After all the poor reviews and customer complaints on the MyFord Touch, Ford has scrapped the name and Microsoft operating system in favor of its new SYNC 3, introduced Thursday.
The SYNC 3 is more like a tablet or smartphone, and is faster, easier to use and more responsive to commands, says Ford.
Voice recognition is now more conversational, the screen has smartphone-like touch control and graphics are easier to ready, it said.
SYNC is already in more than 10 million vehicles on the road worldwide.
The new version will launch next year.
Ford said it took improvement cues from 22,000 customer comments plus research and surveys.
The system now displays large buttons that don’t easily wash out in sunlight. The home screen has 3 zones– Navigation, Audio and Phone.
Voice commands are simpler. You can now say “Play Song XYZ” or “Play Beyonce” and then switch back to the radio by naming the station (including SiriusXM stations).
You can now search for “Detroit Airport” rather than the formal “Detroit Metropolitan Airport.”
There’s still no mention of Apple Car Play compatibility from Ford.
Another new feature on the SYNC 3 is WiFi updates instead of using a USB stick.
AppLink now automatically discovers apps like Pandora, Spotify, and Stitcher and you get Siri Eyes Free.
IHS Automotive analyst Mark Boyadjis said “It is clear that this time around, Ford has put in the time and listened to enough customers to properly design, test, debug, and finalize this infotainment platform before it hits the market.”
He says Ford is planning to take a 60% penetration for SYNC 3 among new car sales in North America.
“In our short initial experience with the system it appears much more responsive to inputs and in processing commands. It is clearly more intuitive to learn and use immediately,” he said.
The SYNC 3 is now based on the QNX operating system.
Source: Ford
