Immediate Family

The latest AppLink features keep drivers informed about family and the weather

By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company

Ahead of the annual Consumer Electronics Show held on January 6-9 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ford is announcing two new SYNC 3 AppLink enhancements. One called Life360 is designed to cut down on driving distraction and keep you informed of your family’s whereabouts. The other, from AccuWeather, delivers local weather updates right to your in-dash screen.

With the Life360 app enabled, the SYNC system goes into Drive Mode and tells the group of friends and family that you choose not to text you while you are driving. Then when you arrive at your destination and turn off the car, it texts your circle to let them know you arrived and it is safe to start sending those messages.

“Responsible driving habits are top priorities at Ford Motor Company, and we are pleased to be working with Life360 to help reduce driver distractions,” Julius Marchwicki, Ford Connected Services Product manager, said. “With the integration of Life360 Drive Mode, we are helping to keep drivers’ attention on the road by letting their loved ones know that they are behind the wheel, encouraging family members and friends to hold off on sending texts.”

The Life360 app also provides you a private map so you can keep track of your close friends and family’s whereabouts. This feature should keep some parent from worrying as much when their kids are out driving. You can even use voice commands to ask questions, like “Where’s Dad?” It will then show you his location on the map. It will even help you get help in the event of an emergency.

Life360 and DriveMode will debut for Android phones in the spring, but you can watch it in action right here…

“We are thrilled to be working with Ford to take on such an important issue and help reduce texting and driving,” Chris Hulls, co-founder and CEO, Life360, said. “Keeping families connected is one of our core tenets, and we’re proud our technology can also help play a key role in promoting distraction-free driving.”

Another new AppLink addition is from AccuWeather. It will provide drivers with up-to-the-minute forecasts for their exact location courtesy of the system’s new MinuteCast system. This feature should really come in handy for commuters and people road-tripping through unfamiliar territory.

“The new integration of AccuWeather for Ford SYNC AppLink will bring our customers the most up-to-date weather information while on the road,” Julius said. “The system is easy to use, and with the addition of MinuteCast, drivers will get minute-by-minute forecasts for up to two hours to help them make safer driving decisions during bad weather.”

No word on when this feature will bow, but you can see it work right here…

“We are thrilled to have our award-winning app available to drivers through SYNC AppLink,” Steven Smith, chief digital officer for AccuWeather, said. “With important features such as severe weather alerts and AccuWeather MinuteCast, our minute-by-minute precipitation forecast, Ford SYNC AppLink is connecting users with the weather information they need when they need it as they travel, to help provide a better driving experience.”

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