In the midst of Ford splitting into two brands – one for electric cars and another to keep vehicles with internal combustion engines alive – the automaker is also looking into making another big change. Instead of investing money into improving its current SYNC 4 infotainment system that was built in partnership with Blackberry QNX, Ford announced that it would come out with a new Android-based SYNC system last year. Unfortunately, the automaker is running behind schedule for the debut of its new system.
In an interview with The Verge, Ford CEO Jim Farley confirmed that the automaker is a few months behind schedule for the debut of its new SYNC infotainment system with Android Automotive integration. Now, the new version of SYNC is expected to arrive in vehicles by 2023.
“We’re making a lot of progress. I’m very impressed with the team that Google has put in place,” Farley told the outlet. “They’ve been very accommodating – you can imagine that we don’t want a generic solution for the instrument panel for Mustang. We want, like, line lock to do a burnout. But it is slightly delayed so that’ll be later in the fall.”
The delay will give buyers something to think about, as current Ford vehicles that come with the current SYNC 4 infotainment system cannot be upgraded to the upcoming Android-based system. So, early adopters that wanted to get their hands on one of Ford’s cutting-edge vehicles, like the F-150 Lightning, will be stuck with the existing SYNC 4 system. F-150 Lightning models that ship out next year will come with the Android Automotive integration.
Unlike Android Auto, Android Automotive integration is an actual operating system that automakers can customize for their vehicles. Instead of having to develop operating systems from the ground up, Android Automotive is a platform with built-in features, like Google maps and Google Voice Assistant. The first vehicle on the market with Android Automotive Integration was the all-electric Polestar 2. The operating system has also migrated to some vehicles from Stellantis and General Motors.
Pictured: 2022 Ford Explorer (Top), 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning (Middle)