Updated Sync 4A Icons are Coming!

[Maquis]

if if they can’t even be bothered to make the icons look good, then you wonder what else they are dripping the ball on.

Drippy balls can be a sign of big problems! ??

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[ShawnMakie]

Are you talking about the guys face?

You know you can change that right?

Not on thread topic, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to get my profile picture from my Samsung phone to upload to the car despite having a contact saved for myself on my phone with a picture.

On topic: I'd love to have the original MME icon - bonus points if they could make it match your cars color.

 

[SWO]

Good, consistent UI design shows that a company cares about the way its users interact with its product. Those icons showed a complete lack of caring, if if they can’t even be bothered to make the icons look good, then you wonder what else they are dropping the ball on.
These new icons are a BIG improvement. The return to a flat look is nice too. They just need to get rid of the multicolor app icons and It will be consistent across the OS again.

Funny, my take is that they get the software out sooner instead of waiting however long to license images.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

the ugly clip art style icons are gone!

Rejoice!

Funny, my take is that they get the software out sooner instead of waiting however long to license images.

I don’t think any of the previous images were licensed, and they certainly did not take long to design. They look like a 10 year old made them in MS Paint on Windows 95.

 

[DadzBoyz]

Some background on legacy car makers and driver facing software.

Initial technology interfaces (non dial or indicator lights) were for information consumption only. No driver input or interaction. Think digital speedometers.

Then they had silly little monochrome CRT screens with seperate buttons. You could choose what you wanted to see, but not input anything, aside from a radio preset. These were rare, Think Cadillac Alanté, Buick Reatta, Aston Martin Lagonda

Then we had basic navigation screens. If you didn't have navigation, you probably didn't have a screen. These navigation systems were usually contracted to companies like Nokia, now called "Here".
https://techcrunch.com/2013/02/24/n...es-here-to-push-more-cross-platform-business/

The first operating systems started with things like the first versions of Ford SYNC and Kia's UVO systems. Microsoft gave them a very basic user interface that allowed the car makers to send things to an LCD screen like sensor readings, a radio interface, and plug in a phone or memory stick for music per audio books.
About this time, Blackberry phones and their operating systems were on their last breaths and that company spun off a company and an automotive operating system called QNX. They provided similar solutions to Microsoft's original SYNC and UVO systems.

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To this point, Microsoft, QNX, etc. designed and maintained the operating system, visuals, UX (User Experience), etc. They had the experience, designers, etc. The car makers were not in that business. They did not have software developers, designers, etc. The closest they came were the graphics in cars like the Chevy Volt and Bolt.​

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Enter Tesla. They kept, and still keep, all of the software in-house. They hired software developers, designers, graphic artists, etc. away from companies that did nothing but software.

Eventually, Ford moved to SYNC 4 (still based on QNX) which gave them some more control over the look and feel of the system.... They could add screens for hybrids, etc. But they still had no real experience with consumer software.
Then Ford got into the BEV business and released SYNC 4a (where we are now) which they customized even more, but still had very limited experience managing consumer facing interfaces.

A year or so after SYNC 4a development, Ford started hiring software resources and leadership from companies like Apple. This is when their SDLC (Software Development LifeCycle) started streamlining, they started releasing OTA's more frequently, they've gotten to a point where they're starting to level up Job 1, Job 2, and successive cars, etc.

Now that they're starting to get over those hurdles, we're starting to see the real software people update the SYNC UI (User Interface), update FordPass, etc.

All while they're also:

• Ford-izing the software that VW uses for the Euro-Explorer and other VW based Ford EV's
• Preparing to move SYNC from QNX to Google Automotive, which is a COMPLETELY different code base. (Apple users don't get worried. Google Automotive still supports CarPlay.)

 

[benk016]

Agreed, rollout a style guide and follow it, colors, fonts, icons, sizes, consistency

They have a style they are going for. They just chose to do the UI refresh in waves. We got the first part, and have more to come to finish it off. The last Sync update was not a FULL refresh of the UI, but just the start.

 

[SWO]

I don’t think any of the previous images were licensed, and they certainly did not take long to design.

That was my point.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

That was my point.

That’s on me, I misread your post.

 

[ShoreTang]

That’s been in the MME since day 1 (though it used to be in the middle).

How do you do this?

 

[generaltso]

How do you do this?

Set a picture on your phone in the contact for yourself. Then connect to the car with Bluetooth and it will sync the picture and make it available to choose for your profile.

 

[ShoreTang]

Set a picture on your phone in the contact for yourself. Then connect to the car with Bluetooth and it will sync the picture and make it available to choose for your profile.

Thank you. It worked perfectly.

 

[Fins160]

Set a picture on your phone in the contact for yourself. Then connect to the car with Bluetooth and it will sync the picture and make it available to choose for your profile.

I had no idea you could do this ?

 

[Mirak]

Ford just unveiled a limited edition matte black F-150 Lightning and I noticed that the interior shots show that the ugly clip art style icons are gone!

Source article: https://insideevs.com/news/683188/2...g-platinum-black-matte-wrap-costs-100000-usd/

Still need to add a trunk button to the top ribbon, tho.

 

[Gullwingdmc]

Two interesting things in the B Roll clip on the Ford Media site. The video shows the truck with the old icons, so those new ones must be really new. Also, the Record feedback option looks like it’s getting its own app instead of it being buried in settings.

 

[GERChris]

Damn! Would love to have even anything like that. I'm stuck at Version 3.5.3 - let's hope I'll get some updates (soon)

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