Rivian's CEO Is Right. Apple CarPlay Is Overrated
Rivian's RJ Scaringe isn't the first automotive executive to foresee a future without Apple CarPlay. But he is the latest one to infuriate fans of the ubiquitous smartphone projection system by offering up reasons why Rivian doesn't intend to use it on its EVs. And it's time for those fans to consider that maybe automakers are moving beyond what Apple has offered for the past decade into something more suited to the future.
To recap, Scaringe went on The Verge's Decoder podcast and said Rivian wants the in-car user experience to feel "consistent and holistically harmonious," which precludes hopping out of CarPlay to engage more Rivian-specific functions like opening the front trunk. I'd go further than that example and cite things like Rivian's software-based off-roading, ride height and drive mode controls—especially with the sleek-looking graphics suite coming to the 2025 models. "I think it often gets more noise than it deserves," Scaringe said of the system.
Yet CarPlay has vocal, die-hard supporters, and their reaction was often fierce on social media—including from hopeful Rivian buyers interested in the EV brand's expanding lineup. One user described the move as one that "really shattered my hopes of getting one of their cars in the near future." Many others described the lack of CarPlay as a dealbreaker for any new vehicle purchase.
The thing is, Scaringe is actually right. And Tesla, which has always done software in-house, is, too. And astoundingly, so is General Motors, which also famously (or infamously) is going without CarPlay. Car software is evolving so quickly that Apple CarPlay is beginning to look obsolete—at least, until its more aggressively modern iteration comes out.
Most drivers just haven't experienced it yet.