Vehicles equipped with Ford Sync 3 will soon support Waze

If you are driving a newer Ford vehicle, and are a fan of Waze, you’ve got something to be excited about. At CES 2018, Waze announced that it will be coming to Sync 3 infotainment systems to use right alongside CarPlay.

Apple currently does not allow third-party mapping applications to use CarPlay, which means if you prefer Waze, Google Maps, or others, you are out of luck.

If you wanted to use a different map app, you were stuck just reading it off your phone’s display, or use the (usually terrible) built-in map in your vehicle.

To use Waze, you will simply have to connect your phone to your compatible car system over USB. Waze maps will the be available on the display, and audio prompts will come through your vehicle’s speakers.

The connection uses SmartDeviceLink which allows the apps interface and features to be easily integrated from your phone to your car.

Sync 3 is Ford’s operating system running on their newest infotainment systems, and for 2018 vehicles, Waze support will be rolling out over the coming weeks.

Other Sync 3 vehicles will get support through a firmware update that they can install over USB.

The crowdsourced navigation app will support all popular features including the Speedometer, HOV route support, and “Talk to Waze” voice control.

We will go hands-on with Waze once it becomes available to see how well it fairs. This is clearly going to be a benefit for users, but it is still not as convenient as native CarPlay support. Maybe we could see a loosening up on those restrictions at WWDC 2018? Here’s hoping!

You can learn more about how to get Waze to work in your supported Ford vehicle by checking out Waze’s blog.