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Ford Working With Apple on CarPlay, But Won't Give Up Control of the Dashboard
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Yes, of course. It was a $45,000 Toyota Avalon and a $1,000 iPhone. Would do it again in a heartbeat.
It can't be worst than Dodge/Chrysler and their absolutely horrible UConnect system
I wish these car makers woke up and realized what century they're in
While it could use some work, you've obviously never owned a Ford with the SYNC system if you think FCA's UConnect is worse. It's infinitely better than the Microsoft based Ford SYNC system and is built upon the same QNX platform that Ford is currently planning to switch over to themselves.
... a decision on a $40,000 car based on your $200 smartphone
Sad thing is, there's an idiot out there who would do just such a thing. Keeping their infotainment open to Sync, CP, and AA is the smartest move they could make. Since their goal is to sell cars, why alienate any customer? It's just plain common sense.
Sad thing is, there's an idiot out there who would do just such a thing. Keeping their infotainment open to Sync, CP, and AA is the smartest move they could make. Since their goal is to sell cars, why alienate any customer? It's just plain common sense.
I couldn't agree more! I've had many Fords with the Sync system as rental cars over the years. The system and the menus are completely counter-intuitive. One time I had the auxiliary input just flat out stop working. The solution - and this is no joke - I had to reboot. Borrowed an adjustable wrench, disconnected the car battery for a few minutes, and reconnected. Auxiliary input worked fine again. It is a Microsoft product, after all...so it would have been nice if they had provided the CTRL-ALT-DEL keys!
What do you mean non intrusive? You do know CarPlay is simply a software overlay driven by your phone right? Think Airplay for the car using the car's touchscreen.
It can't be worst than Dodge/Chrysler and their absolutely horrible UConnect system
I wish these car makers woke up and realized what century they're in
I have a Jeep with Uconnect and my wife drives a Ford with sync. Uconnect is way better. Sync is trash.
Can anyone from America tell me how the phrase 'could care less' makes any sense at all...
It's 'couldn't care less'...
Can anyone from America tell me how the phrase 'could care less' makes any sense at all...
It's 'couldn't care less'...
Hey now, he has a Lexus. He's obviously too good for grammar
Um, really? Ya might want to dig into this a little bit, that's exactly what they did for Sync 3 (built it on top of Blackberry QNX).... and it will be compatible with Android or iOS.
Ford was right to make the switch, but what is comical (as others have stated) is that they proclaim Sync of old has brought consumers into showrooms. The fact they haven't shifted to Sync 3 yet (and Carplay compatibility) is the very reason I didn't end up buying the new F 150.
Can anyone from America tell me how the phrase 'could care less' makes any sense at all...
It's 'couldn't care less'...
Here's how: I could care less (but I won't bother to)... the part in the parenthesis is implied.
A better question would be why can't your $30K-$50k car work well with a $800 phone by supporting CarPlay. My whole life runs through my phone. You better believe it's going to determine what car I buy.
A vehicle without CarPlay support simply won't get my business. It's like not including air conditioning. I don't care how good the rest of the car is, I simply won't buy another car without it.
I'm really surprised that these car manufacturers aren't chomping at the bit to bring car play on board.
Most car manufacturers have really clumsy interfaces. Some examples are Ford, VW, Audi, Aston Martin, Toyota, Land rover & mercedes just can't seem to get it right.
They only really intuitive car interface i've seen is the BMW iDrive which many of the other german brands have tried to copy but don't quite hit the mark.
I understand not wanting to push customers into iPhone but i'm sure they could easily offer both options in the car.
I'm not a big fan of touch screens in cars though, find it very distracting and think the BMW dial approach is best and hopefully car play can be controlled this way as well.
Most car manufacturers have really clumsy interfaces. Some examples are Ford, VW, Audi, Aston Martin, Toyota, Land rover & mercedes just can't seem to get it right.
They only really intuitive car interface i've seen is the BMW iDrive which many of the other german brands have tried to copy but don't quite hit the mark.
I understand not wanting to push customers into iPhone but i'm sure they could easily offer both options in the car.
I'm not a big fan of touch screens in cars though, find it very distracting and think the BMW dial approach is best and hopefully car play can be controlled this way as well.
