Rivian Says AI Will Make The Apple CarPlay Debate ‘Obsolete’

• Rivian says it still has no plans to add Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to its vehicles.
• Rivian’s software chief says the company is instead building an AI-powered in-car assistant.
• The company believes upcoming AI features will eventually make the debate ‘obsolete.’

Some automakers continue to resist adding Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to their vehicles—most notably Tesla, General Motors in its EV lineup, and Rivian. Despite ongoing customer pushback, Rivian appears more committed than ever to its approach, instead focusing on new AI-driven features for its infotainment system.

Speaking on The Verge’s Decoder podcast, Rivian Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid said the company still has no plans to support CarPlay or Android Auto. Instead, Rivian is investing in AI-powered features designed to replace many of the functions drivers currently rely on through smartphone mirroring.

According to Bensaid, Rivian is developing a dedicated AI assistant within its software ecosystem that could handle much of what CarPlay and Android Auto do today. He argued that this would eventually make the CarPlay debate “completely obsolete,” adding that Apple’s system, in its current form, is too invasive within the vehicle experience.

Bensaid went on to explain the concept in more detail:

‘I really believe that the way you interact with apps which are mono-threaded, single buttons, single icons, a lot of that will be now completely reshaped into a world where it will become an agentic integration that presents itself into a wholesome user experience to the user.’

‘With the level of features that we have shipped to customers, with the level of end-to-end integration, with the level of convenience that we are bringing, CarPlay is, or Android Auto to that extent, is no longer the topic of discussion.’

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Rivian has repeatedly said it has no plans to bring Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to its vehicles, and that stance doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon.

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Source: insideevs.com

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Motor1’s Take: Rivian, Tesla, and a handful of other automakers remain firmly opposed to adding Apple CarPlay to their vehicles. While their in-house software systems are undeniably advanced, research continues to show that most customers still prefer smartphone mirroring features over AI-driven alternatives.

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