Why is Apple Getting Into Automotive?

Look, I get it that the automotive industry is lucrative and loaded with a need for technological breakthroughs. Apple is a leader in the latter and enjoys the former. That doesn’t mean that it’s a match, does it?

Apple has been about gadgets for a while ever since the iPod. Cars are becoming more “gadgety” every day. Just about everyone who has written on the subject of Apple’s integration into automotive has treated it like it’s a natural thing, but I contend that it’s not. I’m not crazy about Google or Microsoft getting into automotive technology, either. It’s not that they don’t have the capabilities. It’s that the automotive industry enjoys a culture that has always worked (barring economic meltdowns) and has not had a need for very much outside interference.

That’s the key issue, here. It’s one thing to offer solutions to the automotive industry that will help to propel their solutions. It’s another thing altogether to become the driving force behind those innovations. Detroit people are car people. Silicon Valley people are tech people. While they should definitely be working together, it seems as if the trend is to allow Silicon Valley to lead the charge in developing these new technologies rather than letting Detroit lead the charge and have it supplemented and serviced by Silicon Valley people.

It’s a subtle distinction, but an important one. When one things about gadgets and technology first, they aren’t working towards the best interests of what cars are really here for – transportation. That’s something that has been uniquely controlled for decades by car people. Tech people are not best suited for it other than from an assistance role.

As this continue to progress, most expect it to be a wonderful thing. I see it as an abomination that will lead to higher quality tech in lower quality cars. This isn’t good for drivers. It’s not good for the automotive industry.

Here’s the source article that started this rant:

Last year, Apple announced iOS in the Car, which was revolutionary in that the car companies were ceding an important amount of control of the in-car experience to an external company. Now, Apple has released more details and a new name: CarPlay, which will initially work only with newer iPhone 5′s (anything with the Lightning connector) and with announced support for cars from Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Mercedes, and Volvo in 2014 and several more in 2015. Notably absent from the list are VW/Audi, Chrysler/Fiat, and Tesla.

Read More: The Truth About Cars