Car companies don't get it
The only thing this guy from Ford gets right is that you're $40,000 car shouldn't be determined by what $200 phone you own. All these systems should at least allow you to use either Carplay or Google Auto, and if the car manufacturer want to have their own software as a third option, that's fine as well.
As someone who just bought a new car and was looking at the infotainment systems of many companies, the one thing that I came away with is that they all suck. Chevy, Ford, Subaru, Toyota. I ended up getting a Toyota and imho Entune is a piece of junk. Slow, featureless, not intuitive, cheap looking. It gets 1 1/2 stars in the app store. These car companies should be embarrassed that they're not in the same league as Apple and Google when it comes to car software.
Obviously the infotainment system shouldn't be the #1 reason you choose a certain vehicle, but it is a feature you'll use a lot in the car and these companies need to start working harder to make it work right.
Finally, if I could say one thing to Apple and Google it would be: make it safe. I really don't want to die in a car accident because some guy is updating his Facebook status.
The only thing this guy from Ford gets right is that you're $40,000 car shouldn't be determined by what $200 phone you own. All these systems should at least allow you to use either Carplay or Google Auto, and if the car manufacturer want to have their own software as a third option, that's fine as well.
As someone who just bought a new car and was looking at the infotainment systems of many companies, the one thing that I came away with is that they all suck. Chevy, Ford, Subaru, Toyota. I ended up getting a Toyota and imho Entune is a piece of junk. Slow, featureless, not intuitive, cheap looking. It gets 1 1/2 stars in the app store. These car companies should be embarrassed that they're not in the same league as Apple and Google when it comes to car software.
Obviously the infotainment system shouldn't be the #1 reason you choose a certain vehicle, but it is a feature you'll use a lot in the car and these companies need to start working harder to make it work right.
Finally, if I could say one thing to Apple and Google it would be: make it safe. I really don't want to die in a car accident because some guy is updating his Facebook status.
I had been waiting for the 2016 Ford Fusion with cash in-hand. Sure enough, it was just released but NO SYNC 3. Unbelievable. The existing Sync is an atrocity. Sorry Ford, but I can't wait any longer. Even Hyundai and Kia are offering Car Play. Ford just lost a sale because they are in denial about how important cell phone compatibility is. They need to front-burner getting the new tech out.
And this is why Apple is probably going down the route of their own car. These companies aren't going to give up their dashboard to anyone. The best we'll get is CarPlay which is OK but not great.
Not sure if I'd consider a Toyota/Lexus any better than Ford.
Have you been paying attention to all the issues/recalls/deaths with Toyota's, which also affects Lexus.
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Looks like there may be an increase in Hyundai and Kia sales...
Look at it like this, it's not the phone that's dictating the car purchase, it's the integration with the ecosystem. And yes, Ford (or any other car company who might be reading) I will absolutely make my next car purchase based on integration with the Apple ecosystem.
Makes sense that the car companies would build cars with electronics that will work with Android or Apple (or whatever)--give customers the choice. But it's pure fantasy to think a car company can build better software than a software/hardware company. The best cars will have robust APIs--they become platforms--that let the customer's choice of software ecosystem interact with every feature in the car, and control every UI function.
It's not about the "phone" per se, but about the entire ecosystem and one's personal workflow. I have an iPhone and a MacBook Pro and an iPad. My media are tied into the iTunes ecosystem was well as other apps that I have on my phone (Pandora, etc.). Messaging, Maps, etc. are also part of that same ecosystem. Would I make a car purchasing decision based on how nicely the car's infotainment system interfaced with all the rest of what I do? Damn right I would. I expect Android folks would feel the same.
The days of separate information silos for all of these things (phones, cars, computers) are long gone. We now expect seamless transition from one to another. If I look up an address on my computer, I expect to be able to have the address appear directly on whatever mapping device I will use in the car (currently my iPhone). I don't want to have to log into a separate system (Sync, Entune, or whatever) to transfer it over. As usual, it's about the customer user experience, in which Ford has fallen woefully behind most other carmakers.
Perhaps he's on the right track with a universally compatible infotainment system that plays nicely with everyone, but that's not how he comes across. He seems to be more interested in protecting Ford's proprietary interests. If this results in a subpar user experience for Android or Apple users, then it will be a big fail.
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Looks like you type faster than me, but had exactly the same thoughts!