. Of course, Apple has many other CarPlay partners, even though Toyota is one of the biggest. GM said it'll install the system in its next-gen Volt, and Volkswagon will offer the choice of MirrorLink, Android Auto and CarPlay by the end of this year. In fact, most carmakers are device agnostic, with large players like Ford, GM and Honda in both camps -- a wise move, given that smartphone owners can be just as opinionated as car owners. To see which carmakers are in which camp, see the chart below (based on info from Apple and Google).

CarPlay versus Android Auto adoption

Automaker	Android Auto	Apple CarPlay
Alfa Romeo	✓	✓
Audi	✓	✓
Bentley	✓
BMW		✓
Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, RAM	✓	✓
Citroen		✓
Ferrari		✓
Fiat	✓	✓
Ford	✓	✓
Honda	✓	✓
GM	✓	✓
Hyundai	✓	✓
Infinity	✓
Jaguar		✓
Kia	✓	✓
Land Rover		✓
Maserati	✓
Mazda	✓	✓
Mercedes-Benz		✓
Mitsubishi	✓	✓
Nissan	✓	✓
Opel	✓	✓
Peugeot		✓
Renault	✓	✓
Seat	✓
Skoda	✓
Subaru	✓	✓
Suzuki	✓	✓
Toyota		✓
Volkswagon	✓	✓
Volvo	✓	✓

Filed under: Transportation, Apple

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Via: Apple Insider

Source: New York Times