Ford software guys could take a lesson from Lucid.

[cdondanville]

Lucid Air Software 2.0

Lucid just introduced a version 2.0 of their software and user interface over the air. Looks they have addresses A ton of user complaints and suggestions and made the driving experience much more enjoyable. Especially the idea that they have deprioritized some icons and functions down into the menu structure and elevated others to that chunk of screen real estate. They also improved performance so that the interface is much snappier.

The Ford team could learn a lot from this and I hope they are working on something like this already. I have has a Tesla for 4 years and the software is vastly superior to that in my Lightning And gets better all the time. Hopefully Ford will expend the resources to improve the experience from merely adequate To enjoyable. (Looking at you Heated Seat Controls)

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[Oafy44]

Lucid Air Software 2.0

Lucid just introduced a version 2.0 of their software and user interface over the air. Looks they have addresses A ton of user complaints and suggestions and made the driving experience much more enjoyable. Especially the idea that they have deprioritized some icons and functions down into the menu structure and elevated others to that chunk of screen real estate. They also improved performance so that the interface is much snappier.

The Ford team could learn a lot from this and I hope they are working on something like this already. I have has a Tesla for 4 years and the software is vastly superior to that in my Lightning And gets better all the time. Hopefully Ford will expend the resources to improve the experience from merely adequate To enjoyable. (Looking at you Heated Seat Controls)

Can you or anyone that has/had a Tesla expand on the software in terms of pricing / and what you get for the pricing. After the first year Tesla charges for “connectivity “ I believe. What does that all include and how much is it per month. I’m thinking after 3 years of the lightning they will charge for similar functions and ford streaming is really bizarre to me because there’s nothing on that that I can’t get for free thru Apple CarPlay and it seems like it’s even more inconvenient to use bs Apple car play.

so my guess in the next couple years Ford is going to have to figure out how to make a monthly subscription like Tesla work in the Mach e and lightning using Bluecruise/ streaming/ connectivity all in one?
Lastly anyone with a Mach e the past year or 2 only has another 1 -1.5 years till all of their free subscriptions lapse. After that has ford come out with a game plan for the Mach e with their multiple subscriptions ?

 

[F150ROD]

Can you or anyone that has/had a Tesla expand on the software in terms of pricing / and what you get for the pricing. After the first year Tesla charges for “connectivity “ I believe. What does that all include and how much is it per month. I’m thinking after 3 years of the lightning they will charge for similar functions and ford streaming is really bizarre to me because there’s nothing on that that I can’t get for free thru Apple CarPlay and it seems like it’s even more inconvenient to use bs Apple car play.

so my guess in the next couple years Ford is going to have to figure out how to make a monthly subscription like Tesla work in the Mach e and lightning using Bluecruise/ streaming/ connectivity all in one?
Lastly anyone with a Mach e the past year or 2 only has another 1 -1.5 years till all of their free subscriptions lapse. After that has ford come out with a game plan for the Mach e with their multiple subscriptions ?

You get Fart sounds.

We have to understand that unfortunately Ford unlike Lucid/Tesla/Rivian is not a software company and will continue to put out half-assed software updates.

If software is your thing a Ford product or really any Legacy Auto EV product is it for you.

I’d like to know what makes the Tesla software “Vastly” superior. I think it’s better but not to where Fords seems ancient.

 

[Monkey]

Can you or anyone that has/had a Tesla expand on the software in terms of pricing / and what you get for the pricing. After the first year Tesla charges for “connectivity “ I believe. What does that all include and how much is it per month. I’m thinking after 3 years of the lightning they will charge for similar functions and ford streaming is really bizarre to me because there’s nothing on that that I can’t get for free thru Apple CarPlay and it seems like it’s even more inconvenient to use bs Apple car play.

There are some similarities between Tesla and Ford's connectivity packages. We pay for the connectivity in our Model Y. I would never subscribe to the connectivity for my Ford vehicles...

