Porsche Chooses CarPlay Over Android Auto Due to Google's Data Collection Policy

Porsche has announced that its forthcoming 2017 Porsche 911 Carrera and Carrera S will support Apple's CarPlay platform. According to Moto Trend (via AppleInsider), Porsche selected CarPlay over Android Auto because under the agreement of partnering with Google, certain amounts of data would have been sent to the search giant.

Corvette CarPlay
Some of this data would have included vehicle speed, throttle position, and engine revs, all points of information that would constantly be flowing back to Google's headquarters each time a driver gets in the car. Comparatively, all Apple's CarPlay requires to know is whether the car is accelerating while the system is being used.

There's no technological reason the 991/2 doesn't have Android Auto playing through its massively upgraded PCM system. But there is an ethical one. As part of the agreement an automaker would have to enter with Google, certain pieces of data must be collected and mailed back to Mountain View, California. Stuff like vehicle speed, throttle position, coolant and oil temp, engine revs—basically Google wants a complete OBD2 dump whenever someone activates Android Auto. Not kosher, says Porsche.

Porsche's reasoning behind the decision points to not wanting to share the information with Google that could include the ingredients to its "secret sauce that makes its cars special," along with the fact that Google is reportedly building its own car at the moment. A few other vehicle manufacturers have announced support for CarPlay, but the service is just this year beginning to see a wider release despite being announced -- as "iOS in the Car" -- over two years ago.

Related Roundup: CarPlay

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
ipados 26 1 slide over

Apple Releases iPadOS 26.2 With Multitasking Improvements

Friday December 12, 2025 10:09 am PST by
Apple today released iPadOS 26.2, the second major update to the iPadOS 26 operating system released in September. iPadOS 26.2 comes a month after iPadOS 26.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. iPadOS 26.2 continues with the multitasking improvements that were added with iPadOS 26.1. You can now drag and...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...

Top Rated Comments

myemailisjustin Avatar
133 months ago
I'm surprised they wouldn't support both and just give people the choice.
cause that choice leads to google getting ODB2 data dumps...which could include their (Porche's) secret sauce.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BornAgainMac Avatar
133 months ago
Porsche threw Google under the bus with that statement.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OllyW Avatar
133 months ago
Does Porsche have sneaky emissions software like the rest of the vw group? Maybe that's why they don't like the data collection...
Have you ever seen a diesel engined 911?
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chromite Avatar
133 months ago
Apple and Porsche seems to go great together! Both are proprietary, secretive, premium, and apparently concerned about ethical user data collection.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
133 months ago
But from the data Google collects, they could provide user-specific driving recommendations: "based on how often you drive 40 miles per hour, you might enjoy driving 39 or 41 miles per hour."
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Keane16 Avatar
133 months ago
A rational choice from a consumer standpoint is giving them the option of either. Then you can choose privacy if you want it, (and think it really exists).
Not in this case as stated in the article. Porsche doesn't want Google to get the data from their cars. Which they feel is a competitive advantage that they don't want to share. Google won't budge on their requirements of data collection - one of the reasons Apple Maps was created.

If it was just general user data then sure, they could provide an option.

----------------

This article shows just how out of touch users on this tech focused forum are about privacy and data collection. Never mind Joe Average on the street.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)