Ford plans summer debut for Sync 3 in Fiesta, Escape

Marco della Cava | USA TODAY

Ford fans eager for the latest in connected-auto tech will get the company's revamped Sync 3 infotainment system in the new Fiesta and Escape models this summer.

The system features improved voice recognition, faster response time and a touch-screen interface with a streamlined user interface. Sync 3 was made for Ford by infotainment manufacturer QNX, which is owned by onetime cellphone powerhouse BlackBerry. Ford's original Sync system, introduced in 2007, was a partnership with Microsoft.

Sync 3 will makes its way to all of Ford's line-up by the end of 2016.

When combined with Ford's existing AppLink platform, smartphone owners can find their most popular apps -- ranging from Spotify to NPR -- on the system's main screen when they plug it into a Sync 3 vehicle.

While Sync 3 will support Apple's voice-activated personal assistant, Siri, the system is not Apple CarPlay or Android Auto friendly, though plans are in the works to upgrade Sync 3 systems to accommodate the in-car operating systems from the two tech giants. Currently, dozens of automakers -- from Hyundai to Ferrari -- either have these systems or are planning to bring them online in the coming few years.

It's a good bet Ford won't delay. At Google I/O, the search engine's recent developers conference in San Francisco, Android Auto-equipped cars were on hand from Volkswagen, Audi and others, and just a few weeks ago General Motors announced it would be introducing both CarPlay and Android Auto into more than a dozen of its Chevrolet models.

Much like GM's push to ensure that customers at all ends of the economic spectrum can seamlessly transfer their mobile lives from their pockets to their cars, Ford's choice of vehicles shares the same populist notion, with Fiesta the company's most affordable car (from $14,400) and Escape a volume leader (300,000 sold in 2014).

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