Ford owners prefer factory infotainment over Android Auto

[HammaMan]

Totally agree, both choices are good, it’s all about preference. I just get tired of people pushing their preferences onto others as fact

I was a big SXM fan ~15 years ago due to persistence of content regardless of location. IP solutions now make that moot, particularly if you allow them sufficient buffers in one's device. SXM's age shows as they've made no effort to clean up the bandwidth / codecs, or further their tech as a whole. Instead they've decided to focus on IP offerings, for which there are many competitors.

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[fordtruckman2003]

Alexa plays dead for you if you don't mention her name.
And she IS dead if you don't give her your Amazon credentials.

She is far from imposing her way into your truck. I'm just saying. ?

I'm deep in the Google ecosystem I don't need Amazon to judge me on more than my shopping. ?

 

[fordtruckman2003]

I was a big SXM fan ~15 years ago due to persistence of content regardless of location. IP solutions now make that moot, particularly if you allow them sufficient buffers in one's device. SXM's age shows as they've made no effort to clean up the bandwidth / codecs, or further their tech as a whole. Instead they've decided to focus on IP offerings, for which there are many competitors.

Had that discussion with my uncle who is long time subscriber. He says it sounds fine. I will admit it sounds better (somehow) in my 2021 when it sounded like an underwater bad MP3 in my 2011. It is still inferior to even HD Radio that also to my knowledge hasn't updated codecs. Take 90's lossy compression into 2020's and still want to charge ridiculous money for it. If satellite radio was all FLAC then it would be awesome. Probably use same bandwidth they use now. ?‍

 

[RedStorm]

AA all the way. I use Waze, was not a huge fan of the built in navigation. And I'm usually streaming Amazon Music.

 

[TSGarp007]

Had that discussion with my uncle who is long time subscriber. He says it sounds fine. I will admit it sounds better (somehow) in my 2021 when it sounded like an underwater bad MP3 in my 2011. It is still inferior to even HD Radio that also to my knowledge hasn't updated codecs. Take 90's lossy compression into 2020's and still want to charge ridiculous money for it. If satellite radio was all FLAC then it would be awesome. Probably use same bandwidth they use now. ?‍

I’m fine with my 128kbps MP3’s I converted from CDs over night in college from a command line script and my base XLT speaker system! Ok to be fair I usually use Apple Music but that’s not as snarky.

 

[Str8Shooter]

Fake news in my opinion.

I need Android Auto to connect to Spotify for free.
I need Android Auto to connect to Tunein for free.
I need Android Auto to connect to Googlemaps for free.
I need Android Auto to connect to Gaia GPS
I need Android Auto to connect to WAZE for free
I need Android Auto to connect to OnX Off-Road

I like that Ford added Alexa. It makes the factory system better than it was before, especially for Nav while driving, but it isn't as good as AA overall in my opinion.

 

[Snakebitten]

I absolutely agree.
A common command I might say in the truck on a whim:

Alexa, please play "Rich Man Radio" on Spotify

Adding the word "radio" is a clever way to leverage the Spotify Skill on Alexa to start with the song Rich Man, and then follow with more music that fits with it. Thus a radio station for someone who was in the mood for Rich Man.

Or of course I could just say

Alexa, please play Rich Man

She would then stream from Amazon Music.

She's definitely become the copilot for managing navigation and music and various reminders I think of while my hands are on the wheel. And she somehow understands my country hick voice without struggle!

 

[rugedraw]

My $0.02:

I'll take AA all day over Sync. Ford's nav system while it works well, has the graphics and appeal of a nav system from a decade ago.

I work for Jaguar/Land Rover now. Their nav system is also connected with AT&T towers on 4G, but it has a full satellite view that you can view in full color. It is very detailed and in my opinion, it looks even better than AA/Google maps. However, if you use the AA nav system, it will not show you the the directions of where you have to turn on the screen behind the steering wheel. However, Sync will show you the upcoming turn on the screen behind the steering wheel even if you are not using the Sync nav, which I do like. Therefore, I have zero incentive to use Sync nav.

 

[Pelican]

I sync my android phone via bluetooth and use navigation through it. Never used the built in nav.. Nothing against it, just haven't had a need.

AA is nice, but I'm tired of it leaving my wifi on and killing my cell phone battery. When I turned off wifi, it ghe app would turn it back on. The wifi battery drain issue caused me to deactivate the AA app.

I do like the having Alexa, but wouldn't miss her if she left me. I often ask her to tell me jokes, but that's it. I use LiveOne to stream music, news and podcasts.

 

[HunSharp]

Ford shipped my new 2022 XLT High without Nav and XM, I was forced to take the pickup. Therefore I was forced to adopt Android Auto where I use Google Nav (which is OK) and the XM Andoid Auto App on my cell phone (which is OK as long as you have a strong cell signal). Lots of cell signal drop outs where I live in NM.

 

[arlowe13]

I use Waze and Spotify, and being able to control both through AA is awesome. Plus, Waze can integrate with your Calendars and show your appointments as a predicted destinations without having to search/command it. The traffic avoidance routing of Waze is top-notch and saves me time nearly every one of my commutes. I will be a life-long AA user.

 

[Kidder]

My $0.02:

I'll take AA all day over Sync. Ford's nav system while it works well, has the graphics and appeal of a nav system from a decade ago.

I work for Jaguar/Land Rover now. Their nav system is also connected with AT&T towers on 4G, but it has a full satellite view that you can view in full color. It is very detailed and in my opinion, it looks even better than AA/Google maps. However, if you use the AA nav system, it will not show you the the directions of where you have to turn on the screen behind the steering wheel. However, Sync will show you the upcoming turn on the screen behind the steering wheel even if you are not using the Sync nav, which I do like. Therefore, I have zero incentive to use Sync nav.

I may be misunderstanding you. When I use AA with Waze, it shows the turn by turn directions in my 502A gauge display. (It shrinks the mph/tach and adds the turn at the top)

 

[rugedraw]

I may be misunderstanding you. When I use AA with Waze, it shows the turn by turn directions in my 502A gauge display. (It shrinks the mph/tach and adds the turn at the top)

Yea, I think maybe you are. I was saying the Jaguar/Land Rover nav is beautiful on the center screen, but it does not show the the directions on the gauge display with Carplay/AA. However, Sync does show it. This is why I have no incentive to use the Ford nav over the AA nav.

 

[Kidder]

Yea, I think maybe you are. I was saying the Jaguar/Land Rover nav is beautiful on the center screen, but it does not show the the directions on the gauge display with Carplay/AA. However, Sync does show it. This is why I have no incentive to use the Ford nav over the AA nav.

Gotcha, sorry about that.

 

[zacko11288]

Ford deleted my nav and Sirius XM due to production constraints, so I have to use my phone to drive that big screen and get music. However, I use CarPlay. I’d be curious what the stats are for CarPlay, and If there’s any difference, only because CarPlay in my experience is a little quicker to be updated and until Cool Walk was a little more intuitive.

I believe they are in the article, slightly more folks appear to favor carplay over sync4 entertainment

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