GM updates its trucks’ native software to coexist with CarPlay

The automaker is introducing a new user interface for its Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks that includes, for the first time, picture-in-picture phone projection.

The automaker is introducing a new user interface for its Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks that includes, for the first time, picture-in-picture phone projection.

General Motors is polishing up the software experience in its bestselling trucks in an effort to reduce the amount of dangerous tapping and swiping that’s required to access the most-used controls. It’s also giving Apple CarPlay and Android Auto spiffy new picture-in-picture displays — which is notable given GM’s previously stated hostility to phone mirroring in its electric vehicles.

When the next-generation interface makes its debut on the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2027 GMC Sierra 1500 later this year, vehicle owners will see a number of changes, including slick new graphics for its advanced driver-assist system, animated transitions between displays, and simplified layouts for heavy-duty truck stuff like trailering and off-roading. And they’ll be seeing it all on 60-plus inches of screen real estate — the combined size of instrument cluster, central display, and passenger screen in some of its trucks — that’s designed to enhance but not overwhelm the driving experience.

For GM, larger displays do not necessarily mean more distractions. Instead, the automaker views the additional space as an opportunity to be smarter about how information is presented and to make interactive elements larger, said Colin McCormick, group product manager for Google built-in, projection, and profiles at GM. Larger buttons and bigger tap zones can make the system easier to operate, particularly under difficult driving conditions, he said.

“The buttons can be larger and make it easier to do,” McCormick said. “Living in Michigan, the roads are terrible, so I’m trying to tap on a very small tap zone while hitting a bunch of potholes. These larger displays give you better functionality in that standpoint.”

There are still plenty of physical buttons for key functions like HVAC. But when you want to control the direction of the airflow, a new menu appears as a flyout. Customers have repeatedly professed their love for physical controls, so GM understands that moving key functions onto the screen just because there’s more real estate doesn’t necessarily earn them any goodwill . There are some formerly tangible tools that are now becoming digital only. The oil dipstick, for example, is now a virtual measurement that exists on the truck’s status screen. But the majority of the physical touchpoints remain physical.

Borrowing from the world of smartphone design, GM’s designers added a swipe-down notification interface for quick access to functions such as switching connected devices, entering settings, and privacy controls. Truck owners can disable the vehicle’s microphone directly from this interface, for example.