Ford’s connected car system is getting an upgrade, even though it hasn’t hit the market yet. The car company announced at the North American International Auto Show that the third version of AppLink will come to Sync 3 and it will let users bring their smartphone navigation apps to the car’s screen. Ford isn’t relying on the likes of CarPlay and Android Auto. Instead, they will use their own system to have phones interface with their cars. AppLink 3.0 won’t ship until after Sync 3 rolls out. Hopefully, Ford works out compatibility with the likes of Google, Apple, and Waze by then.
Ford’s first partner for the project is Chinese company Alibaba. They will develop the AutoNavi software to be compatible with the SmartDeviceLink open source standard that Ford is pushing for their suppliers and other automakers.