Why Apple and Porsche are moving closer together

Porsche is integrating Apple Carplay much more deeply into its infotainment than any other carmaker. While BMW wants to bring its drivers back into their own infotainment world, the Stuttgart company is giving in to the urging of many customers: "Oliver Blume has decided that we'll do it the way our customers want it," says Steffen Haug, Managing Director of Porsche Digital in Palo Alto, California. And according to the Porsche boss and others, they often prefer Apple Carplay. In the future, Porsche drivers will therefore be able to use their i-Phone integration to control central functions of the car, such as the radio, the air conditioning, and the interior lighting, without having to switch back to the vehicle menu.

For years, a battle has been raging between the car manufacturers on the one hand and the Internet giants on the other over sovereignty over the screen in the vehicle: Who is allowed to offer its content there, BMW, VW and Mercedes, or Apple and Google? Most car manufacturers allow smartphones to be connected to the car. This means that drivers can not only make phone calls and have text messages read out to them, but also navigate using Google or Apple Maps. But there is a clear line between the two systems. The car industry does not want to allow too much smartphone use.

However, many users prefer the navigation program on their smartphone because the traffic reports are often more accurate and navigation destinations are automatically transferred from their own calendar or address database. Via Carplay or Android Auto, the navigation maps and other functions can simply be displayed on the car's screen. Car manufacturers don't usually take too kindly to this, arguing that it means they lose the central interface between car and driver.

"We are pleased that with the electric drive, many customers are returning to our own navigation program," says Stephan Durach, for example, who is responsible for connectivity and infotainment in cars at BMW. "Because only our own system knows the state of the vehicle's battery and when it needs to be charged." However, no automaker has yet succeeded in developing a functioning business model from this - offers for refreshments during charging breaks, for example, or for cheap gasoline at nearby filling stations still do not exist, not even at BMW.

In the case of the Porsche Taycan, Apple Maps EV routing in the U.S. even makes it possible to plan charging on longer routes. Apple Maps knows the battery's charge level and can thus recommend free charging stations along the route. Until now, Taycan drivers first had to exit the Carplay program and launch into Porsche Navigation to plan charging stops.

The new Porsche infotainment PCM, on the other hand, provides simplified access to vehicle functions within Carplay on the central vehicle screen. "With the update of the My Porsche app, we are taking advantage of the many possibilities offered by Apple Carplay. The goal: to offer an even better customer experience," says Mattias Ulbrich, Head of Porsche Digital. "Technology and digitalization are decisive factors in the ongoing fascination of our brand." Audio settings such as sound profiles, changing radio stations, adjusting settings for climate control and ambient lighting can thus be controlled directly in Carplay. In addition, customers can seamlessly operate various vehicle functions while driving using Apple's Siri voice control.

The connection works by scanning a QR code displayed in PCM. The My Porsche app receives regular updates to provide customers with new features as they are developed. First up is the new Carplay integration in the new Cayenne. Other model series will follow.

However, Porsche will not yet become the much-discussed Apple Car. No one at Porsche any longer doubts that the IT giant from Silicon Valley wants to launch its own car. The Stuttgart company recently lost an experienced chassis developer to Apple. (cen/gr)