Major tech companies will wage the next battle for platform share in the car

BI Intelligence

The car will be the next important hardware category where major mobile software companies battle for platform share.

By 2020, BI Intelligence estimates consumers will activate connected services in 88 million cars, and these services will need to run on an intuitive consumer platform.

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That's why Apple and Google last year announced new operating-system extensions for the dashboard: Apple's CarPlay and Google's Android Auto.

In a new report from BI Intelligence, we analyze the two tech companies first plays in the connected car market. Our in-depth analysis outlines the capabilities of each system, analyzes the market potential for both Google and Apple, and looks at why connected cars are offering such a big opportunity to mobile platforms and apps.

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In the next few years, these platforms will dominate connected car services and will be a major area of growth for both tech companies. Through the connected car, Apple and Google have an opportunity to increase brand loyalty, earn revenues, and learn even more about consumer behavior.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• The connected car is one of the most important new digital platforms, and it's becoming a critical battleground for Google and Apple. By 2020, nearly 40 million cars will be using Android Auto and 37.1 million will be using CarPlay, according to IHS, and that will cover nearly all cars launching connected car services, according to BI Intelligence estimates.
• Apple's CarPlay and Android Auto enable drivers to run a selection of their smartphone apps on the car's infotainment center. For now CarPlay is in the lead, but that will shift over time.
• CarPlay and Android Auto have very different interfaces but provide similar capabilities. They allow users to control a selection of apps via voice command and make other features available on the infotainment screen.
• Both systems connect to the smartphone's native apps and offer an additional selection of third-party apps. CarPlay and Android Auto will be especially useful for expanding the reach of each platform's music streaming and mapping apps.
• There are a number of benefits to Apple and Google in creating these in-car operating-system extensions. The two companies can deepen brand loyalty, earn additional revenues from digital goods and ads, and acquire more information on consumer behavior in the car.

The report contains charts and data that can be downloaded and put to use.

In full, the report:

• Analyzes the current and expected car models that will be CarPlay and/or Android Auto compatible
• Explains how both CarPlay and Android Auto work
• Determines the current benefits of each system
• Examines how Google will benefit from the data generated from connected cars
• Assesses how Apple will learn about the car market through CarPlay

To access the full report from BI Intelligence, sign up for a 14-day trial here. Members also gain access to new in-depth reports, hundreds of charts and datasets, as well as daily newsletters on the digital industry.