Waze Launches on Ford's SYNC 3 Infotainment Systems Through iOS AppLink

[rom3o]

Waze stops the iPhone turning off the screen during use

There is a toggle in the general settings to prevent auto-lock.

 

[Defthand]

If nothing else CarPlay needs to allow unrestricted mirroring so we we aren't dependent on Apple's "generosity" to fully utilize the device we paid for the way we want. If the app is good enough for approval in the AppStore then it should be available across all devices. Apple's insistence on closing the CP ecosystem to only those apps it wants to separately approve is ridiculous.

Frankly, the manufacturers of infotainment hardware should have developed and promoted a nonproprietary solution for mobile devices to mirror any and all apps. It shouldn’t be Apple’s decision whether I use their apps or those of a third party. Nor is Apple’s CP any less distracting, considering how engaged and careful you have to be to use the Siri interface.

Someday, infotainment systems won’t require a smartphone, and Apple Carplay will be pointless. You’ll insert a sim card from your cellular service, make calls with the infotainment system, and download apps directly to it.

 

[augustrushrox]

If nothing else CarPlay needs to allow unrestricted mirroring so we we aren't dependent on Apple's "generosity" to fully utilize the device we paid for the way we want. If the app is good enough for approval in the AppStore then it should be available across all devices. Apple's insistence on closing the CP ecosystem to only those apps it wants to separately approve is ridiculous.

Just buy a car mount for your device. There are dashboard mounts, vent mounts, cup holder mounts, CD drive mounts...

 

[dirtymagician]

I'd like to see TomTom Go allowed onto CarPlay, TomTom is involved in Apple Maps anyway.

At the moment CarPlay feels to me like the Apple TV in it's first 3 generations....bit of something for Apple to tinker with when they are bored.

 

[rolsskk]

Waze is Google. I think that's the problem.

No, Apple is the problem as they have never taken CarPlay seriously, nor have they devoted any real effort to it.

That defeats the purpose of CarPlay -to try to reduce distracted driver situations.

Then Apple should allow anyone to configure their apps for CarPlay use.

I don’t see Apple ever allowing Waze in CarPlay. Three reasons:

• Waze is owned by Google and Google has a directly-competing in-car solution.
• Apple wants iOS users to use Apple Maps, not other map apps. They aren’t investing all that money into maps refinement and street view mapping for nothing.
• Waze encourages FAR too much driver interaction while driving. If you regularly use CarPlay like I do, you know that Apple went to great pains to keep interactions simple and to a minimum. The two companies aren’t going to see eye to eye on the acceptable level of functionality and interaction.

Unfortunately, AppleMaps is still a joke, and I will continue to use either Waze or GoogleMaps over it. Who's to say that Waze can't simplify things for CarPlay?

 

[Truckondo]

Still waiting on Grindr integration.
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CarPlay is for  apps only.

Pandora, Spotify, and Amazon Music are competing apps and work on CarPlay. Unfortunately, you can’t work them over voice control.

 

[rolsskk]

Just buy a car mount for your device. There are dashboard mounts, vent mounts, cup holder mounts, CD drive mounts...

Unfortunately they vary widely in quality and usefulness, and if you've got something that's already built-in, why not use it?

At the moment CarPlay feels to me like the Apple TV in it's first 3 generations....bit of something for Apple to tinker with when they are bored.

Exactly! It's just another hobby shop project for Apple. I was so excited for CarPlay when it was initially announced, but after seeing the neglect it's endured, it's definitely not a selling point/deciding factor for me.

 

[kyjaotkb]

Still waiting on Grindr integration.
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CarPlay is for  apps only.

You mean, like Spotify ?

 

[extrachrispy]

This statement is incorrect: all while their iPhone is safely stored and locked.

Waze has to be running in the foreground and the phone has to remain unlocked, otherwise the image on the screen freezes and doesn’t accept input, though the audio continues to update if Waze was in the foreground when the iPhone was locked.

