Ford dropping Sony's Sync

[Toad]

Click on link for full story.

http://www.insideradio.com/ford-pla...cle_73a20990-7a48-11e6-b00d-231101ae3795.html

Self-driving cars headlined the conversation at Ford Motor Company’s annual Further with Ford trend conference this week in Detroit. But the evolution isn’t only tied purely to automation. The automaker also announced it is teaming with Harman to “revolutionize” the in-vehicle audio experience.

Starting next year, Ford cars and trucks will begin to integrate Harman’s B&O Play system. The move brings to an end Ford’s long-running Sony partnership that dates back more than a decade. Few specifics have been released about the switch including whether HD Radio—which has been integrated into Sony’s Sync—will also be integrated in the new B&O Play head units in Ford vehicles.

Developers say the B&O Play system “visualizes” sound waves, which create a “richer, more visceral” experience for drivers. And the system’s signature sound will be tailored specifically for each Ford model. Engineers say that will mean improved sound quality no matter what the driving conditions are like and regardless of where someone sits in the vehicle. Ford hasn’t announced which car models will get B&O Play first.

“Customers tell us they value consistent, high-quality audio experiences,” Ford executive VP of product development and chief technical officer, Raj Nair, says. “This is just one of the ways we are creating richer, more engaging in-vehicle experiences for customers.”

Ford chief executive Mark Fields told the Motor City gathering that as the world has moved from just owning vehicles to owning and sharing them, it’s caused Ford to rethink its entire business model. “It’s no longer just about how many vehicles we can sell, it’s also about what services we can provide as well,” he said.

Sony’s Sync 3 was unveiled last year and Ford will continue to install the system in car and truck models until the switchover to B&O Play is completed during the next few years. Ford first launched Sync in 2003 and the automaker says it hopes to avoid some of the hurdles faced a decade ago.

“There is always the question of how do you present it to the customer. We have seen many examples in our industry over the years of technology being introduced and customers freaking out,” Ford chairman Bill Ford said during a Q&A session on Tuesday. He pointed to issues with Sync and the related My Ford Touch dashboard entertainment system as prime examples of what can go wrong. “Customers were leaving the dealerships and they didn’t really know how it worked and then they were reporting it as broken and in fact it wasn’t. It’s just that no one had ever taken the time to go through how it works,” he said. “So I think with any new technology, it’s how you present it to the customer that is critical.”

B&O Play will offer at least one feature that may take some explanation, although not necessarily for its technical complications. The system will allow drivers to take a “Sound Journey” by customizing the listening experience to three different environmental habitats—a forest, a canyon and an ocean—featuring simulated natural sounds. The theory is a drive time traffic jam could be made less stressful with the birds of a forest or the lapping waves of a beach as the soundtrack. “We are able to take sound, which is an invisible aspect of design, and deliver it in unique and extraordinary ways that are going to enhance our products,” Ford senior design strategist Anthony Prozzi says.

Whether such a feature is desired by most drivers remains to be seen. A survey released last year by J.D. Power found what while automakers invest billions of dollars in new technology, most of it is being ignored by consumers. The report found that at least one in five new vehicle buyers confessed they’ve never used 16 of the 33 technology features measured. That includes one-third (32%) who hadn’t tried any of the built-in app features such as the ones offering streaming radio services.

“The first 30 days are critical. That first-time experience with the technology is the make-it-or-break-it stage,” J.D. Power analyst Kristin Kolodge says. “Automakers need to get it right the first time, or owners will simply use their own mobile device instead of the in-vehicle technology.”

B&O Play was launched four years ago by the high-end Danish audio manufacturer Bang & Olufsen. It was rolled into Harman when the Connecticut-based company bought Bang & Olufsen’s car audio business last year for $156 million. Bang & Olufsen sound systems are currently available in other car brands including Audi, Aston Martin, BMW and Mercedes-Benz—and all but Aston Martin offer HD Radio, offering broadcasters a potentially positive indication about digital radio’s place in Ford cars down the road.

Research shows new car buyers pick audio brands as one of the factors that influence their opinion of a vehicle. In fact, the recent Ipsos 2016 Automotive Audio Branding study found roughly one-third of new car buyers say that the audio brand in their next vehicle would have a significant impact on their purchase decision.

“If I ask anyone to tell me something that is meaningful in their life, more than likely they’ll relate it to a song,” Prozzi says. “We need to acknowledge that so no matter where they’re going they’re going to remember a great song that we enabled through a Ford product throughout the journey.”

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[fionic]

I wish they would stop with all this custom nonsense

 

[jasonstang]

I really don't like some of the Fords approach on things. Instead of fine tuning and revising the existing things, they just start it all over every 2 years.
The Sync 3 is far from fully utilized and fine tuned and yet they are getting rid of it.

