The U.S. Department of Justice is on a mission against Apple, claiming in that latest lawsuit that the technology exhibits anticompetitive business practices, keeping its rivals at bay and giving itself an advantage that would be deemed illegal. The DOJ has now gone after the company’s infotainment system - CarPlay, claiming that it is also positioned to lock down competition, though some analysts have disagreed with these statements.
Analyst states that car makers can limit Apple from taking over all of the vehicle’s displays through CarPlay, hinting that the software might not be anti-competitive
Details of the lawsuit specific to CarPlay were spotted by The Verge, which mentions that the company’s infotainment system employs the same restriction system as the iPhone. These views were perplexing for one analyst, believing the DOJ to misunderstand the system’s functions. The lawsuit also states that CarPlay’s next version can take over all the screens and sensors, forcing owners to ‘experience driving as an iPhone-centric experience if they want to use any of the features provided by CarPlay.’
“By applying the same playbook of restrictions to CarPlay, Apple further locks-in the power of the iPhone by preventing the development of other disintermediating technologies that interoperate with the phone but reside off device.”
Sam Abuelsamid, Principal Analyst at Guidehouse Insights and someone who is regarded as an expert on software designed to run in cars such as Android Auto or CarPlay, states that the OEMs do not have to give Apple access to all of the car’s displays if they do not want to. In fact, these equipment manufacturers can limit Apple if they want to use a standard interface on one of the screens. The car makers still need to build basic software that adjusts various functions of the vehicle, such as air conditioning, mileage statistics, or map navigation.
Abuelsamid also mentions that not everyone will have a smartphone or an iPhone in possession, which is mandatory if CarPlay needs to be used. Additionally, customers are free to switch to Android Auto if they are dissatisfied with CarPlay and vice versa. Only recently, General Motors made the decision to get rid of CarPlay, believing that Apple’s software would harm the safety of drivers. Unfortunately, there is no statistical data to prove the veracity of GM’s claim, and there would be another reason for not wanting to use Apple’s software in future vehicles.
Similarly, there is a possibility that the DOJ has targeted CarPlay in the lawsuit for some other reason, and it is likely we will learn why it is a part of the antitrust case. Similar to the analyst’s viewpoint, we are confident that others will agree with his take.
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