Car OEMs Need to Choose Between Embedded Infotainment and Mirroring, Says Report

Consumers with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are “largely satisfied” with the connected car mirroring systems since their debuts last year, but integration issues with embedded infotainment systems can hurt the user experience, said a Wednesday Strategy Analytics report. Overall, consumers with mirroring platforms are largely satisfied and use them for most of their infotainment needs, with consumers rating CarPlay high for ease of use and its similarity to the iPhone interface and ranking both systems positively for the ability to update as needed. Consumers are happy to recommend the platforms to others, but “consumer-facing embedded navigation could become obsolete for those OEMs implementing smartphone mirroring solutions, as those solutions provide a better experience,” said analyst Chris Schreiner. Analyst Kevin Nolan said OEMs that don’t adopt smartphone mirroring solutions will have to provide over-the-air software updates to “continually enhance features and fix usability issues, in addition to developing value-added features that tie in with the rest of the vehicle to differentiate themselves from CarPlay and Android Auto.” At some point OEMs will have to decide whether to implement embedded systems or use mirroring solutions, said Nolan, saying providing both “will not produce optimal results."