GM Reworks CarPlay and Android Auto for Its 2027 Gas Trucks
General Motors has announced a new software experience for its upcoming Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra that changes how Apple CarPlay and Android Auto sit inside the truck interface. The Verge
The new interface was introduced on September 15, 2026. It will debut on the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado and 2027 GMC Sierra light-duty pickups. GM
GM describes the release as integrating Android Auto and Apple CarPlay with its native truck software, instead of treating phone projection as a separate input. Phone projection means the phone draws the interface and the truck screen shows it. The update adds picture-in-picture support for both platforms, so a phone session can keep running in a smaller window while native truck functions stay on screen.
The split in GM's lineup remains. GM never removed phone projection from gas-powered trucks, SUVs and other internal combustion models. The 2026 Chevrolet Silverado HD, for example, offers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Chevrolet says Android Auto can be controlled by touch screen or voice commands, and vehicles with Google built-in can run apps directly on the center display.
That continuity stops at the EV lineup. GM removed Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone projection from its electric vehicles in 2023 and has not offered phone projection in EVs for the past three years.
The affected EVs include the Chevrolet Equinox, Blazer, Bolt and Silverado EVs, the Cadillac Lyriq, Optiq, Vistiq and Escalade IQ, and the GMC Sierra EV and Hummer SUV and Truck EVs.
GM builds its EV operating system on top of Android Automotive with embedded Google products including Maps and Gemini. That architecture is different from phone projection. Android Automotive runs natively on the vehicle computer, the head unit behind the dashboard. Android Auto and CarPlay borrow the display for a session rendered on the phone.
Policy around that split has shifted in public statements. In an October 2025 appearance on Decoder, GM CEO Mary Barra defended keeping CarPlay out of electric vehicles and indicated the policy would eventually extend to gasoline-powered vehicles. GM later clarified that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto would remain available in its gas-powered vehicles for the foreseeable future.
GMC describes over-the-air updates, software sent to the vehicle over a cellular connection, as the delivery method for this kind of change, saying vehicle software updates can deliver free enhancements, purchasable upgrades and software refinements.
The broader context here is integration without surrender. For drivers who know these systems, the issue with projection has rarely been pairing. It has been context switching, losing climate, camera or tow status when the phone takes over the full display. A picture-in-picture layout keeps the phone session alive while native vehicle screens stay reachable.
In my view, GM is now running two infotainment experiments in parallel. My children never learned a car stereo, they learned pairing, and that habit helps explain why projection survives in trucks where owners keep vehicles longer and rely on their phones. In EVs, GM is testing whether a native Android Automotive stack with embedded Maps and assistant functions can carry the full workload. Truck buyers get continuity. EV buyers get a controlled stack.
Looking at what this means for developers and integrators, the practical questions are interface priority, voice arbitration and update cadence. Which assistant answers, which map handles routing linked to battery charge, and which software layer gets patched over the air and when, will decide whether deeper integration feels seamless or crowded. If GM handles that coordination well, projection becomes one window among several instead of a takeover.