Which is really DUMB on Waze's part: OLED burn-in is a thing.

Waze is indeed a distracting app. I can learn to manage that by only paying attention to the screen when the road ahead is clear, and only for a moment at a time. What I can't do is prevent wear and tear on my X's screen while running Waze, and this is a dealbreaker for me.

I second the idea of Apple adding some Waze-like functionality to Apple Maps.

 

[garan]

Apple’s resistance to enable Remote SIM Access Protocol in the Bluetooth stack on iPhones is one example of how they stubbornly refuse to put the consumer’s requirements before their future iron money making grip on technology.

 

[Fofer]

I don’t see Apple ever allowing Waze in CarPlay. Three reasons:

• Waze is owned by Google and Google has a directly-competing in-car solution.
• Apple wants iOS users to use Apple Maps, not other map apps. They aren’t investing all that money into maps refinement and street view mapping for nothing.

Spotify is owned by Spotify shareholders and is a direct competitor to Apple Music. Apple wants iOS users to use Apple Music, not other music apps. They aren’t investing all that money into music licensing, curation and original content for nothing. And yet, Spotify is on Apple CarPlay.

If Waze/Google made their app CarPlay-compatible, then Waze would be on CarPlay. But Google probably won't, because they don't want to help their competitor, and would rather keep it an exclusive on Android Auto.

Your argument sounds exactly like the arguments that said Amazon Prime Video and VUDU would never get native apps on the AppleTV. And yet, here we are. Not only did they arrive, Apple even pushed (and promoted!) Amazon Prime Video to the older 3rd gen AppleTV, that doesn't even have an App Store.

I don't think it's Apple that's rejecting Waze from CarPlay. I think it's that Waze hasn't developed or offered such capability in their app, for obvious reasons.

 

[Dimwhit]

Now if only I could get Sync 3 updated to version 3. I'm on version 2, but it just won't detect an update no matter what I do.

 

[kuwxman]

Waze is Google. I think that's the problem.

Ermahgherd. Not the googles.

Anyways, Waze is my preferred navigation app. However, I’ve narrowed down my iOS beta issue to that app. Phone is fine until I open and run Waze for a commute then the phone becomes unresponsive.

 

[redman042]

Unfortunately, AppleMaps is still a joke, and I will continue to use either Waze or GoogleMaps over it. Who's to say that Waze can't simplify things for CarPlay?

I don’t agree with that. I use Apple Maps pretty regularly and it works quite well. It’s not as fully-featured as Google Maps, but it has come a very long way from the early days.

 

[simps100]

Now if only I could get Sync 3 updated to version 3. I'm on version 2, but it just won't detect an update no matter what I do.

Try: https://www.ford.co.uk/owner/resources-and-support/sync-bluetooth/update#/instructions/sync/ - Said there was an update for my car when i entered the VIN, downloading now.

 

[spazzcat]

Now if only I could get Sync 3 updated to version 3. I'm on version 2, but it just won't detect an update no matter what I do.

You can download it from owner.ford.com.

 

[rolsskk]

Spotify is owned by Spotify shareholders and is a direct competitor to Apple Music. Apple wants iOS users to use Apple Music, not other music apps. They aren’t investing all that money into music licensing, curation and original content for nothing. And yet, Spotify is on Apple CarPlay.

If Waze/Google made their app CarPlay-compatible, then Waze would be on CarPlay. But Google probably won't, because they don't want to help their competitor, and would rather keep it an exclusive on Android Auto.

Your argument sounds exactly like the arguments that said Amazon Prime Video and VUDU would never get native apps on the AppleTV. And yet, here we are. Not only did they arrive, Apple even pushed (and promoted!) Amazon Prime Video to the older 3rd gen AppleTV, that doesn't even have an App Store.

I don't think it's Apple that's rejecting Waze from CarPlay. I think it's that Waze hasn't developed or offered such capability in their app, for obvious reasons.

