Buried in the 88-page antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice<\/a> against Apple is a reference to everyone\u2019s favorite phone-projection system, CarPlay. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The DOJ says that, like smartphones, vehicle infotainment systems have become a new way in which Apple exhibits anticompetitive behavior to harm consumers as well as its competitors. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Apple\u2019s plans to introduce a more immersive version of CarPlay<\/a>, in which the system displays key aspects of the vehicle\u2019s functions like speed and HVAC, are further evidence of the company\u2019s illegal monopoly over smartphones, prosecutors say. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Infotainment systems have become a new way in which Apple exhibits anticompetitive behavior<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cBy applying the same playbook of restrictions to CarPlay, Apple 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,\u201d the lawsuit says. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The inclusion of CarPlay, as well as digital key functions through Apple\u2019s Wallet feature, came as a surprise to some analysts, who say that the DOJ may be misunderstanding the utility and functions of the phone-mirroring system. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n This is especially true for the next-generation version, which prosecutors described insidiously as taking \u201cover all of the screens, sensors, and gauges in a car, forcing users to experience driving as an iPhone-centric experience if they want to use any of the features provided by CarPlay.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That\u2019s misleading, said Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst at Guidehouse Insights and an expert on vehicle software. \u201cEven with the next-gen system, OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] don\u2019t actually have to let Apple take over all the screens,\u201d he said in an email. \u201cThey can limit the interface to whichever screens they want.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Automakers still need to build a basic software interface so vehicle owners can adjust their air conditioning, change the radio station, or operate native navigation maps, Abuelsamid said. They can\u2019t assume every vehicle owner has a smartphone, let alone an iPhone, that they\u2019ll project on their car\u2019s infotainment screen. And the car needs to be able to function in the absence of a smartphone. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cApple further locks-in the power of the iPhone by preventing the development of other disintermediating technologies\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Also, there\u2019s no cost to the customer for switching to Android Auto, the other popular phone-mirroring service owned by Google. And even in vehicles that feature Google\u2019s Android software natively, owners aren\u2019t prevented from using CarPlay if they want. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Apple CarPlay is immensely popular<\/a>, with broad swaths of Americans citing it as a must-have for future car purchases. Only General Motors has made the decision to cut off access<\/a> to all phone-mirroring services for its electric vehicles, citing a desire for a more \u201cholistically integrated\u201d software experience<\/a>. (The move has proven to be very unpopular with car shoppers.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n GM may also have cut off access to CarPlay for reasons other than holistic integration. The company likely balked at sharing data with Apple, which was working on its own secretive car project for over a decade. That work, known as Project Titan, came unceremoniously to an end last month<\/a> \u2014\u00a0which could ultimately lead GM to reconsider its decision, Abuelsamid said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n