thecarconnection
For years, both car companies and wireless carriers have pushed out sloppy and confusing car GUI’s. Combine the terrible car GUI with the even worse car data plans being offered by most wireless carriers and you are left with a section of the tech industry that is flailing in the wind at the moment.
Now, Ford is pushing out their newest in-car entertainment system called SYNC 3. This new system will have a “capacitive touch screen, better integration with smartphone apps and, eventually, support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.”
First released in 2007, SYNC is Ford’s voice-based car entertainment system that allows drivers to change the temperature, change radio station or make phone calls through voice commands.
ExtremeTech
As TechWorld notes:
- The new capacitive screens will (allow) for multitouch, pinch-to-zoom and only requires light taps to activate on-screen buttons.
- Google Now and Apple Siri will be available to those who access the system in the car through bluetooth by touching a button on the steering wheel.
- Android Auto and Apple CarPlay will be added in the near future with a software update.
- Mirroring is not available right now but should become available “later.”
According to Ford, the SYNC 3 will only launch on a small number of vehicles in 2015. It is expected to be more widely available by the end of 2016 in North America. Unfortunately for the 10 million existing SYNC users, you all will not be able to get the newest system due to the need for both hardware and software upgrades.
In 2011, Ford CTO hinted that they were trying to put together a new system where each Ford car would become a “Wi-Fi” mesh network that could range up to half-a-mile. It never materialized.
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