Toyota is not planning on supporting Apple CarPlay or Android Auto
On Apple’s website, Toyota is still listed as a “committed partner.” However, it’s now looking like the Japanese carmaker is more of a runaway bride as far as CarPlay goes, according to The New York Times.
According to John Hanson, the national manager of Toyota’s advanced technology communications, the company has no plans to adopt Android Auto or CarPlay in the United States.
“We may all eventually wind up there, but right now we prefer to use our in-house proprietary platforms for those kinds of functions,” Mr. Hanson said.
This news doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
In 2014, the company announced on its United Kingdom blog that CarPlay would be coming to 2015 models. Soon after, however, they pulled the message and then said that “no announcements have been made about if and when Apple CarPlay will arrive in Toyota cars.”
Introduced as iOS in the Car, CarPlay was announced by Apple in 2013, before launching in March 2014. The service allows devices running the iOS operating system to function with build-in display units of automobile dashboards.
CarPlay and Android Auto are both relatively new, therefore Toyota’s decision doesn’t surprise me. Once these systems become more popular with the masses, I’m sure that the car company will come onboard.