Ford has launched a way for developers to more easily build in support for their AppLink feature to enable features through their SYNC3 infotainment system.
They’re achieving this through an emulator, simply dubbed SYNC3 AppLink Emulator, that can run the infotainment suite via virtual environment on a standard computer, allowing developers to view, test, and refine software support for it without the need to test against an actual Ford vehicle.
Through the AppLink API, developers can build specific app features and functionality that SYNC3 can take advantage of when a smartphone is plugged into the system.
Dave Hatton, Ford’s Connected Vehicle Servcies manager for mobile app development is looking forward to the doors this emulator opens for future apps to natively support the SYNC3 platform.
“The Sync3 AppLink Emulator makes app development far more accessible to the developer community. We expect this tool to open the door to a host of new and exciting car-friendly apps from developers, both big and small, around the world.”
There a lot of manufacturers already very invested in their home grown infotainment suite, especially now that car buyers are expecting more and more sophisticated interfaces after the ubiquity of smartphones and apps.
All this differing and proprietary platforms can create a myriad of problems for devices, operating systems, and applications to support simultaneously (and to do it well). However, a silver lining is that manufacturers like Ford is pruning some edges out of its walled garden.
Software such as Apple’s CarPlay and Android Auto by Google are in many ways a response to the increasing use of infotainment systems and the widespread complaints that they are often much harder to understand as well as lacking in aesthetics from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Having a common interface between a large screen in a car and the large-ish screen you carry around all the time seems like natural progression, and allowing apps to offer features through the smartphone is a boon.
However, Ford’s new approach to this SYNC3 emulator is to enable similar app features to what Apple and Google are offering, only without needing the interface layer that is CarPlay and Android Auto (which SYNC3 supports). It’s a step in the right direction.
In September, Ford is due to host its 3rd annual SYNC AppLink Developer Conference in Las Vegas. SYNC3 is built upon QNX which offers developers a unix-like operating system that shares commonalities with other high-volume OSes such as Mac OS and iOS. QNX also powers the Blackberry 10 mobile operating system as well as the proprietary Tesla in-car interface.
At the moment, Ford Australia only offers the SYNC3 infotainment software for the Mondeo and Focus but, given how many other models such as the Mustang, Falcon, Kuga, Ranger, and Everest share similar hardware, an upgrade over the SYNC2 system to SYNC3 is planned to happen by the end of the year.
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