Ford has announced it is teaming up with Amazon to integrate Alexa virtual assistant into its cars, allowing vehicle owners to access shop, search, and control smart home features on the road.

The partnership means owners of Ford cars equipped with the SYNC 3 AppLink system will be able to access Amazon's Alexa voice-activated virtual assistant from the driver's seat, enabling them to check the weather, add items to shopping lists, play audiobooks, and control Alexa-compatible smart home devices, like lights and thermostats.

ford_ces_amazon_alexa_1

"Ford and Amazon are aligned around a vision that your voice should be the primary way to interface with your favorite devices and services," said Don Butler, executive director, Ford Connected Vehicle and Services. "Customers will be able to start their vehicles from home, and manage smart home features while on the road – making life easier."

Ford said that beginning next month, some owners of its vehicles will be able to use Alexa voice commands to access certain car functions and even check the range of their car. Specifically, owners of the Ford Focus Electric, Fusion Energy, and the C-MAX Energy will be able to use their Amazon Echo or Echo Dot smart speaker in the home to lock their car or start the engine remotely. Ford said it plans to offer the Alexa commands in more of its SYNC Connect cars at a later date.

The second phase of the rollout, expected this summer, allows Ford owners to tap into a broad set of Alexa skills using their voice while driving – helping them keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

"We're excited to work with Ford to enhance the driver experience both inside and outside of the vehicle," said Steve Rabuchin, vice president, Amazon Alexa. "We believe voice is the future, and this is particularly true in cars. The ability to use your voice to control your smart home, access entertainment, manage to-do lists and more makes for an extraordinary driving experience. We can’t wait for Ford customers to try this out."

Amazon's Alexa has been cropping up in a range of upcoming products at CES so far this year, appearing in third-party smart speakers, TVs, lamps, and even refrigerators.

Top Rated Comments

err404 Avatar
94 months ago
And you kill everyone on the road while you play with the screen.
You understand that Alexa's only interface is voice, right?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chupa Chupa Avatar
94 months ago
Meanwhile Ford is outspoken opponent of CarPlay and GoogleAuto to the effect it even established, with Toyota, an industry consortium against these interfaces. Their fear is either would become so popular as to reduce manufacturer's ability to design interfaces (as-if car makers were actually good at that ever). So I'm wondering what does Ford think will happen by introducing Amazon's Alexa into it's cars?

That aside, Amazon has been hustling Alexa to perfection. This was a breakout season for it. Tim Cook ought to be worried. If Apple doesn't come up with a dedicated hub and promote Homekit more it may very well pigeon hole all of those subscription services he's been positioning as the future of Apple. Instead of Amazon putting its apps on iOS devices, the future may be Apple looking for entrance into Alexa devices.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
94 months ago
This is huge for Amazon. Aside from Apple CarPlay and Android play, now the echo is making its way from the home into the vehicle. And it's another bridge for Alexa to control various functions inside the car. And Alexa is proprietary to Amazon, which I'm curious to see how that would expand into other vehicles aside from Ford testing it.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
94 months ago
This is huge for Amazon. Aside from Apple CarPlay and Android play, now [S]the echo[/S] Alexa is making its way from the home into the vehicle. And it's another bridge for Alexa to control various functions inside the car. And Alexa is proprietary to Amazon, which I'm curious to see how that would expand into other vehicles aside from Ford testing it.
You're exactly right. This is huge for Amazon. But more than that, Amazon brilliantly positioned Alexa to jump over Apple and most surprisingly Google. Alexa isn't tied to any ecosystem, Amazon gives it away (or charges very, very reasonable fees), and they allow people to build it out. Not only allow, they encourage it: https://developer.amazon.com/alexa-skills-kit. Amazon also handles all of the heavy lifting on their servers.

For voice control, looks like Alexa is going to be everywhere soon.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bozzykid Avatar
94 months ago
The mission of the SDL group is to ween car makers away from CarPlay to a true open source connection kit. It's not an additional option to CarPlay and Google Auto, it's meant to be an alternative option to them. At the moment Ford is playing both sides because it doesn't want to turn off customers. Toyota OTOH is being much bolder in that regard. But it's Ford's goal to eventually dump CarPlay and GoogleAuto for its own interface design
That isn't really true. Neither Carplay or Android Auto actually run natively on a single car. This new open source software isn't pushing them away. They will still be available from these car manufacturers. But the manufacturers are making sure CarPlay and Android Auto don't become built-in as the only option. To me, this is a good thing for consumers, not a bad thing. I don't want a car in the future that only works with Android Auto or Carplay.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sixthdimension Avatar
94 months ago
... Specifically, owners of the Ford Focus Electric, Fusion Energy, and the C-MAX Energy ...
It's Energi, not Energy.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...