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Current list of AppLink compatible apps?

RDS

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Many thanks indeed, I will read and digest!
 

RDS

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ok I have read that thread but I still don't get it: I already do not need to connect my phone physically to play Spotify through the car audio; i think i can access the music files on the phone too, the Sync 3 sat nav is good enough too, and i can make hands free calls by shouting at the car (actually that functionality is really poor) so what else do these products do and better? I must be missing the obvious point of the add-ons.
 

Vlad Soare

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I already do not need to connect my phone physically to play Spotify through the car audio; i think i can access the music files on the phone too, the Sync 3 sat nav is good enough too, and i can make hands free calls by shouting at the car (actually that functionality is really poor) so what else do these products do and better?
Nothing. If you don't want to use anything else from your phone on your Sync screen, like Waze, or Google Maps, or audiobooks, or a podcast, or internet radio, or Webex, or Teams, or anything like that, then there's no reason to mess with CarPlay or Android Auto. The native Sync 3 interface is really good.
CarPlay does everything AppLink was supposed to do, only much better, faster, more reliably, and with a user interface that's very well thought out and optimized for driving.

If Spotify is the only mobile app you need, and you're lucky enough that it works fine for you through AppLink, then you don't have to change anything. Just continue using it as it is. But the chances of finding any other app that's actually useful and works with AppLink are slim to none. AppLink is dead.
 
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RDS

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I'll have to see if I can play any music off the phone via the car audio without a physical connection (a wire would be cheating). Not had much luck with internet radio on the phone anyway, but again, I will try that.

I haven't seen that the inbuilt sat nav is so bad that Waze would be any better.

As for Teams - that'd take more concentration than would be safe, whilst driving. The voice commands on the phone are bad enough already. I am beginning to wonder if the system is trained for a non-native speaker of the King's English!

I can see that playing a video (when car is stopped) would be fun, but the instructions that I dredged up from somewhere on the internet require more patience and programming skill (not to mention risk) than I have or care to try.
 

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Vlad Soare

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I'll have to see if I can play any music off the phone via the car audio without a physical connection (a wire would be cheating). Not had much luck with internet radio on the phone anyway, but again, I will try that.
Yes, you can. When your phone is connected via bluetooth and you select the phone as the input source for the audio, it will start whatever app was last playing on your phone. Any app that can play any kind of sound on your phone, be it Music, or Spotify, or TuneIn, or Podcasts, or whatever, can be used with Sync this way.
You just start the car, keeping the phone in your pocket, wait for it to connect, and it will automatically start playing music (or anything else) from your phone - if the audio input source when you last turned off the car was the phone. The usual music playing controls, like next track, previous track, mute, pause, etc. are available on Sync's audio page, like they are for the other input sources. The steering wheel buttons will also work.

The only problem is that you can't easily switch from one app to the next (e.g. from Spotify to TuneIn) unless you take your phone out of the pocket, unlock it, and manually start another app.

I haven't seen that the inbuilt sat nav is so bad that Waze would be any better.
There's nothing bad about it. Quite the contrary, it's one of the best I've seen.
But its ability to work around traffic is so weak that you can consider it non-existent for all practical purposes. And secondly, its maps are only updated once a year.

Waze's ability to analyze the traffic in real time, and to adapt its route instantly depending on it, is second to none. No matter where you're headed and how the traffic is, you can rest assured that Waze will always, always, give you the fastest route possible under the circumstances. And it will adapt it on the fly if need be. Secondly, Waze gives you timely warnings about police, speed traps, accidents or roadworks on your route, etc. Last, but not least, Waze's maps are always up to date. They are updated by a huge and well-organized community of enthusiasts, who do this all the time, and it takes only one or two days for each change to be live and to show up on your map. When an ad-hoc event causes one or more streets to be temporarily closed, Waze will know about it immediately (because at least one Waze user will report it, and reports are dealt with instantaneously) and will route you around that.

Google Maps isn't quite as suited to everyday driving as Waze is (though it does work reasonably well, too), but it has another strength. It knows off-road routes which sometimes aren't defined in Waze (though some of them are), and which almost never appear on stock navigation maps. If you want to drive to a cabin in the mountains, which lies at the wrong end of a gravel road (or worse still, a dirt road), Google Maps will take you there. Waze might also do it (or it might not). But it's almost guaranteed that the stock Sync navigation will never acknowledge the existence of that road.

The in-built navigation is great for planning long trips, or for finding an address you've never been to, provided time and traffic aren't a concern.
But most of my drives take place in the city I was born in, which I know inside out. I don't need Sync to show me the shortest way to work, or to the cinema, or to my kids' school, or back to my home. I already know that. What I need is something to tell me which shortcuts to take in order to avoid the traffic that happens to be building up right now, at this very moment. This is where Waze comes in.

As for Teams - that'd take more concentration than would be safe, whilst driving.
Nah, it's just audio. It's like connecting to an audio conference using a dial-up number. It will display some basic information about your conference on the screen, give you a few basic controls, like mute, or end call, and that's it. It's no more dangerous than a hands-free phone call.
 
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Hello Vlad

many thanks that is a VERY comprehensive answer.

I guessed as much re the audio abilities using the phone and Sync 3.

