The Chevy Silverado’s New Infotainment System Has Lots Of Screens And Carplay. Here’s A Close Look

The Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra light-duty pickups are both getting substantial redesigns for the 2027 model year. Apart from updated designs, the biggest changes are the adoption of new, larger-displacement sixth-generation small-block V8s and an all-new interior. GM has yet to share any specs on the engines besides the displacements, but they have given us an early look at the revamped user interface for the infotainment software in the trucks. 

Since it is 2026, it should come as no surprise that both the Silverado and Sierra are getting even more screen than before, both in dimension and number. For the first time, GM is offering a passenger-side screen measuring 11.5 inches across the diagonal. Despite the fact that these third front screens are proliferating across the industry, the actual utility of the extra display remains questionable. 

Since virtually everyone has a phone and many of us also have tablets and/or laptops – any of which can be used to watch videos or other content, I’m not sure why we need another display embedded into the dashboard. That said, the passenger display does have a filter on it that makes its contents invisible to the driver. 

[Ed Note: Welcome back Sam Abuelsamid, one of the auto industry’s greatest writers/analysts. He tends to get into some nitty-gritty detail, which I like, even when that detail is about a user interface I will probably never own. -DT]. 

Since the competition has also gone to increasingly large screens, GM is no longer saddling its entry-level models with a diminutive 7-inch screen in the center stack. All of the new trucks get a 12.2-inch instrument cluster display and a 16.3-inch touchscreen as standard equipment, and all the displays are full-array local dimming (FALD) to optimize the contrast and visibility.

So What’s On The Screens?

Like most GM vehicles in recent years, the Sierra and Silverado are sticking with the Android Automotive operating system with Google Automotive Services (GAS). However, it’s 2026, so instead of the old Google Assistant that went along with Google Maps and the Play store, Gemini will now try to answer all of your verbal queries. Whether Gemini’s responses are any more accurate remains to be seen, but since it’s a generative AI model, we can’t rule out the occasional hallucination when you ask the system to navigate to a point of interest. 

Despite some recent comments in interviews with CEO Mary Barra hinting that the removal of smartphone projection like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto would be extended beyond EVs, that hasn’t happened yet on the new trucks. Both phone interfaces remain in place for the foreseeable future. 

So the core of the information on the center screen remains intact for 2027, but GM has put some thought into how that content is displayed. The basis remains a grid of icons for the array of functions. Across the top and bottom of the screen are rows of shortcuts and data that are always visible. At the top left is the home button, the app grid, and shortcuts to media, maps, and phone controls. Centered at the bottom are perpetual climate controls showing temperatures for each zone, where the air should flow, and seat heater switches. Most of the same functionality is also available through physical buttons below the screen. As before, you can also adjust the temperature through Gemini by saying “Hey Google.”

In the lower left are some other persistent controls, including a shortcut to all the settings and the touch switch for the lights, which many drivers I’ve talked to don’t particularly like, but at least it’s always there and you don’t have to go hunting for it. In addition to the persistent controls, other functions will pop up in that bottom row as needed. For example, GM has built in a garage door opener control that can be programmed to open your door. When you are in proximity to your driveway, that button will automatically appear so you can open your garage with a single tap and as you drive away, it also leaves the screen so it’s not cluttered with irrelevant controls. 

The big chunk in between is where GM has started to make some changes. Jace Stokes, Staff Product Manager – UI, General Motors, explained, “We’ve done a lot of UX (user experience) research, and we’ve found that our users really like to live in the split screen view.” GM has had a split-screen view available on its Android systems since the beginning, with two panes divided roughly ⅓- ⅔. 

But until now, the smaller pane has always been on the right, further away from the driver. Typically, when people use the split screen, the map is in the larger pane while the smaller pane holds something like the media playback controls. When you’re driving, you’re more likely to be interacting with the media controls to pause, go back, or skip forward. Having that on the far side of the screen makes it a longer reach, so GM has swapped the positions, putting the small pane on the left. It seems like a little detail, but it should definitely make the system a bit more usable. 

For those who choose to utilize CarPlay or Android Auto, that interface will show up in the larger split-screen pane to the right, leaving the left pane for your choice of native content that can include almost any vehicle data, such as trailer tire pressures and brake controller gain. The trailering information will pop up automatically on the screen as soon as you plug in a trailer. Whenever you tow, you should always check out the functionality of the trailer lights before you head out. GM is making that process easier, especially if you don’t have a friend who can press the brake pedal and activate the turn signals. They’ve integrated trailer light control with the vehicle’s mobile apps, allowing the lights to be triggered with a tap on your phone screen. 

Along the top center of the screen is a horizontal line. Swiping down on the screen from that line opens up Quick Settings, similar to the control center on an iPhone. This gives you easy access to your most used settings, and just as on an Android phone, this can be customized with the settings you actually use. 

When you get a call, it doesn’t take over the entire screen, instead shrinking to a call timer bar at the top of the screen while retaining access to maps and other content. 

The Cluster

Last year, GM already launched updates for its hands-free Super Cruise driver assist; those updates make it easier to activate both adaptive cruise control and Super Cruise with just one button press. After the speed is set, as soon as the system detects you’re on a road where Super Cruise can be used, it will activate automatically and turn the light bar on the steering wheel green. 

GM has updated the Super Cruise visualization in the cluster display similar to what is found on vehicles from Tesla and Hyundai Motor Group, among others. It now shows your vehicle and those in adjacent lanes as they move relative to your vehicle. This approach can help build confidence that the system is seeing what your own eyes are seeing. 

Several years ago, GM was the first automaker to enable its hands-free system to work while towing, and that continues for 2027, although GM is no longer the only automaker to provide this function. Ford has just announced that the 2027 F-150 will have similar capability. 

Even when Super Cruise isn’t active, hooking up the trailer control automatically switches the cluster display in addition to the previously mentioned card on the center screen. It shows a range of relevant information such as oil and transmission temperatures that you may want to monitor while towing. 

The trucks also have the usual array of cameras around the vehicle. There’s a specific camera view of the hitch, making it easier to get into position to connect a trailer. Underbody cameras on the off-road models like the Silverado ZR2 and Sierra AT4X give a view of what sort of terrain you’re traversing. None of that is necessarily new in the industry or even to GM (the electric trucks already have these cameras), but it makes sense to expand the availability. Engaging off-road driving modes also pulls up pitch and roll information, tire pressures, and transfer case status in the cluster.

Over On The Passenger Side

The list of available media apps in the Google Play Store for vehicles is growing, and all of those apps can be displayed on the passenger screen. That 11.5-inch display is fixed in place on the Chevrolet, while GMC has an articulating panel that covers the lower half of the screen when it’s not being used. Available apps that can run on the passenger screen include YouTube and YouTube Kids, AMC+, DirectTV, Disney+, Hulu, iHeartRadio, SiriusXM, Tubi, TuneIn, ViX, and more. 

GM claims all of this will run faster and smoother than on prior iterations of the system. GM hasn’t confirmed what platform this is all running on. We’re guessing that the trucks have been upgraded to one of the newer Qualcomm Snapdragon cockpit system-on-chip designs, either the Gen 4 or Gen 5, both of which support the functions found in these trucks.

The UX design we’re seeing so far makes a lot of sense and should make it easier for drivers to use these systems. In general, GM’s software does seem to have gotten much more reliable since the dark days of late 2023 when it had to issue a stop sale on the Blazer EV, but we’ll have to wait until we actually get some extended time behind the wheel of the new Sierra and Silverado to really judge the quality. That should come sometime in the next few months. 

Top graphic images: GM