No more in-car navigation—you’ll need to rely on Apple CarPlay or Android Auto instead.
Ferrari will soon require buyers to supply their own satellite navigation systems for upcoming models. The Italian car manufacturer has acknowledged that smartphones excel in navigation, prompting it to eliminate the feature entirely, including from the new Purosangue and 12Cilindri.
Emanuele Carando, Ferrari’s head of product marketing, stated to Drive that phone mirroring represents the most user-friendly and up-to-date option, rendering the dedicated system unnecessary and outdated. Recognizing that Ferrari owners typically do not use their vehicles for daily commuting, the company decided not to burden them with learning a specific in-car navigation system that they are likely to seldom use.
According to Carando, smartphones are now ubiquitous worldwide, not just among Ferrari owners, and he considers them “the most essential tools that can be used in any car.” General Motors faced immediate criticism when it announced plans to discontinue Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support in favor of its proprietary software. Ferrari appears to be adopting a contrasting stance on this issue.
It has been nearly ten years since the introduction of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and both have firmly established themselves as essential features in almost every modern vehicle. Customers now anticipate this technology in their cars, following years of automakers grappling to deliver satisfactory user experiences through their own systems. Given this expectation, we anticipate little resistance to these changes.
Ferrari is simply responding to consumer demand.