Both provide internet access to the vehicle via cellular service, that's mostly what you're paying for. With Tesla's service the connectivity brings all their map and traffic data and a couple other things beyond. You can see what's included with Tesla's paid option here: https://www.tesla.com/support/connectivity

The big features you get by paying that I, and most others in the Tesla community, seem to care about are the live traffic data, satellite view maps and the ability to remotely view your Sentry Mode cameras from the app. The music streaming, and other media are available when the vehicle is connected to wifi (which can be a mobile hotspot on a phone). The page says that video streaming is only available with their connectivity plan, which is only partially true. The in-built apps for Netflix, YouTube, etc.. will only work if you subscribe. However, if the car is connected to wifi, you can go to those respective providers via the web browser and watch there. Which is what us Tesla people were doing long before Tesla added the dedicated apps. The ones who seem to appreciate the included media streaming are those with kids in the newer Model S/X as they have the rear screen and kids can easily watch Netflix. There's also gaming via Steam, but the connectivity isn't required to play games already downloaded. All things considered, I don't mind paying the $10/month for the Tesla connectivity for the bigger features I mentioned above. *BUT* I doubt I would pay it if the car had CarPlay/AndroidAuto as then the only unique feature would be the remote Sentry camera access.

Tesla's software is amazing from an automotive perspective... It's lacking compared to what we're all used to on our own devices. And compared to our latest devices, the interface and overall performance is clunky and slow. They have had to build it all from the ground up themselves and did well with it. It's linux based as that made the most sense at the time. Android would probably make more sense now that Google allows for Android use without direct licensing and succumbing to their data mining and they've endorsed the Android Open Source project, which is what BlackBerry is transitioning over to from QNX (which is what Ford's Sync is running on top of as well as what many automotive systems run on). Although being linux based has allowed Tesla to keep it entirely in-house and also now allows them to provide Steam for gaming.

So this is where we get to Ford's option... As I left off with the Tesla details, I wouldn't subscribe to Ford's connectivity service because of CarPlay or Android Auto. I know Ford is trying to bring more media options and music/video services into their software... But as of right now, I wouldn't subscribe to any in-car connectivity plan just for music streaming when it's all on my phone. Same with navigation and all the other stuff. The only thing I see getting from Ford's service is live traffic data and I think you get the navigation updates included if you subscribe. There's just no real value there when it's traffic data and updates to navigation I don't normally use... Both Apple and Google say they're expanding support for EV charger routing. It's a bit clunky now in Apple's navigation and doesn't really do any better than Ford's routing. And Ford's charger routing in their navigation is terrible -- great at identifying chargers, but braindead in terms of picking which chargers and when along a route.

Automakers like Ford and GM are really missing the mark with a lot of the tech. They just don't understand it or what people actually want. They're still making a big deal in their marketing about built in wifi hotspots in their vehicles.. No one cares or will really use it. Most people have a phone with their own connectivity and every phone can be a hotspot.. The only people who care about a vehicle having a wifi hotspot are limo services who provide 'free' wifi to their clientele.

Both Apple and Google don't allow automakers to charge any fees or subscriptions in order to use CarPlay or Android Auto, the vehicle either has the functionality or not. The next generation of these services looks pretty phenomenal as being shown off at CES. Neither will be confined to a window on a clunky display anymore, but will take over the vehicles entire display system, all displays, controls, etc..

 

[Tony Burgh]

Lucid Air Software 2.0

Lucid just introduced a version 2.0 of their software and user interface over the air. Looks they have addresses A ton of user complaints and suggestions and made the driving experience much more enjoyable. Especially the idea that they have deprioritized some icons and functions down into the menu structure and elevated others to that chunk of screen real estate. They also improved performance so that the interface is much snappier.

The Ford team could learn a lot from this and I hope they are working on something like this already. I have has a Tesla for 4 years and the software is vastly superior to that in my Lightning And gets better all the time. Hopefully Ford will expend the resources to improve the experience from merely adequate To enjoyable. (Looking at you Heated Seat Controls)

Thanks for the prod to look at Lucid forum.
hahaha. They whine even more the the Lightning crowd.

 

[F150ROD]

There are some similarities between Tesla and Ford's connectivity packages. We pay for the connectivity in our Model Y. I would never subscribe to the connectivity for my Ford vehicles...

