
It’s been more than a decade now since the debut of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the smartphone-based systems that quickly exploded in popularity due in part to the fact that automaker infotainment interfaces mostly sucked at the time. But more than that, CarPlay and Android Auto made things easy by largely replicating their already familiar user experiences. They also leverage the phone’s data plan for connectivity, don’t require a separate subscription, and seamlessly update as new apps and features become available.