Ford Has New Waze to Beat Traffic, Even for iPhone Users
CARS.COM — If you are addicted to your Waze crowd-sourced traffic-and-navi app, Ford has partnered with Waze to ease your pain. Announced at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the automaker’s latest Sync 3 infotainment system is integrating Waze via AppLink so you’ll be able to plug in your phone and have Waze displayed on the touchscreen, operate it via the screen or voice commands, and hear the prompts from the audio system.
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This is most significant if you’re an Apple iPhone user. Android phone users may be yawning; they now are to choose Google Maps or Waze for Android Auto navigation on the vehicle screen. But iPhone users had to choose Apple Maps on the screen with CarPlay or Waze on the phone. Now, while Waze won’t be in CarPlay — which would be the ideal — iPhone users will be able to have it on the touchscreen. Ford showed off the fully featured Sync 3 Waze integration through AppLink, including for Apple iOS, at CES.
“With the flexibility of our Sync 3 software and AppLink, customers can easily use Waze to get all the traffic and navigation help they need — on a big screen and without having to fiddle around with their phones while driving,” said Don Butler, Ford executive director for Connected Vehicle and Services.
The Waze app gives navigation directions for best routes using crowdsourced information from Waze users on the road. The users also can share information about accidents, hazards or other situations impacting safety and traffic flow.
Ford says that Waze for AppLink will launch in the coming weeks, enabling any 2018 model-year Ford vehicle with Sync 3 version 3.0 or higher to run it on the touchscreen. It says that other Sync 3-enabled Ford vehicles will be able to add it via an over-the-air or USB update.
Ford also highlighted at CES its recently released Ford+Alexa app that gives owners access to Amazon’s Alexa skills, including playing music, checking news and creating shopping lists.
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