GM confirmed last week that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will remain in the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, but with a redesigned infotainment interface arriving later this year on the company's highest-volume vehicles.
CarPlay and Android Auto won't take over the whole screen anymore. They'll share display space with fuel level, tire pressure, Super Cruise status, and other native vehicle information instead, according to Autoweek.
That framing matters because CarPlay never actually vanished from every GM vehicle. GM pulled phone projection from its newer EVs starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV, but many gas-powered models kept the feature the entire time, as 9to5Google reported.
GM had also floated killing projection more broadly: CEO Mary Barra suggested last year that the removal could eventually extend to gas-powered trucks and SUVs, then walked the comment back within days, according to The Verge.
Truck shoppers need three answers here: which trucks actually get the new interface, how it looks on screen, and whether GM's EV lineup is any closer to getting projection restored.
How Apple CarPlay works in the 2027 Silverado and Sierra
The redesigned dashboard offers more than 60 inches of combined display area on some configurations, combining the instrument cluster, center screen, and a passenger-side display that can play video, according to The Verge. That combined figure applies only to some trucks, so buyers shouldn't assume the full three-screen setup comes standard on every configuration.
Instead of CarPlay or Android Auto swallowing the whole center screen the moment a phone connects, the software now lives inside a large contextual card that sits next to native truck functions. Connect an iPhone through CarPlay and the connection icon switches to a CarPlay icon; tapping it opens CarPlay inside that card rather than across the full display, and pressing the native home button snaps the screen back to a split view, according to The Verge.
That split layout keeps native vehicle information visible while CarPlay handles messages, navigation, or media in its own window. Trailering information can remain visible in the driver display and smaller home-screen card even while phone projection is active.
On today's Silverado and Sierra, CarPlay or Android Auto can take over the primary infotainment view. On the 2027 trucks, GM is integrating phone projection more deeply into the native interface rather than forcing drivers to jump back and forth between the two systems.
GM group product manager Colin McCormick told The Verge the redesigned buttons are also larger, a deliberate choice given how often drivers tap a screen while dealing with rough roads.
Which GM vehicles get the new CarPlay interface, and which still don't
Only two vehicles get this interface at launch: the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2027 GMC Sierra 1500. The rollout is also limited to the new trucks when they arrive later this year, according to The Verge. GM has not announced an update path that brings this interface to existing Silverado or Sierra owners through an over-the-air update.
GM's EVs that launched without phone projection are still waiting. The automaker has made no announcement about restoring CarPlay or Android Auto to models such as the Chevrolet Equinox EV, Blazer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, or GMC Sierra EV, according to Autoweek.
GM's official explanation of the new interface describes it as a scalable design system that can use common components across the company's portfolio, but it does not name another model or give a rollout date beyond the Silverado and Sierra.
That's a sign GM designed the software with broader use in mind, not a confirmed schedule for bringing this exact CarPlay integration to additional vehicles. Shoppers looking at a GM EV, or at models beyond the Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500, should treat that as unresolved rather than assume it's coming soon.
Why GM changed its Apple CarPlay approach
GM's public explanation centers on customer feedback. Software executive Michael Wahlstrom said drivers like CarPlay and Android Auto's simplicity but also want quick access to the truck's own functions, and that the new interface tries to give them both instead of forcing a choice.
"We want customers to feel like they're interacting with a single experience rather than moving from room to room inside a house," Wahlstrom said in GM's Q&A about the new interface.
An American Trucks study found 55% of CarPlay users and 36% of Android Auto users called the absence of phone projection a dealbreaker when shopping for a new vehicle. Among Chevrolet owners, 42% said lacking CarPlay or Android Auto was a dealbreaker, while the figure was 23% among GMC owners.
The study surveyed 1,003 car owners in November 2025. Half used Apple CarPlay, 30% used Android Auto, and 20% were unsure which system they used.
GM announced in 2023 that it would phase phone projection out of its future EVs in favor of native software, a change that began with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV. The new approach on the Silverado and Sierra doesn't reverse that EV strategy. Instead, it changes how CarPlay and Android Auto coexist with GM's native software in two gas-powered trucks that never lost phone projection in the first place.
GM sells close to 900,000 Silverado and Sierra trucks a year, and the company expects a substantial amount of owner feedback once the new interface reaches customers, according to The Verge.
What GM isn't giving up: its native software strategy
Keeping CarPlay and Android Auto in the picture doesn't mean GM is stepping away from its native platform. The new interface runs on Android Automotive OS with Google built-in, keeping services such as Google Maps, Google Play, and Gemini available on the truck's screen whether or not a driver uses phone projection.
McCormick called the split-screen approach the "sweet spot," telling The Verge that GM wanted to stop forcing customers to choose between phone projection and native features like trailer-aware navigation.
Once a trailer connects, the truck identifies it and Google Maps can suggest a route that accounts for the trailer. Trailer dimensions entered once can also carry over to another compatible GM vehicle through a customer's account, according to The Verge.
The system supports over-the-air updates, and GM says those updates will let it continue improving the experience after launch based on customer feedback.
CarPlay and Android Auto now get a persistent place inside the interface instead of taking over the entire display, but GM's native software stays right there with them.
What to check before buying a 2027 Silverado or Sierra
Confirm these details once the trucks reach showrooms, since GM's current materials leave several specifics unaddressed:
Which display configuration the specific trim includes. The 60-plus-inch combined figure applies to some configurations, so don't assume every truck gets the complete three-screen layout.
Whether CarPlay and Android Auto connect wirelessly or require a cable. The current reporting explains the new interface but does not clearly establish the connection method for every configuration.
Whether the truck is a Silverado 1500 or Sierra 1500 rather than a heavy-duty model. GM's announcement covers the redesigned light-duty pickups.
Whether you're expecting the interface on an existing truck. The Verge reports that the new UI is limited to the new 2027 trucks, with existing owners remaining on the previous-generation experience.
Whether you're shopping for a GM EV. CarPlay availability on models such as the Equinox EV, Blazer EV, Lyriq, and Sierra EV remains unconfirmed. GM has not announced that the Silverado and Sierra interface will restore phone projection to those vehicles.
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