Are the Sync 3 maps updated automatically or is that the reason to go through the update using the USB or wifi?

Wayze is very favoured by minicabs here (not Black cabbies who know the majority of the city street by street and more).

My middle name used to be A-Z (or for our Greek members Alpha-Omega) due to my own knowledge of the city but the local authorities are closing streets and making them one-way at such a rate, that my knowledge is out of date. As a result a back up system using Wayze would be useful.

So, Wayze is only available to work with the car via CarPlay?


EDIT: as long as Bluetooth is activated on the phone, internet radio (via that station's own website) was playable tonight via the car audio. I'll try the functionality of TuneIn tomorrow; not sure if there is the ability to search for other stations "on the go" via the car screen.
Also as stated, I could not get Wayze on the phone to work with the car system, hence the need for Carplay I suppose.
 
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Vlad Soare

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Are the Sync 3 maps updated automatically or is that the reason to go through the update using the USB or wifi?
The maps will not update via wi-fi. You need to download them from Ford and to use a USB memory stick.
The Sync 3 software might update wirelessly if you're lucky enough, but more often than not it won't. And even when it does, it's so slow and unreliable that it's best to forget about it and to just use the USB stick method instead.

The procedure is quite simple. Open the link below, type in your VIN, and follow the instructions.
https://secure.ford.co.uk/owner/resources-and-support/sync-bluetooth/update#/

So, Wayze is only available to work with the car via CarPlay?


EDIT: as long as Bluetooth is activated on the phone, internet radio (via that station's own website) was playable tonight via the car audio. I'll try the functionality of TuneIn tomorrow; not sure if there is the ability to search for other stations "on the go" via the car screen.
Also as stated, I could not get Wayze on the phone to work with the car system, hence the need for Carplay I suppose.
Waze will only work with Sync through CarPlay (or Android Auto, which is basically the same thing, but from the opposing team).

I mentioned TuneIn because that's what I happen to be using, but that's not the only one. There are many internet radio apps, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, several of which also work with CarPlay or AA.
I'll have to check how the search for radio stations on the car's touchscreen works, as I've never used it, but as far as I know it is possible, at least to some extent. I found it easier to do all the searching in advance and to store my favourite radio stations in the Favourites section. I can see all my favourites on the Sync touchscreen and can pick one to listen to. But if memory serves searching was also possible. I'll check the next time I'm in the car.

The nice thing is, you don't have to commit yourself to permanently using or not using CarPlay/AA. You can use it only when you want to. As long as the phone remains in your pocket, you'll have the standard Sync 3 user interface. When you need to use Waze, you just plug your phone in, and CarPlay/AA will automatically take over. It will go back to Sync when you unplug the phone. You can do this on the fly, whenever you feel like it; no need to turn off the car, or to fiddle with any settings, or anything like that.
 
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Vlad Soare

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I checked. You cannot type a radio station's name in a search box on the Sync screen, but you can browse through pre-defined lists of radio stations, grouped by genre and other criteria. So, while not exactly a search feature per se, it's still reasonably helpful.
 
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Mike Pfeifer

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Hello Vlad

many thanks that is a VERY comprehensive answer.

I guessed as much re the audio abilities using the phone and Sync 3.

Are the Sync 3 maps updated automatically or is that the reason to go through the update using the USB or wifi?

Wayze is very favoured by minicabs here (not Black cabbies who know the majority of the city street by street and more).

My middle name used to be A-Z (or for our Greek members Alpha-Omega) due to my own knowledge of the city but the local authorities are closing streets and making them one-way at such a rate, that my knowledge is out of date. As a result a back up system using Wayze would be useful.

So, Wayze is only available to work with the car via CarPlay?


EDIT: as long as Bluetooth is activated on the phone, internet radio (via that station's own website) was playable tonight via the car audio. I'll try the functionality of TuneIn tomorrow; not sure if there is the ability to search for other stations "on the go" via the car screen.
Also as stated, I could not get Wayze on the phone to work with the car system, hence the need for Carplay I suppose.
I would suggest just plugging your phone in via usb in the car to check it out for yourself, really the only way to see if it’s for you. Personally, I only ever use CarPlay, unless the wife is with me (she likes Sirius XM). I don’t like the sound of Bluetooth audio. I am looking into one of those wireless CarPlay adapters, but they tend to sell out often. And the reviews for them are hit or miss.
 

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Vlad Soare

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One gripe I have about CarPlay is that it doesn't display text messages. When I receive a text message while driving, Sync will display it and will also allow me to send a reply, which I can pick from a pre-defined list. CarPlay won't. The only option you have with CarPlay is to let Siri read it, which is utterly useless if the message was written in any language other than English - you'll only hear some incomprehensible gibberish. This is because of Apple's time-honoured tradition of considering its customers a bunch of imbeciles that must be saved from themselves at all costs.
But that really is the only one.
 
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RDS

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Interesting you mentioned the text issues: I mistakenly thought I could dictate a text and send it. Sadly that was not possible.

I also think that the system is not attuned to accept spoken commands in the King's English (let alone another proper language) as opposed to what passes for English in one former colony!

I share your sentiment re Apply products generally.
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