If you have both an iPhone and a Ford, you’ve been out of luck when it comes to Google’s Waze navigation app. Ford’s SYNC connectivity system supports Apple CarPlay, but Apple itself doesn’t let people use Waze through the system. Fortunately, Ford announced that SYNC 3 equipped vehicles can project the Waze app from an iPhone directly onto the touch screen via SYNC AppLink. This follows Ford’s announcement of the integration at CES, and beta demonstrations in February.
You need to have Waze downloaded onto your iPhone of course, and the phone must be plugged into a USB port in your Ford. You can then open Waze through SYNC. Once Waze is on the big screen, you can control the app through voice command and hear the voice guidance through the vehicle speakers.
This brings Waze’s real-time traffic and navigation directly into your vehicle, along with the most efficient traffic routes, cheapest fuel prices, and traffic accident alerts. You can be routed to high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes and get accurate arrival times. You can even keep an eye out for the police.
“Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for people to access the smartphone features, apps and services they care about most in the car, without having to pick up their device,” Don Butler, executive director, connected vehicle platform and product at Ford, said. “With Waze, our customers get the benefits they’re accustomed to with the added luxury of experiencing them on a bigger screen.”
Waze uses crowdsourcing to deliver real-time information about everything from road hazards and conditions to route changes and fuel prices. You can connect with friends to share data such as arrival time.
“We’re excited drivers of Ford SYNC 3-enabled vehicles will now be able to use Waze for iOS right from their dashboard, getting access to features like planned drives, alternative routes, talk to Waze voice commands and more,” Jens Baron, product lead, in-car applications at Waze, said. “They’ll also benefit from the best routes and most accurate ETAs, thanks to our global community of drivers on the go who update the map in real-time — helping our mission to one day eliminate traffic.”
To use Waze on Ford’s AppLink, you’ll need SYNC 3 version 3.0 or greater, and your iOS running 11.3 or later. It’s worth the effort, as we found Waze among the most useful apps you can have on your iPhone.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.