Car and Driver: Ford Adding Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, More to Sync 3 Infotainment

Ford has announced that its Sync 3 infotainment system will support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone-mirroring from the factory starting with 2017-model-year vehicles. And owners of 2016-model Fords will be able to update their Sync 3 system to work with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well. It’s all part of a Sync 3 update that Ford announced in conjunction with the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Besides the Apple and Android news, the Sync Connect app unveiled last fall at the debut of the 2017 Escape will be available throughout the 2017 lineup. The app allows you to monitor and control aspects of your vehicle—such as location, fuel level, and remote locking and unlocking—with a smartphone, via a 4G LTE connection. A five-year subscription is included.

With Sync 3 now able to share a vehicle’s location with various programs, other location-based apps are now available, including one from AAA/CAA that can provide navigation with traffic info as well as local fuel prices; a Concur business-expense-reporting app that can log business trips; and Eventseeker and Cityseeker, which look for local restaurants and entertainment.

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The 2017 Ford Escape, which already made its debut at the L.A. auto show last November, will be the first factory model out with CarPlay and Android Auto. As to the ability of 2016 models to add the features, Ford says that will come “later in the year.”

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