Back in 2022, Apple CarPlay Ultra was unveiled, a notable debut given the fact that this new software is designed to take over all of the screens present in modern automobiles, including not only the infotainment screen, but also, the digital instrument cluster and other in-vehicle screens – making for more cohesive control over pretty much everything. Aside from legal woes, not every automaker has been onboard with this change, however, and that includes Ford.
Aston Martin is the first automotive brand to commit to Apple CarPlay Ultra, giving us a clearer real-world example of how that technology works. However, it’s never seemed like Ford was terribly interested in following suit, and in a recent appearance on The Verge‘s Decoder podcast, CEO Jim Farley poured some proverbial cold water on it, too. Farley didn’t shoot down the idea of one day offering Apple CarPlay Ultra support in Ford vehicles, but noted that he’s taking more of a wait and see approach in that regard.
“How far do you want the Apple brand to go?” Farley asked “Do you want the Apple brand to start the car? Do you want the Apple brand to limit the speed? Do you want the Apple brand to limit access? “Is Apple going to want to do that? If Apple wants to do that, I think we’re going to have a tough time with that, because then the digital experience gets really messy.” Farley added that Ford wants to continue to give customers options, which is notable as some automakers are ditching Apple CarPlay and Android Auto access in certain cases.
“We don’t think we should restrict that to make money off the customers,” Farley said. “We don’t want it to be a hassle. We don’t think we can design an experience that’s going to displace your phone. And yet, at the same time, whether it’s automated systems or the way a trip gets planned, there are things that Ford is working on to add on top of that digital experience of Google and CarPlay that will make it even better.”
Comments
I’m sure Ford has a “Better Idea”, or at least is willing to work with Google and Apple and have something better to offer Ford customers that the other Manufactures left behind. Truly ford has always looked for better ways for improving their products and services.
The last OEM that should be speaking about multimedia systems is Ford. Having lived through the unbelievable disaster known as My Ford Touch they have no business commenting. SYNC3 and SYNC4 are another huge embarrassment in the automotive world. OTA updates never worked but were promised, most of the updates created second and third level system bugs. It was like nobody knew what field testing was. If I was Ford I would take all the help they can get as their multimedia legacy is disgraceful.