Ford Fathom Keeps CarPlay as Slate Truck Asks You to Bring a Phone

Ford will build Apple CarPlay and Android Auto into its Fathom electric pickup, while rival Slate expects drivers to supply their own display, according to Engadget. The split matters because both trucks chase the same target: an electric pickup priced under $30,000.

Slate's Blank Slate Truck carries a base price of $24,950, plus $1,450 for destination. The Ford Fathom starts at $28,350, with a $1,595 destination fee attached.

Ford's cabin follows the usual pattern. The Fathom gets a sizable center touchscreen that runs phone-mirroring software. The truck also offers a phone-based key, two-way power delivery and the onboard hardware for Ford's upcoming BlueCruise hands-free driving, which buyers must activate. Ford has not released figures for range, towing or payload, and preorders open in early 2027.

Slate takes a different route. There is no factory infotainment setup at all. A mount and charger for your phone come as standard equipment, and buyers can add speakers and a bracket sized for a tablet. Maps, audio and other supported apps stay on the device. Slate told InsideEVs that software updates reach the truck by way of a phone, so the vehicle needs no built-in cellular link.

The reasoning is that hardware carried in a pocket does not age with the vehicle. The tradeoffs are real. A handset screen is smaller than a dashboard display, and some would-be owners are already talking online about aftermarket radios and homemade projects to add phone mirroring.

The gap reflects how each company is chasing a low price. Slate began with a clean sheet and questioned every part. Ford, a century-old manufacturer, is cutting build costs while keeping familiar cabin features. Ford is putting $2 billion into retooling Louisville Assembly Plant for its Universal EV Production System, which the company says needs 20 percent fewer components, half as many cooling hoses and connections, and a wiring harness over 4,000 feet shorter than the Mustang Mach-E's. Assembly should run 15 percent quicker than prior products at the site.

Phone connectivity carries weight with shoppers. Deloitte's 2025 Global Automotive Consumer Study, which polled more than 31,000 people across 30 countries, found that 63 percent of US respondents rated CarPlay or Android Auto as somewhat or very important for their next vehicle.