BMW’s Apple CarPlay Annual Fee Is Next-Level Gouging

What are they thinking? Was my first thought but let’s work through this. Most software makers are going to a subscription model, and CarPlay is primarily just software. It does have a hardware component, but they are including that with every car a la Tesla and only activating it if you pay for it. CarPlay’s hardware is much cheaper than the parts Tesla installs and artificially locks. Apple wants CarPlay everywhere, and the piece is a minimal expense. The lone car manufacturer Toyota just announced they too are supporting CarPlay so customers must be requesting this feature pretty frequently.

Developers mainly promote subscription models because they have a reoccurring revenue source so they can continue developing and updating the piece of software. If BMW did have to spend time updating and more importantly upgrading CarPlay to support new phones and operating systems, then I can see this and almost support them. Apple did not design car play like this though. It’s a simple implementation into the car manufacturers infotainment systems. Apple then does all the software updates through the connected phone. Car makers have a horrible history of updating their infotainment system. If they do make a significant feature upgrade, then they could charge for it. By charging a subscription fee there is no guarantee of updates.

Charing an annual fee for CarPlay is a pure money grab. BMW says most people will pay less because they only lease their car and simply keep it a few years. What happens after the lease? The next owner has to keep paying. So the lifetime revenue for CarPlay on one car is now a lot higher.