It's surprisingly common. A lot of standard features (reclining seats, AC, large fuel tanks, back seats, large trunks, fuel efficiency) aren't important to all buyers, but they're important to some buyers. Over time they creep into the standard feature set as manufacturers design new models because the economies of scale from additional customers and a simpler production line outweigh the additional costs.

Once you get used to CarPlay it is hard to go back. Your apps are right there and synced without effort. Whatever music/podcasting app is there. Your choice of navigation/maps. It is just incredibly convenient and frictionless. The interface is simple and easy to navigate and when implemented correctly is incredibly responsive.

It’s definitely about expectations. I suspect that a lot of people, once they’ve used CarPlay or (presumably) android auto, would find it very difficult to go back to the experience that the typical car manufacturer is shipping.

I’ve never used a car that I was impressed with the built-in navigation or anything else that I might otherwise do on the phone. Aside from Google and Apple just shipping more polished products in general than the teams that seem to be building infotainment systems, the specific phone integration also makes a lot of stuff easier. Yes, I can use voice to ask Siri to do something. But I can also just use my phone to type in an address or whatever else. I cannot do that with Chevy’s built-in system. I also frankly don’t want to pay Chevy or any other car manufacturer a subscription fee for up-to-date maps or traffic that my phone has already.