Ford Mustang 2017 SYNC 3
Anyone who has experienced the Ford Motor Company's information and entertainment system MyFord Touch is probably recovering from the nightmare that was the blue screen of death, glitchy software, frozen screens, slow responses and a complicated experience. General user. For the 2016 model year, Ford erased the clean slate and abandoned the MyFord Touch system in favor of Sync 3.
The new Sync 3 system loses the previous Microsoft Auto operating system and uses the Blackberry QNX system. For the technically inclined, think Linux versus DOS here.
We recently had the opportunity to spend some time with Sync 3 in the 2016 Ford Escape. Here is what we learned:
The good
Right out of the bat Sync 3 is galaxies better than MyFord Touch in the real world. It's fast, and we had no problem when it came to the UI in all of our tests. In short, it really works as you would expect. While this may seem like a trivial thing, after using MyFord Touch, it is quite remarkable.
It is also very simple to use. The virtual buttons on the touch screen are large and clear. The design is simple, and so is the graphical user interface. It is not visual distraction in the least.
Change settings; Using Bluetooth streaming; Switching between navigation, radio, and settings functions - is all a cinch. Plug in your iPhone and instantly index the music and start playing. Do you want to play Pandora on your iPhone? No problem, it's simple and it works. We can not say the same for the information and entertainment systems of other automobile manufacturers.
The bad
It's 2016. These are 2016 model year vehicles. Sync 3 is a new Ford system, and it does not come with the Apple CarPlay or Google Android Auto system. To be fair, at this week's Consumer Electronics Show, Ford announced that all 2017 models with Sync 3 would be receiving CarPlay and Android Auto and that Ford will offer a free update for vehicles of the model year 2016 with Sync 3 to add these systems Later this year. However, why was not Sync 3 released with these?
The ugly one
Of course, Sync 3 is not pretty. The bit about it being quite simple on the list of good things? It is almost to the point of being a detriment. The graphical user interface is more than simple. It's as if they had designed it, coded it and then said: "It's 5 o'clock in the afternoon, we did not bother to make them bright or pretty, I want to go home and have a beer." Even just a smidge of spitting and polishing (read: graphic design) would improve it visually. We're not talking about adding flash fantasy animation by any means.
The new Sensus information and entertainment system from Volvo Touchscreen is easy to use and superb. Chrysler's current third-generation Uconnect system is drop-dead simple to use and not hard on the eyes, although the low resolution screen is annoying. Chrysler's newly announced fourth-generation Uconnect system rectifies the problem of low-resolution display and makes the user-friendly information and entertainment system even more beautiful than before.
If others can do it, why can not Ford?
Bottom line
Is Sync 3 better than MyFord Touch? Absolutely. Is it the best infotainment system on the market? Not yet. But like most technologies, it will continue to improve with updates, and it's worlds better than the ones we had before.
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| Ford Mustang 2017 SYNC 3 |
The new Sync 3 system loses the previous Microsoft Auto operating system and uses the Blackberry QNX system. For the technically inclined, think Linux versus DOS here.
We recently had the opportunity to spend some time with Sync 3 in the 2016 Ford Escape. Here is what we learned:
The good
Right out of the bat Sync 3 is galaxies better than MyFord Touch in the real world. It's fast, and we had no problem when it came to the UI in all of our tests. In short, it really works as you would expect. While this may seem like a trivial thing, after using MyFord Touch, it is quite remarkable.
It is also very simple to use. The virtual buttons on the touch screen are large and clear. The design is simple, and so is the graphical user interface. It is not visual distraction in the least.
Change settings; Using Bluetooth streaming; Switching between navigation, radio, and settings functions - is all a cinch. Plug in your iPhone and instantly index the music and start playing. Do you want to play Pandora on your iPhone? No problem, it's simple and it works. We can not say the same for the information and entertainment systems of other automobile manufacturers.
The bad
It's 2016. These are 2016 model year vehicles. Sync 3 is a new Ford system, and it does not come with the Apple CarPlay or Google Android Auto system. To be fair, at this week's Consumer Electronics Show, Ford announced that all 2017 models with Sync 3 would be receiving CarPlay and Android Auto and that Ford will offer a free update for vehicles of the model year 2016 with Sync 3 to add these systems Later this year. However, why was not Sync 3 released with these?
The ugly one
Of course, Sync 3 is not pretty. The bit about it being quite simple on the list of good things? It is almost to the point of being a detriment. The graphical user interface is more than simple. It's as if they had designed it, coded it and then said: "It's 5 o'clock in the afternoon, we did not bother to make them bright or pretty, I want to go home and have a beer." Even just a smidge of spitting and polishing (read: graphic design) would improve it visually. We're not talking about adding flash fantasy animation by any means.
The new Sensus information and entertainment system from Volvo Touchscreen is easy to use and superb. Chrysler's current third-generation Uconnect system is drop-dead simple to use and not hard on the eyes, although the low resolution screen is annoying. Chrysler's newly announced fourth-generation Uconnect system rectifies the problem of low-resolution display and makes the user-friendly information and entertainment system even more beautiful than before.
If others can do it, why can not Ford?
Bottom line
Is Sync 3 better than MyFord Touch? Absolutely. Is it the best infotainment system on the market? Not yet. But like most technologies, it will continue to improve with updates, and it's worlds better than the ones we had before.
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