Ford Motor Company announced exciting new capabilities for SYNC AppLink in Europe, including the launch of Ford’s SYNC AppLink App Catalog, which enables users to identify AppLink-compatible apps and filter results based on location. The catalog will be available in six languages – English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Mandarin.
Plus, Ford announced AppLink 2.0, which will provide developers access to in-vehicle “push” notifications through vehicle audio systems and displays, voice pass-through, and vehicle data, which – with customer consent – allows developers to take advantage of rich data available from vehicle sensors. Additionally, Ford announced new AppLink partners, including TomTom navigation, Audioteka audiobooks, Hotels.com, and more.
AppLink 2.0 will give developers new and unprecedented capabilities, including:
- i: Developers will be able to send “push” notifications to drivers through vehicle audio systems and displays, similar to users’ experiences on their smartphones
- Voice pass-through: Offers the ability for app developers to take advantage of increasingly popular cloud-based voice-activated services for in-app experiences
- Vehicle data access: Access to vehicle data through AppLink allows developers – with customer consent – to take advantage of the rich data available from vehicle sensors
Ford provided and open-sourced AppLink to the GENIVI Alliance – the consortium committed to driving the broad adoption of an in-vehicle infotainment open-source development platform – as the foundation for SmartDeviceLink. Ford’s goal is for the SmartDeviceLink to become an industry wide, global standard for enabling smartphone apps to integrate with cars.
The new Ford EcoSport compact SUV will be among the first Ford vehicles in Europe to offer AppLink as part of the Ford SYNC voice-activated connectivity system.
