GM's new pickups finally play nicely with CarPlay

General Motors has pulled the wraps off the software that will run its best-selling vehicles, and the headline change will please a lot of drivers: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are back in the picture. The new interface debuts first on the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado and 2027 GMC Sierra before rolling out across the rest of the range.

What's actually new in GM's truck interface?

The centrepiece is a re-imagined home screen with a split-view layout. A large, fully interactive map holds one side of the display while cards carry the rest of the information — trailering metrics, fuel efficiency, media controls — so navigation never disappears when you go looking for something else. GM says the display hardware is higher contrast than before, with deeper blacks and sharper depth across navigation, vehicle status and entertainment views.

Behind the wheel, the digital cluster is now mode-aware. Layouts shift to match what the truck is doing — trailering, off-road, or hands-off driving with Super Cruise — and a new 3D driving visualisation renders surrounding traffic, lane markings and road objects so drivers can see what the vehicle's sensors are seeing while Super Cruise is active.

Do CarPlay and Android Auto finally share the screen?

Yes, and that is the real story here. The updated Android Auto and Apple CarPlay experiences are now integrated with GM's native system, with phone content appearing in a large card window alongside native apps such as trailering and vehicle status. Drivers can move between the two worlds without giving up the truck-specific features GM builds itself.

It is a notable course correction. GM had spent the past few years steering its newer electric vehicles away from phone mirroring in favour of its own software stack, a decision that generated years of complaints from owners who wanted their phones to do the heavy lifting. Trucks are the company's highest-volume products, and the interface has been designed around them first.

What does the new software do for towing?

GM says it remains the only automaker offering hands-free trailering with its available Super Cruise driver assistance technology, and the interface now leans into that: hook up a trailer and the display adapts, adding trailering visualisation in the instrument cluster and a trailer card on the centre screen showing how truck and trailer move together. A dedicated Hitch View camera helps line the truck up without a spotter, underbody cameras cover rough terrain, and trailer light checks — brake lights, indicators, reverse and running lights — can now be run from a phone instead of walking around the rig.

Away from the job site, the system ships with Google Gemini, Google Maps and access to apps through Google Play, plus OnStar-powered native apps. Front passengers get their own screen with Amazon Music, AMC+, DIRECTV, Disney+, Hulu, iHeartRadio, SiriusXM, Spotify, Tubi, TuneIn, ViX, YouTube and YouTube Kids, visible only to them while the truck is moving thanks to polarised screen technology. Incoming calls no longer take over the display either; a small call timer sits at the top so navigation stays put.

GM describes the whole stack as a single scalable foundation across electric, petrol and diesel vehicles, with over-the-air updates delivering new features throughout the ownership period.

Our opinion

GM spent years insisting its own software was the better answer and letting customers discover that it usually was not. Putting CarPlay on the same screen as the trailering card is the most sensible thing the company has done to its cabin software in a decade, because it treats phone mirroring as a feature rather than an adversary. The important detail is the word “first”: this lands on trucks, the products whose buyers shout loudest, and the rest of the range has to wait. If GM extends the same courtesy to its electric cars, the years of complaining will have been worth it. If it does not, we will be back here with the same column.