Ford Motor Company officially announced its next-generation in-car infotainment system — Ford and Lincoln Digital Experience (Ford and Lincoln Digital Experience), and while Ford will continue to enhance its native experience, it will also expand its support for CarPlay and Android Auto support.
The system, developed in-house by Ford, is designed to provide a faster, more personalized and seamless in-car experience and pave the way for upcoming electric and self-driving vehicles.
One of the highlights of the new system is its excellent speed and smoothness. Ford said the system is 14 times faster than the previous SYNC system in terms of graphics processing speed, and eight times more storage capacity. In addition, the system also supports real-time access to traffic conditions via Google Maps.
Another important feature of the new system is customizability. Users can customize the display of key information, such as media, weather and fuel consumption, on the wide 48-inch panoramic screen. In addition, the system supports driver profiles, which can automatically load each individual’s personalized settings.
Ford’s new in-car infotainment software is feature-rich, including apps such as Spotify and Prime Video, integrated Google Maps, the ability to install apps via Google Play, built-in Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, as well as support for games such as Asphalt Nitro 2, which can be controlled via a Bluetooth gamepad.
Instead of abandoning CarPlay like GM, Ford has good news for CarPlay users. As part of the all-new Ford and Lincoln Digital Experience, Ford is adding support for dual-screen Apple Maps for the first time. This means that when an owner launches Apple Maps navigation on the center screen, the maps interface will expand to the dashboard display.
Apple first added dual-screen support for CarPlay back in 2019, enabling automakers to extend the CarPlay interface to the dashboard display. However, the feature has been very slow to catch on.
Apple Maps can also co-exist with Ford’s native interface on the center screen, appearing as a tile next to Ford’s native apps.
Ford has repeatedly emphasized that they value their partnership with Apple. The company says it is committed not only to keeping CarPlay but to making it even better.
Ford said that the new in-car infotainment system will first appear in the 2024 Lincoln Navigator SUV and will be used in more models in the future. Ford didn’t reveal a list of specific models, but said it will announce more details in the coming weeks.
