Ford F-150 And Ranger Among Models That Will Ditch Sync 4

The Sync 4 infotainment system is still offered on a plethora of the Blue Oval’s best-selling models like the Ford F-150 and Ford Ranger. That said, it’s been a lame duck software suite ever since the automaker introduced the Ford Digital Experience, now installed in some of the company’s freshest vehicles. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the previous generation system is on its way out, and based on comments from a top executive, we now know that four models are next in line to replace Sync with the latest and greatest infotainment.

This tasty tidbit of future product information surfaced via a press release penned by Ford EV digital and design chief Doug Field. He clarified the company’s approach to electrical architecture development after reports detailed the company’s pivot away from its next-generation platform. Instead, the company will update its existing electrical architecture with components from that platform while it develops a separate architecture for its low cost EV platform. The updated platform – designated FNV3.X, will allow the company to put Ford Bluecruise into the Ford Mustang, Ford Bronco, and Ranger. It will also be used to replace Sync 4 in the aforementioned vehicles, plus the F-150.

“Software can sit in several types of electrical layouts, and in our plan, we’ll innovate within a layout that draws from our existing platform instead of building a whole new one. For example, we will be able to take our very successful Ford and Lincoln Digital Experience that we’ve launched in the Ford Explorer, Lincoln Nautilus and Navigator to many more products like Mustang, Bronco, Ranger, and F-150,” he said.

While the new system was always expected to replace Sync 4 in the coming years, it wasn’t clear what vehicles would ditch the old system first. Presumably, this means that refreshed versions of the Bronco, Ranger, and Mustang will get the Ford Digital Experience soon, with the Bronco next in line for a general update. Since the 2024 model year represented redesigns for the Mustang and Ranger, those vehicles won’t likely switch over for several more years. That leaves the F-150, which may be the last of the bunch to get the Ford Digital Experience, as its redesign was pushed back to 2028.

In any event, the incorporation of the Ford Digital Experience into the aforementioned models would allow them to boast an app ecosystem supplemented by the Google Play store, in addition to native Google Maps integration. The Ford Explorer, Ford Expedition, Lincoln Aviator, Lincoln Nautilus, and Lincoln Navigator all currently feature the system as standard equipment.

That said, Sync 4 hasn’t been completely put out to pasture yet. The 2025 Ford Bronco Sport and 2025 Ford Maverick just launched with the system, and the Ford Super Duty features it too. Obviously, those vehicles are likely to get updated before the decade is out, so we’ll just assume that new vehicles won’t be selling new vehicles with a Sync system in it by 2030.