Apple’s CarPlay software for automobiles is quickly becoming a must-have feature for new car buyers, according to the latest rankings from J.D. Power.
Even though it was released four years ago, CarPlay is just starting to catch on with consumers who want a phone mirroring system on their dash. And when it comes to Apple vs Google, CarPlay’s satisfaction rating is significantly better than Android Autos.
In J.D. Power’s latest study, CarPlay scored a satisfaction rating of 777 out of 1000. Android Auto only managed to garner a score of 748. Moreover, most new car owners are eschewing automaker’s own navigation systems in favor of Apple and Google’s options.
Many automakers have been slow to adopt CarPlay, but now that it’s become more popular, many are choosing to focus on other systems like autonomous driving instead.
“Most consumers consider phone systems better for navigation and voice recognition—and they’re free,” said Kristin Kolodge, director of driver interaction at J.D. Power. “‘Better and free’ are hard to compete with, so automakers will inevitably have to cede this territory and will be much better served by focusing on areas where they are the exclusive provider—like driver assistance and collision avoidance—and continue to hone those systems.”
J.D. Power found that 19% of new-vehicle owners don’t use their built-in navigation systems. 70% of owners use a smartphone instead.
Among owners that use their own navigation systems, Google Maps is the most popular service with 56% of drivers opting to use it while only 23% use Apple Maps. Google-owned Waze still has a sizable chunk of the market too with 16% of survey participants saying they prefer it most.
If you’re in the market for a new car, Apple has compiled a list of over 400 vehicle models that currently support CarPlay.