This makes no sense - following your line of logic, Google wouldn't have developed all of their G Suite apps, Maps, and Waze for Apple, as it would be helping their competitor. But that's clearly not the case, and one would imagine that they would want users using their apps over others, regardless fo platform.

 

[one more]

Waze encourages FAR too much driver interaction while driving. If you regularly use CarPlay like I do, you know that Apple went to great pains to keep interactions simple and to a minimum. The two companies aren’t going to see eye to eye on the acceptable level of functionality and interaction.

Not quite. We can customise Waze to reduce unnecessary clutter and they do not force us to actively report anything. I also like the simple and elegant UI of Apple Maps, as well as its simple routing solutions, yet the underlying data is just too poor in my area to rely on.

 

[Arbuthnott]

As for Waze, the best answer for us as customers I believe would be for Apple to offer Waze like services within Apple Maps.

Exactly. It is pretty clear that Apple is not going to facilitate the use of competing offerings, particularly since it relies on a huge user-base in order to make the investment into Maps worthwhile. Letting us escape to alternatives such as Waze is definitely not on the menu.

Waze is my navigation system of choice on my iPhone when I ride the motorbike. It has a motorbike mode, and it appears to be less finicky about directing me along arterial roads rather than by the quickest means. I suspect that the major navigation systems are required to constrain us as much as possible to not use short cuts through the suburbs. Waze also allows the use of a "via" point, which helps with setting a preferred route - the choice of where I am riding is important on the motorbike, whereas Maps is all about getting there.

As others have already pointed out, you have to turn CarPlay off in order to be able to use Waze with Sync 3.0. Whenever a phone call comes in, or you are setting music etc, you lose the Waze map display. In fact, you lose the Waze map display when the Sync system is doing just about anything other than providing route guidance. If Waze is going to be easier to use on Sync, Ford and Waze need to figure out how to maintain the map display when other things are going on in the background. This is something that Ford is going to have to solve, because Apple sure as hell will not.

 

[Fofer]

This makes no sense - following your line of logic, Google wouldn't have developed all of their G Suite apps, Maps, and Waze for Apple, as it would be helping their competitor. But that's clearly not the case, and one would imagine that they would want users using their apps over others, regardless fo platform.

I’d say that depends on just how much value the advertising from each of those apps (and users) brings into Google.

I still contend that if Waze offered CarPlay compatibility, we’d have it. The hold-up isn’t Apple’s fault and Apple isn’t rejecting it. If they were, we wouldn’t have Spotify or Pandora or Overcast on CarPlay, either.

 

[cz9h3d]

I don’t see Apple ever allowing Waze in CarPlay. Three reasons:

• Waze is owned by Google and Google has a directly-competing in-car solution.
• Apple wants iOS users to use Apple Maps, not other map apps. They aren’t investing all that money into maps refinement and street view mapping for nothing.
• Waze encourages FAR too much driver interaction while driving. If you regularly use CarPlay like I do, you know that Apple went to great pains to keep interactions simple and to a minimum. The two companies aren’t going to see eye to eye on the acceptable level of functionality and interaction.

<<<<This is the answer.....
I give Ford kudos for addressing a weakness for Apple/CarPlay users. Sucks that you have to disable CarPlay, but it's understandable.

 

[Fofer]

If Waze submitted a CarPlay-compatible update to the App Store, we'd have it.

 

[anson42]

Well, looks like with iOS 12 this is becoming moot... CarPlay will allow Waze and other 3rd party navigation apps to be installed.

 

[redman042]

Glad to see this, but surprised for sure. Google Maps was shown today as well. I was convinced this wouldn't happen, but am glad to be wrong about it.

 

[japetty]

If nothing else CarPlay needs to allow unrestricted mirroring so we we aren't dependent on Apple's "generosity" to fully utilize the device we paid for the way we want. If the app is good enough for approval in the AppStore then it should be available across all devices. Apple's insistence on closing the CP ecosystem to only those apps it wants to separately approve is ridiculous.

Doubtful Apple will ever do that?