 

[wildcatgoal]

I haven't heard a good sound system come from HK ever in a car. My MB had an HK system and it was absolutely awful. Like go back to the dealer three times to try and figure out if something was wrong with it awful then go to Hybrid Audio in Cumming, GA to find out it has the worst balance and the harshest tweeters ever to have ruined my ears. Not expecting much better from this new B&O (Body Odor) system. Sorry. Honestly I liked the original sync interface - bugs be damned. Sync 3, when not in "night mode" all the time, is a big blue beacon of annoying cloudy blueness... whoever let that pass design quals never drove a sports car.

I would much rather pay less to have zero speakers and amplifiers installed, just a low-level signal from a flat source unit with a fast, basic interface and a grommet in the firewall I can use to run a power wire.

 

[TURTL3]

I work in software development and it baffles me how poor some of the software on factory head units are. I'm not saying I can do it any better myself, but we're talking about Billion dollar companies that can hire armies of talented developers and testers, and yet they release buggy systems with no foreseeable plan for continuous development and improvement. I just don't get it.

 

[QRK]

Not sure where they are getting the Sony relationship from,aside from the fact that some Fords have Sony sound systems. The original Sync and MyFordTouch were developed with Microsoft while Sync 3 was developed with BlackBerry (who knew they were still around?).

I think what is actually happening is that B&O will be replacing Sony as Ford's premium sound system supplier. This article from the Detroit Free Press mentions nothing about the actual Sync system being replaced: http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2016/09/12/harman-brand-bo-play-become-main-ford-audio-partner/90271754/

 

[Dirtyblueshirt]

To be fair, SYNC isn't Sony. The use of "Sony's SYNC" is wildly incorrect. Sony-branded audio systems filtered over to the US from Ford of Europe and included branded head units and speakers. However the SYNC system is independent of the Sony branding.

TL;DR: Lazy journos are lazy.

 

[Warhead]

I've got a 2015, and had read about the Sync system having bugs. I've literally never had an issue with its function, but I just use voice command / bluetooth Android phone, and USB audio. When I had satellite radio (demo) it worked fine also.

I assume the bugs must be outside of these basic functions.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

Yep, the two folks I thanked above have it right.

Sync 3, the hardware and software technology (powered by QNX) platform isn't going anywhere. Just the "premium audio" partnership that's currently co-branded with Sony in some models (like the Explorer Sport).

That article incorrectly uses B&O Play (specifically the 'Play' part) as some kind of complete replacement, where Play is really just branding for a specific line of audio products.

Here's an article that discusses it in terms of audio vs. underlying technology platform:

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/ford-bang-and-olufsen-play-audio-system-branding-partnership/

 

[PatrickGT]

Did I miss where Sony bought Microsoft and is now the owner of SYNC? Or am I just expecting too much from someone "reporting" on this crap?

 

[JohnZiraldo]

Is that article correct in referring to 'Sony's Sync 3' system? I thought Sony only contributed the sound system head unit to Fords, but the QNX based infotainment screen was developed by a 3rd party for Ford.
Is it only the sound system being replaced by HK?

 

[bluestang50]

I haven't heard a good sound system come from HK ever in a car. My MB had an HK system and it was absolutely awful. Like go back to the dealer three times to try and figure out if something was wrong with it awful then go to Hybrid Audio in Cumming, GA to find out it has the worst balance and the harshest tweeters ever to have ruined my ears. Not expecting much better from this new B&O (Body Odor) system. Sorry. Honestly I liked the original sync interface - bugs be damned. Sync 3, when not in "night mode" all the time, is a big blue beacon of annoying cloudy blueness... whoever let that pass design quals never drove a sports car.

I would much rather pay less to have zero speakers and amplifiers installed, just a low-level signal from a flat source unit with a fast, basic interface and a grommet in the firewall I can use to run a power wire.

How is Hybrid Audio in Cumming? I have been planning to swap my tweeters and mids myself. I am considering taking it somewhere to have a decent sub added in the trunk.

 

[Rock&Roll]

I wish they would update Sync3 on my 2016 with Apple Car Play.

Bought the car a month ago and the Dealer told me it works. Might have waited for a 2017 if I knew that the 2016 needed a upgrade and nobody really knows if and when they'll upgrade the 2016's. Apparently Apple Car play works in the 2017 models.

 

[jasonstang]

I wish they would update Sync3 on my 2016 with Apple Car Play.

Bought the car a month ago and the Dealer told me it works. Might have waited for a 2017 if I knew that the 2016 needed a upgrade and nobody really knows if and when they'll upgrade the 2016's. Apparently Apple Car play works in the 2017 models.

Update should come out pretty soon. You will need a new USB hub for the Carplay stuff tho.

 

[angermgmt14]

Update should come out pretty soon.

:lol::lol::lol:

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