astronut325

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I didn't know about Doug Field. It's good to see they're making strides to improve. I hope they test the software out thoroughly and don't expect us to beta test.
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txaggies07

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One thing y'all need to keep in mind is that Ford is introducing Android Automotive in 2023, not rolling it out to every single new vehicle. Based on the past, I would expect Android Automotive to come to models as they hit their refresh cycles. So the F-150 based systems wouldn't get it until 2025 or so.
 

Logal727

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Absolutely. In the past, they had no reason to put an overpowered chip as long as the cheap one ran the OS at all.
Car manufacturers are still at the bottom of the customer list when it comes to chip orders, especially for the latest chips. So they end up going with the older larger process chips.
 

JohnnyForensic

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Car manufacturers are still at the bottom of the customer list when it comes to chip orders, especially for the latest chips. So they end up going with the older larger process chips.
Car manufacturers notoriously skimp on processing hardware because over-provisioning is costly. If the chip that meets their minimum standard costs $10 each, and the chip that offers plenty of headroom is $100 each, theyā€™re never going to eat the extra $90 in costs.

Some of this could also be the actual architecture of the chip. I donā€™t know what QNX runs on currently, but it might be different than a SnapDragon-type ARM processor that the Android Automotive might be compiled to use, so itā€™s also possibly much more than just ā€œnot fast enoughā€ as it might be the entirely wrong architecture.

Iā€™m just happy to hear about an entirely new UX. I donā€™t mind the current one, but I think thereā€™s a lot of room on that beautiful screen to do something special.
 

JohnnyForensic

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I actually really like this quote at the end:

The goal, in the end, is to allow the Model E team to build new kinds of EVs that compete directly with Fordā€™s existing vehicles and let the chips fall where they may. Asked if heā€™s ready to mediate disputes between Fordā€™s huge traditional car business and his upstart EV division, Farley laughs.​
ā€œI think if we do our job right, Iā€™ll be worrying about that for the rest of my career.ā€​

This reminds me very much of Steve Jobsā€™s edict at Apple that they should never, ever be afraid to cannibalize one part of their business in lieu of another one. Thatā€™s where growth, innovation, and revenue happens, quite frankly. Iā€™m looking forward to what Farleyā€™s bringing to the table; I just wish it was happening faster. (As in, could I please have my promised BlueCruise and a Frunk button?)

Now Iā€™m going to be obsessing over getting this new overhauled interface until it actually comes later in the year next year sometime.
 


Logal727

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I actually really like this quote at the end:
The goal, in the end, is to allow the Model E team to build new kinds of EVs that compete directly with Fordā€™s existing vehicles and let the chips fall where they may. Asked if heā€™s ready to mediate disputes between Fordā€™s huge traditional car business and his upstart EV division, Farley laughs.​
ā€œI think if we do our job right, Iā€™ll be worrying about that for the rest of my career.ā€​

This reminds me very much of Steve Jobsā€™s edict at Apple that they should never, ever be afraid to cannibalize one part of their business in lieu of another one. Thatā€™s where growth, innovation, and revenue happens, quite frankly. Iā€™m looking forward to what Farleyā€™s bringing to the table; I just wish it was happening faster. (As in, could I please have my promised BlueCruise and a Frunk button?)

Now Iā€™m going to be obsessing over getting this new overhauled interface until it actually comes later in the year next year sometime.
Dealers probably gonna be scared by this, and they should be.
 

SFenton

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Unsurprised and still slightly disappointed that we won't get Android, but very excited for the UI refresh. Hopefully it gets snappier. While I think the Mach E is overall the superior vehicle, I do appreciate that Tesla has a snappy in-car experience (in terms of responsiveness) and mobile app. If Ford can keep upping their game there they'll still be ahead of most other manufacturers.

At this point I think I won't upgrade until we have one of significant battery upgrades (definitely not for years), improved charging architecture (800v? definitely not for years either), or something else that blows my mind- but I think that's mostly a testament to how good the car was on the first go anyways.

(If they put out an electric two door Mustang though... I will definitely be taking it for a spin. ;) )
 

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From what I have heard, Ford isn't going to use straight Android Automotive in the car. Android will be the underlying OS, but sync will still run on top of that. Will likely add more features with the more power, but I suspect that it won't look too much different than cars that run sync on QNX at least at first.
 

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From what I have heard, Ford isn't going to use straight Android Automotive in the car. Android will be the underlying OS, but sync will still run on top of that. Will likely add more features with the more power, but I suspect that it won't look too much different than cars that run sync on QNX at least at first.
I wonder if the Android OS will finally allow folks to turn off alarm motion sensorsā€¦. That would be a nice plus.
 

HuntingPudel

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I wonder if the Android OS will finally allow folks to turn off alarm motion sensorsā€¦. That would be a nice plus.
Two words: Dog Mode. šŸ˜ŽšŸ˜ŠšŸ©
 

Neil4Real

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From what I have heard, Ford isn't going to use straight Android Automotive in the car. Android will be the underlying OS, but sync will still run on top of that. Will likely add more features with the more power, but I suspect that it won't look too much different than cars that run sync on QNX at least at first.
I'm more concerned about future support than different looks between the two. Farley wants to follow in Tesla's footsteps, a huge part of that is older cars getting current MY updates AND giving an upgrade option for older cars center stack to get the latest process, etc. Ford really, really needs to stick to that. Currently, most cars don't get jack crap in updates and are easily forgotten when the next MY comes out. Them changing the underlying OS already signals that they are probably not going to support Sync 4A for long.
 

Mirak

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Seriously, tho, I donā€™t really care about the OS for the interface. The only thing that will suck is when 4A is no longer supported. It was only a matter of time - if I get meaningful updates for 2-3 more years Iā€™d call that a win.

As for the refresh, hopefully it will include being able to use the knob to control other sliders. Itā€™s a small thing but very useful and very common sense.
 

benk016

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if I get meaningful updates for 2-3 more years Iā€™d call that a win.
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised then.
 

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