- Offered with touchscreens from 8.0 to 15.5 inches
- Quicker, easier navigation and connectivity
- Cloud connected with conversational voice recognition
- Wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Sync AppLink compatibility
- Available on all-new Ford vehicles introduced beginning in 2020
Introduced a dozen years ago, Ford’s first Sync infotainment system replaced most knobs and buttons with tiny touch pads on small touch screens that could be difficult to use in moving vehicles. And its voice recognition wasn’t all that good. But Sync has steadily improved through two generations to where today’s Sync 3 is way better in every way, and Ford’s next-generation Sync 4 — an all-new electronics platform that will be in all-new Ford vehicles introduced beginning in 2020 — promises substantial further improvements and greatly expanded capabilities.
Ford says it has some 500 engineers currently working on the Sync software. All automakers are working hard to improve their infotainment systems’ usability and capabilities to better satisfy customers, but this seems an extraordinary resource commitment to that single highly important system.
Sync chief engineer Gary Jablonski and other connectivity leaders assert that Sync 4 will feature “human-centered design,” a “clean layout” and the “right information density,” and that it will be cloud-connected, voice-driven (hands-free when desired) through conversational voice recognition and will offer “considerate” recommendations. It will also self-adjust to users’ habits and preferences and will be upgradable over time via over-the-air updates. Unfortunately, 2020 models sold before the Sync 4 release next year will not be able to be upgraded to run the new system.
Different look and capabilities
It will feature different looks and capabilities depending on the vehicle and screen size and will enable users to multi-task efficiently without having to swipe or tab through multiple screens. Available 12-inch displays will split into larger and smaller windows for viewing two different tasks — say, navigation and entertainment — simultaneously, and you will be able to quickly scroll through different features. The large 15.5-inch screens available in some vehicles will use interactive “Adaptive Dash Cards” displayed horizontally under the main section of the screen for easy access to each oft-used and recently used app and feature.
Available navigation will be fully connected to the internet with its maps frequently refreshed with the latest traffic and construction information. The system will also have the ability to share parking space availability and prices. State-of-the-art, cloud-based voice processing will improve hands-free communication via SMS and email, will understand conversational requests such as “Find the best Italian restaurant” and will offer data-based suggestions. Yet it will retain on-board processing power to retain capability in off-the-beaten-path “dead zones.”
Machine learning
Available machine learning capability will enable Sync 4 to learn your preferences and make helpful suggestions based on previous usage. Somewhat creepily, it can even nag you to phone people to whom you frequently speak. It will offer wireless implementation of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as such Sync AppLink apps as Waze and Ford+Alexa, and AppLink Convenience Controls will let you control such vehicle systems as lighting, climate and entertainment systems from your smartphone.
Sync 4 will also have a digital owner’s manual with in-depth information on vehicle features and streaming “how-to” videos easily accessed through a searchable database to replace the process of flipping through printed manual pages. Importantly, however, there will still be basic printed information in the glovebox as back-up for when the battery may be dead or the digital manual unavailable for any reason.
Over-the-Air Updates
Also beginning in 2020, Ford will begin equipping most of its U.S. redesigned vehicles with capability for quick, easy, over-the-air (OTA) wireless updates and feature enhancements for nearly all vehicle computer modules “to enhance quality, capability and improve ownership experience over time while reducing dealer trips.” Enabled by an automotive industry-first, cloud-connected vehicle software platform that keeps current software running until the new version is ready for activation — something that Ford claims no other vehicle, or even some smartphones, can do today — many of these updates will be virtually invisible to customers.
To schedule some of these updates, customers will be able to select a time when they are not using the vehicle, and most others will be able to be activated in less than two minutes. Ford says it expects to begin delivering OTA updates about six months after launching its first vehicles with that capability in 2020.
