The antitrust lawsuit filed by the Dept. of Justice Thursday against Apple, claiming it blocks competing apps and services, includes several mentions of CarPlay as anti-competitive.
The suit (see bottom of page 48 here) says Apple’s next generation of CarPlay (which extends CarPlay features into other screens and gauges in the car) is another case where Apple is exerting its power over car makers and where it “further locks-in the power of the iPhone by preventing the development of other disintermediating technologies that interoperate with the phone but reside off device.”
What? Analysts and journalists say the DOJ may have misunderstood how CarPlay works.
First, car makers can choose to allow the new generation of CarPlay or not. It’s up to them. They can stick to the current generation that is limited mainly to the radio and which is very popular with users. In fact, only a few car makers have elected to adopt the new CarPlay so far.
The Verge cites analyst Sam Abuelsamid of Guidehouse Insights as stating the DOJ claims around CarPlay are misleading. He notes that car makers can limit the CarPlay interface to whatever screens they choose.
The DOJ also cites Apple CarKey as anticompetitive. It basically stores a copy of the users digital car key in the Apple Wallet app. The DOJ notes that competitive digital keys from other developers must work through Apple Wallet and they are prevented from setting up their own digital wallets on the iPhone. The DOJ also says that it lessens the incentive for car makers to innovate because they are forced to share data with Apple.
Even 9to5Mac says the DOJ may have more of a case regarding Digital Keys.
But Mike Ramsey of Gartner is cited by The Verge as stating that the popularity of Apple comes from its combining all functions into its system so they work together seamlessly. He said working through Apple Wallet, ensures a better user experience.
The DOJ lawsuit overall could drag out for many years, said The New York Times. The suit asks the court (US District Court for the District of New Jersey) to stop Apple from engaging in practices such as blocking cloud-streaming apps, preventing messaging with other phone platforms and preventing other digital wallet apps. The Times notes that the DOJ can ask that Apple be broken up into smaller companies.
Source: Dept. of Justice via The Verge, The New York Times, 9to5Mac
Photo: Next generation of CarPlay
It’s quite obvious the DOJ really doesn’t have a clue what they’re talking about.
I love that this brings attention to carplay and android auto. It’s all good stuf!!!