Why no wireless Android Auto?

[gte105u]

So a lowest trim Santa Cruz has wireless Android Auto (though bizzarely loses it on the Limited trim). Question is why Maverick doesn't have on any? Seems the hardware is there for it. I know there are adapters but that's another thing to hassle with. Seems like a big whiff by Ford there...

Sponsored

 

[Shay]

Because less than 25% of cars offered today have wireless AA or APC, and certainly not the cheapest of them.

 

[gte105u]

Because less than 25% of cars offered today have wireless AA or APC, and certainly not the cheapest of them.

Santa Cruz, direct competition, does...

 

[paneubert]

Santa Cruz, direct competition, does...

One man's treasure is another man's trash. Some folks would consider wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay to be something they would never even think of using/something they would forget they even have 24 hours after buying the truck. Clearly Ford did whatever market research studies/focus groups they needed to do and determined the cost of adding wireless was not worth the return on investment. Hyundai did their research and determined it was worth the investment.

There are tons of examples of small differences you could bring up between the Santa Cruz and the Maverick. Saying "the other one has it" is rarely a good reason. No offense.

 

[MavVa1024]

Santa Cruz, direct competition, does...

Yes, and the Sana Cruz doesn't come with LED headlights until the higher trims, and doesn't offer integrated trailer brake packages at all, and still comes in more expensive at each trim level than the Maverick... I know this as I bought a SEL with activity package Santa Cruz in Early march, and traded it in for my XLT maverick when it finally arrived three weeks ago. Both are great vehicles. The Maverick is more utilitarian, which is what I need, plus the 4k Tow package and trailer brake controller will serve me well. Plus I work for Crutchfield, and once we get done researching the truck ( Sorry B&O system owners, I didn't go that route as it will be much harder to upgrade and mess with, Plus Sync is meh at best anyways.), I can do WAY better than any OEM system, and add wireless charging, dynamat, and wireless android auto myself. The Mavericks engine and transmission seem to bee much smoother also, the Santa Cruz had more power, but was very vocal about it.

 

[bombast]

The Maverick didn't get to be, what, 4k cheaper than the Santa Cruz by including every feature.

Part of the Mavericks low price point is by cutting corners, usually ones that aren't big deal. This is one of them.

 

[jsus]

Santa Cruz, direct competition, does...

Santa Cruz also has the two infotainment systems featured in other modern Hyundai vehicles. The low end touchscreen offers wireless AA and CP, the high end one doesn't. Santa Cruz was not built to be an entry level member of the lineup with features removed and costs cut to reach a low entry threshold (the original sub $20k price point before destination charge). Santa Cruz is positioned slightly upmarket of Maverick, by design.

In aiming for that low price point, sacrifices were made. All but a Lariat with Luxury Package doesn't even get Ford's old US standard infotainments system - Sync 3. (Old because Sync 4 is out now and a next gen is in development.) Sync 3 was never designed for it; it came out shortly before AA and CP were even a thing, getting software updates later to support it. The hardware wasn't designed for it. Sync 4 was, but that probably would've cost more, and/or been unavailable due to current market conditions.

When the infotainment system in Maverick gets an upgrade, it may bring wireless AA and CP.

 

[Hardening2753]

So a lowest trim Santa Cruz has wireless Android Auto (though bizzarely loses it on the Limited trim). Question is why Maverick doesn't have on any? Seems the hardware is there for it. I know there are adapters but that's another thing to hassle with. Seems like a big whiff by Ford there...

AAWireless - Wireless Car Adapter for Android Auto™ https://a.co/d/8k3sWMd

 

[Shay]

Santa Cruz, direct competition, does...

It's not really a competitor when it's 4 to 6K more across the board. Again Maverick is a cheaper vehicle - why it doesn't have all of those whistles. Not rocket science.

 

[gte105u]

I guess all the people piling on like I'm a moron are missing the point I'm asking. The hardware is there... The closest competitor has it (and yes the Santa Cruz is a close competitor).

So does anyone had an actual potential reason or theory to discuss? Because the cheap truck reason doesn't make sense when it has android auto, wifi, and Bluetooth. The parts are there...

 

[Bob The Builder]

I may be mistaken, but I believe that the auto manufacturers have to pay a further royalty to Apple & Google over and above the basic to do wireless. Ford is counting their pennies I would say.

 

[gte105u]

I may be mistaken, but I believe that the auto manufacturers have to pay a further royalty to Apple & Google over and above the basic to do wireless. Ford is counting their pennies I would say.

Thank you for a reasonable answer with actual data. That would make sense

 

[bombast]

I guess all the people piling on like I'm a moron are missing the point I'm asking. The hardware is there... The closest competitor has it (and yes the Santa Cruz is a close competitor).

So does anyone had an actual potential reason or theory to discuss? Because the cheap truck reason doesn't make sense when it has android auto, wifi, and Bluetooth. The parts are there...

Ok, so the confusion here is that you think all android auto needs is a wifi connection, yes?

The answer is that's not true. You need hardware that's designed to do that. The media computer in the Maverick is not a general purpose machine like you'd find in a personal computer. You can't just ram code into it to make it do things - The hardware is designed to do a very specific thing, in a very specific way, because it's cheaper to do than to cram a i3 or Raspberry Pi in there.

 

[Mabcim]

Chip shortage.
They ended up with 8” Sync 3.
Notice how the display is not centered over the buttons, and we have that cubby? That is because they had planned for a 10” Sync 4 screen; like you will see on the ‘23 Escape.
Not enough chips, so lower profit vehicle gets the short end of the stick.

 

[Nw_adventure]

Android Auto isn't super awesome- I just end up using B/T- Reads my texts just fine, plays music and doesn't try and over/nanny all the mobile phone features-

Sponsored