What are the chances we get the Android Automotive version of SYNC?

[JohnFoxeSheets]

I'm by no means looking forward to a future that includes Android Automotive (I was wholly unimpressed with it when I test drove a Volvo XC40 Recharge and I would not be thrilled with Google knowing everything about my car), but I do understand the concern about the potential for a future where we early adopters are left on an orphaned platform. Of course that was always going to be the case at some point, but it is disappointing that it could happen so soon.

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[Mallthus]

From what I've heard from Volvo's/Polestar's implementation of Android Automotive, I don't think we're missing out on much. Tbh I don't really care about "infotainment" updates; I just need great mapping capabilities, including EV route planning.

From what I’ve seen/read, integrated Google Maps’ range estimate is literally the only accurate one in the car. I’d say Geely’s software is the problem, not Google’s.

 

[benk016]

Whenever I see screenshots of the AAOS interface in the Polestar 2 (which I came close to purchasing), I find myself pretty unimpressed. To me it it seems like it was pretty rushed and lacks refinement. I'm also not crazy about a Google-powered car. I used to be all-in on Google, but lately I've found myself trying to move away from their stuff (mainly dramatic price increases and lack of trust).

Ford's implementation of Android Automotive will have their own interface on it. It will look similar to what Sync4a looks like. The UI update we recently got was a transition to look more like what it will look like on Android Automotive. They won't look exactly alike, but it won't be drastically different, and it won't be the stock AA UI.

 

[flapjake314]

[...] (mainly dramatic price increases and lack of trust).

what prices have gone up, isn't all of their stuff essentially free.99? i mean i personally pay for cloud storage but it's $20 a year when dropbox charged 6x that.....

 

[awp0]

what prices have gone up, isn't all of their stuff essentially free.99? i mean i personally pay for cloud storage but it's $20 a year when dropbox charged 6x that.....

Take a look at the YoutubeTV price history. $35/month in 2017, and over $70 now. YouTube Premium family plan (including Youtube Music) is about to jump from $15/month to $23.

 

[AhardFSU]

Take a look at the YoutubeTV price history. $35/month in 2017, and over $70 now. YouTube Premium family plan (including Youtube Music) is about to jump from $15/month to $23.

Content isn’t free. They have to pay for it. I have YouTube tv and I don’t expect the price I’m paying to stay the same for 10 years. The content providers raise the price of their content, and as a result providers like YouTube tv, Hulu live and Philo end up passing the cost onto the viewer.

 

[awp0]

Content isn’t free. They have to pay for it. I have YouTube tv and I don’t expect the price I’m paying to stay the same for 10 years. The content providers raise the price of their content, and as a result providers like YouTube tv, Hulu live and Philo end up passing the cost onto the viewer.

IMHO that’s false equivalence. Unlike the others, YouTubeTV has more than doubled its price.

 

[mburtsvt]

Well that sucks. We are lame ducks.

Or lucky.

 

[ChasingCoral]

The more important question: what are the odds that Ford will ever implement Android Automotive-based systems at all?

 

[GrumblesTheDog]

Doesn't Sync 4 (and 4A to some extent) power several hundred thousand F-150s, among other vehicles? Sure they'll sunset it eventually, but I can't imagine they'll suddenly stop updates/support cold turkey once their AA implementation is out. I used to worry about this, but what am I really missing? Infotainment doesn't really even control anything mission critical like battery management, charging etc. that couldn't separately get software updates.

 

[bbulkow]

Bug fixes are a reasonable expectation. Feature updates are a nice bonus. Feature parity with later models is a wish upon a star.

How many updates did your last car receive? My 2016 Mustang didn't get any.

2017 Honda got ZERO updates in 5 years and yes it has bugs.

 

[KevinS]

The more important question: what are the odds that Ford will ever implement Android Automotive-based systems at all?

It will be interesting to see if Apple has any big announcements at their next conference in June in regards to their next generation of CarPlay. Last year, they were really hyping the number of carmakers that were going to adopt it. The next version is supposed to be a full integration ionto the car and not just a phone projection like the current version (and how Android Auto works.)

 

[eleven24]

Not sure how many people got the reference, but Howard Stern's Zero... Point... Zero... sound bite immediately came to mind when you said this :-D

My first thought exactly!

 

[tuminatr]

Whenever I see screenshots of the AAOS interface in the Polestar 2 (which I came close to purchasing), I find myself pretty unimpressed. To me it it seems like it was pretty rushed and lacks refinement. I'm also not crazy about a Google-powered car. I used to be all-in on Google, but lately I've found myself trying to move away from their stuff (mainly dramatic price increases and lack of trust).

When talking about the original version or launch version of android automotive I don't necessarily disagree with you but since they've updated it it looks really nice

 

[tuminatr]

Yeah from what I gather the hardware is not compatible. I know many people moved from sync 2 to sync 3 by switching out the APIM This may be possible with our cars however It certainly would not be covered by any warranty. With all of the specific features on this car running through the APIM Who knows how will function and receive updates. So it may be possible but a bad idea

Guess we'll wait and see

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