In-car, smartphone infotainment systems are a pro for car shoppers, but not necessarily carmakers who’d rather keep your data all for themselves.
Being able to easily integrate your smartphone with your car’s systems has become a big pro of smartphones in recent years, especially as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay both continued to improve and expand. However, it seems the time of phone-driven infotainment systems may be coming to an end, as many companies are starting to move away from supporting Android Auto and Apple’s competing functionality — as some car brands are also moving away from CarPlay. There are a number of reasons for this — though depending on who you ask you might get different answers.
For the most part, it’s believed that carmakers are doing way with Android Auto support simply as a way to expand their control over user data. Because Android Auto utilizes your phone’s connection, all of the data that runs through it goes straight to Android and the phone manufacturer. So, by utilizing built-in systems, the car manufacturers would indeed be able to collect more data about how you use the systems in place, while also possibly getting more money out of you through subscriptions.
