Rivian Explains Why CarPlay Debate Will Become 'Completely Obsolete' - MacRumors

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Rivian Explains Why CarPlay Debate Will Become 'Completely Obsolete'

Thursday May 28, 2026 9:48 am PDT by Joe Rossignol<br>On the latest episode of The Verge's Decoder podcast, Rivian's software chief Wassym Bensaid explained why the EV maker still refuses to offer Apple CarPlay.

In short, Bensaid said Rivian does not want CarPlay to fully take over the software experience.

"The challenge with screen mirroring solutions is that they take over every single pixel in the car," he said.

Instead, Rivian prefers to offer its own interface with "end-to-end integration."

Bensaid added that "deep AI integration into the car" will eventually make the debate over offering CarPlay in vehicles "completely obsolete." He believes that Rivian owners will be able to access the core functionality of many apps through an AI agent, rather than needing to rely on CarPlay or Android Auto.

"I really believe that the way you interact with apps which are mono-threaded, single buttons, single icons, a lot of that will be now completely reshaped into a world where it will become an agentic integration that presents itself into a wholesome user experience to the user," Bensaid explained. However, he admitted that an AI agent becoming an "alternative solution" to CarPlay apps will take time to materialize.

Already, Rivian owners are increasingly less interested in CarPlay, according to Bensaid. He said that Rivian's internal statistics showed that more than 70% of customers wanted CarPlay when their vehicles first launched around five years ago, but he said a recent survey showed that figure is apparently less than 25% now.

"With the level of features that we have shipped to customers, with the level of end-to-end integration, with the level of convenience that we are bringing, CarPlay is, or Android Auto to that extent, is no longer the topic of discussion," he said.

Related Roundup: CarPlay<br>Tag: Rivian<br>Related Forum: HomePod, HomeKit, CarPlay, Home & Auto Technology

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Top Rated Comments

aj8690<br>3 hours ago at 09:53 am

His reasoning is not even valid. CarPlay doesn’t have to take over every pixel. There are plenty of cars that implement CarPlay next to their own interface.<br>Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)

KENESS<br>3 hours ago at 09:52 am

Now that I've used CarPlay in my new car, I will never even consider a car without CarPlay.<br>Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)

flyingember<br>3 hours ago at 09:49 am

Read- we want to sell your data

They sell 0.2% of vehicles.<br>Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)

ignatius345<br>3 hours ago at 09:56 am

You can have my CarPlay when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

Just rented a car for a few days and was able to bring all my music, all my saved map places and everything else right there with me. Didn’t sync a damn thing with the random vehicle Avis gave me, didn’t spend a second setting anything up, didn’t log into any of my own services and worry about whether I’d signed out. When I was done with the rental, I just took my phone and walked away. This is what the Rivians of the world hate: the car being interchangable with no lock-in.<br>Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)

sully54<br>3 hours ago at 09:53 am

It's because offering CarPlay eats into any potential subscription...