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The Case for Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Even if Rivian Doesn’t Want It
Rivian has been pretty clear from day one: they’re not planning to support Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Their position? The in-vehicle experience is better when it’s built from the ground up, not handed off to third-party software. And honestly, there’s some truth to that. The UI is sleek, the native nav is solid, and Spotify, TuneIn, and Alexa are all well integrated. But even with all that, there’s still a strong case for CarPlay and Android Auto, especially the wireless versions.
Let’s be real. For a lot of drivers, phone projection isn’t just about familiarity. It’s about convenience. Being able to jump in your vehicle and immediately have your music, messages, and maps from your phone show up, wirelessly, is something that feels seamless and smart. And in 2025, it’s no longer a premium feature; it’s a baseline expectation. Even base trims of Hyundai and Kia EVs come with it. Heck, some golf carts support CarPlay now.
The truth is, Rivian’s native apps work well until they don’t. Navigation can’t always match the precision or feature set of Google Maps or Waze. Spotify integration lacks access to personal libraries, playlists, or even basic search sometimes.
And here’s the kicker: this isn’t about throwing out Rivian’s UI. It’s about choice. Let users toggle it off if they don’t want it. Let them launch CarPlay in a separate “pane” if needed. Plenty of other manufacturers have figured out how to gracefully integrate it without it taking over the vehicle’s identity.
Rivian’s software is good. But pretending that CarPlay or Android Auto would somehow dilute the experience or make things worse feels out of step with what modern EV buyers expect.
The good news? With Rivian’s over-the-air update architecture, it’s not too late. Adding support down the line is possible. Whether they’ll ever change their mind is another story, but if they do, it won’t be because their UI wasn’t good enough. It’ll be because their users wanted a choice.
Would you use wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto if Rivian added it? Drop a comment below and let us know where you stand.
It would be nice for my Apple Music playlists to have the ability to be refreshed. Having kids with a family-shared playlist is tough in its current form in my R1S. If I want the ability to play those newly added songs I have to be in park, sign out of Apple Music, sign back in and wait for it to populate my account. All for a handful of songs to appear in my car. I love a lot about the system but there is plenty that could be resolved by allowing CarPlay!
It sure seems like it would save a significant amount of R&D, development, and manpower on their software team to adopt these platforms as an alternative tab on the infotainment screen. I just don’t understand the insistence on some manufacturers to intentionally keep it out of their vehicles. There must be a reason that’s deeper than “everything is smoother when we build it in-house”.
One of the other reasons for not wanting it in Rivians has to do with control over the vehicle, especially with the latest version of Carplay/Auto. Changing the HVAC system and being able to show speedometer and change other displays and metrics is likely something Rivian (and other manufacturers) don’t want to hand over to another company. It would likely slow down their update process also because everything would likely have to be vetted through Apple and Google to make changes if they are likely to affect phones and their connections. I’m sure there are other reasons also with licensing and I’m sure money is involved. I own a Rivian but I used to sell GM vehicles and these were some of the reasons our regional manager mentioned during training when we first found out Carplay wasn’t going to be in some of the electric vehicles.
100% – give me the choice. No native podcasts if you don’t use Spotify. And BT audio leaves so much to be desired.
I would use it daily if they ever enable it.
Imagine you buy a beautiful 85” 8K OLED smart TV that doesn’t support Fire TV, Chrome TV or Apple TV. Case closed.
Agree 100%! Choice is a big value adid and I would rather their development teams focus on improving the overall car experience and performance. The monthly updates are meager when it comes to entertainment and I’m seeing more coming to Gen2 and eventually R2S which will take even more resources away. I recall reading that the platform will allow more options etc. When? Having the option would help pacify the early adopters to Gen 1. I’m surprised to be in June and still only have the YouTube app and Chromecast option.