Both provide internet access to the vehicle via cellular service, that's mostly what you're paying for. With Tesla's service the connectivity brings all their map and traffic data and a couple other things beyond. You can see what's included with Tesla's paid option here: https://www.tesla.com/support/connectivity

The big features you get by paying that I, and most others in the Tesla community, seem to care about are the live traffic data, satellite view maps and the ability to remotely view your Sentry Mode cameras from the app. The music streaming, and other media are available when the vehicle is connected to wifi (which can be a mobile hotspot on a phone). The page says that video streaming is only available with their connectivity plan, which is only partially true. The in-built apps for Netflix, YouTube, etc.. will only work if you subscribe. However, if the car is connected to wifi, you can go to those respective providers via the web browser and watch there. Which is what us Tesla people were doing long before Tesla added the dedicated apps. The ones who seem to appreciate the included media streaming are those with kids in the newer Model S/X as they have the rear screen and kids can easily watch Netflix. There's also gaming via Steam, but the connectivity isn't required to play games already downloaded. All things considered, I don't mind paying the $10/month for the Tesla connectivity for the bigger features I mentioned above. *BUT* I doubt I would pay it if the car had CarPlay/AndroidAuto as then the only unique feature would be the remote Sentry camera access.

Tesla's software is amazing from an automotive perspective... It's lacking compared to what we're all used to on our own devices. And compared to our latest devices, the interface and overall performance is clunky and slow. They have had to build it all from the ground up themselves and did well with it. It's linux based as that made the most sense at the time. Android would probably make more sense now that Google allows for Android use without direct licensing and succumbing to their data mining and they've endorsed the Android Open Source project, which is what BlackBerry is transitioning over to from QNX (which is what Ford's Sync is running on top of as well as what many automotive systems run on). Although being linux based has allowed Tesla to keep it entirely in-house and also now allows them to provide Steam for gaming.

So this is where we get to Ford's option... As I left off with the Tesla details, I wouldn't subscribe to Ford's connectivity service because of CarPlay or Android Auto. I know Ford is trying to bring more media options and music/video services into their software... But as of right now, I wouldn't subscribe to any in-car connectivity plan just for music streaming when it's all on my phone. Same with navigation and all the other stuff. The only thing I see getting from Ford's service is live traffic data and I think you get the navigation updates included if you subscribe. There's just no real value there when it's traffic data and updates to navigation I don't normally use... Both Apple and Google say they're expanding support for EV charger routing. It's a bit clunky now in Apple's navigation and doesn't really do any better than Ford's routing. And Ford's charger routing in their navigation is terrible -- great at identifying chargers, but braindead in terms of picking which chargers and when along a route.

Automakers like Ford and GM are really missing the mark with a lot of the tech. They just don't understand it or what people actually want. They're still making a big deal in their marketing about built in wifi hotspots in their vehicles.. No one cares or will really use it. Most people have a phone with their own connectivity and every phone can be a hotspot.. The only people who care about a vehicle having a wifi hotspot are limo services who provide 'free' wifi to their clientele.

Both Apple and Google don't allow automakers to charge any fees or subscriptions in order to use CarPlay or Android Auto, the vehicle either has the functionality or not. The next generation of these services looks pretty phenomenal as being shown off at CES. Neither will be confined to a window on a clunky display anymore, but will take over the vehicles entire display system, all displays, controls, etc..

Or Ford and GM are trying to sell cars to those who just want to drive and couldn’t care less about their vehicle being a computer.

I always find it funny when Tesla guys claim it’s the “best car I’ve ever driven” and then complain that Musk hasn’t delivered “Self Driving” yet ?

 

[cdondanville]

I say ”vastly” because Tesla software is intuitive and almost entirely bug free. Software updates work every time. Phone as a key works every time and has since the dealer handed it to me. Pre conditioning works every time. Navigation has gotten better, autopilot has gotten better, automated windshield wipers got better, range estimation has gotten better, route planning has gotten better. I even has heated seats enabled over the air and I didn’t even know it was equipped with them.

Saying that “they are a car company and not a software company“ feels like making excuses for them. In todays world every company is a software company, just take a look at John Deere. I did understand what I was getting into and almost got a Rivian for this exact reason, but this is my 6th F series and really couldn’t bring myself to buy anything else.

I guess the purpose of my post Is that I am Saying that I want Ford to make improvements. I think that they can, I just want them to take the software side seriously because it is now the way we all interface with the truck ant it should be a better experience.

I do give Ford credit for BlueCruise. I find it to be a superior experience on the highway over the ”enhanced autopilot“ in my 4 year old Tesla, but Ford has had 14 years to learn from the industry and to me it doesn’t seem like they have. I don’t even have battery % as as option on the main screen! (That is unless bluecruise is enabled then it magically appears. )

 

[F150ROD]

I say ”vastly” because Tesla software is intuitive and almost entirely bug free. Software updates work every time. Phone as a key works every time and has since the dealer handed it to me. Pre conditioning works every time. Navigation has gotten better, autopilot has gotten better, automated windshield wipers got better, range estimation has gotten better, route planning has gotten better. I even has heated seats enabled over the air and I didn’t even know it was equipped with them.

Saying that “they are a car company and not a software company“ feels like making excuses for them. In todays world every company is a software company, just take a look at John Deere. I did understand what I was getting into and almost got a Rivian for this exact reason, but this is my 6th F series and really couldn’t bring myself to buy anything else.

I guess the purpose of my post Is that I am Saying that I want Ford to make improvements. I think that they can, I just want them to take the software side seriously because it is now the way we all interface with the truck ant it should be a better experience.

I do give Ford credit for BlueCruise. I find it to be a superior experience on the highway over the ”enhanced autopilot“ in my 4 year old Tesla, but Ford has had 14 years to learn from the industry and to me it doesn’t seem like they have. I don’t even have battery % as as option on the main screen! (That is unless bluecruise is enabled then it magically appears. )

As an early Model 3 owner, I can say their software the first 1-2 years wasn’t anything to talk about.

But you are right, I was hoping that because of the Mach-E Ford would have learned a lot and adjusted.

 

[H3IMDALL]

None of these companies are in the software industry, they make money by selling cars. So I’d expect to find their average dev skills, code and processes terrible by comparison .. but are “good enough” for the automotive people who make funding decisions. I wouldn’t call any of their products great.

 

[Maxx]

The more integrated software becomes in every aspect of the vehicle operation the more imperative that everything works flawlessly. When you you are taking a 6000 Ib giant with 775 lb-ft of torque on the public roads, the last thing you want is for it to develop a multiple personality disorder. I care less about Ford screwing up Netflix on the infotainment than I do about them screwing up regen, break hold or lane keep assist. I think Ford should leave non driving items to Google and make sure they get the car parts right. They could still use a lot of improvements in the areas that matter.

On security front. I can never trust Ford with my information (I can't figure out how to opt out either), not because they may have bad intentions but simply because keeping a complex system secure requires serious investment and their carrots and sticks are not there to protect me.

No system is completely secure but for a company like Goggle that their entire business model revolves around people trusting them that investment makes a lot more sense and is more directly related to their products. Even though they still use your data to make money, they have to do it in a way that keep them in business long term. They do no evil not because it is a moral thing, but because it is a good business decision. Ford on the other hand as a car company sees any additional investment on software and data security as a hit on their bottom line that they have to justify to shareholders as relevant to the company mission. On the other hand any sharing and selling of your data will help in offsetting that cost. I would not be supersized at all if in a few years I read an article about how a criminal organization hacked into the system or used a low level dealer technician to locate the best time and location for any ford car parts to steal around the country.

The next generation of these services looks pretty phenomenal as being shown off at CES. Neither will be confined to a window on a clunky display anymore, but will take over the vehicles entire display system, all displays, controls, etc..

Do you think what you saw will work with the current version of software and hardware in the truck? or our trucks won't be able to use the next gen.

 

[Monkey]

Do you think what you saw will work with the current version of software and hardware in the truck? or our trucks won't be able to use the next gen.

Not a chance for the upcoming platform as it's quite a bit more advanced and integrated and is probably still a couple years out. Although Mercedes and BMW were both showing of full dash interfaces using this tech. I think at best for '22~'23 Lightnings might be an update to Sync 5 that is built atop Android, but I'm not gettin my hops up for that either.

Even if CarPlay or AA use within the current trucks is not expanded from where it is now, we at least know that the stuff running within CP/AA will improve as the phones do. So better navigation and app access.

 

[obxckw]

My Lightning got the OTA update recently like many of you did, I assume.
Have any of you had issues since then?

Personally, my FordPass stopped sync'ing a couple days after so I couldn't see my charge levels from my iPhone. And today, my truck's Bluetooth wouldn't sync w/ my phone. I did a master reset to fix the sync issue but today, the issue came back.

Is it just me?

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