Ford Rebrands OTA Updates Ford Power-Up
Photo: Ford
Know how you call attention to a cool new technology? A snazzy, pizzazzy name. Ford must have realized that over-the-air updates doesn’t quite pop, so it’s now calling its recently launched wireless software update feature Ford Power-Up.
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Ford Power-Up already delivering key enhancements
Ford Power-Up debuted last year in the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150. Simply known as over-the-air updates at the time, the technology promises to cut down on maintenance costs and keep vehicles up to date more easily.
The first Ford Power-Up update (Ford Power-Update?) rolled out in March, tweaking a few things here and there. Future updates look to be quite a bit more substantial. Among them is the upcoming rollout of BlueCruise, Ford’s zestily renamed hands-free driving feature launching on the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 later this year.
Recent enhancements deployed via Ford Power-Up include a new Sketch feature for the Mustang Mach-E that turns the massive 15.5-inch touch screen into a sketchpad.
Ford engineers also used the feature to fix an issue with the new F-150’s zone lighting, and a fix for a known issue with Android Auto should be forthcoming in June.
Ford has also announced that the F-150 and Mustang Mach-E will both get infotainment upgrades in the coming weeks. This includes enhancements for Apple CarPlay, navigation, and the digital owner’s manual.
Ford, Amazon partner up on new Alexa hands-free features
Photo: Ford
In addition to rechristening Ford Power-Up, Ford announced that it’s teaming up with Amazon on “the industry’s broadest rollout of the embedded Alexa hands-free experience to date.”
This will include three years’ worth of complimentary access to Alexa for customers. It could also lead to the development of custom Alexa skills for Ford commercial vehicles like the upcoming Ford E-Transit.
“Democratizing technology and putting it within reach of millions of customers has been a part of Ford’s DNA dating back to the Model T, and our new collaboration is a continuation of that legacy,” said Ned Curic, vice president, Alexa Automotive. “We can’t wait for Ford customers to experience the best of what Alexa and voice AI can do while on the road — including new features and capabilities that will be delivered seamlessly through future over-the-air software updates.”
Ford says that it will deliver Alexa support via Ford Power-Up starting this fall. Vehicles getting the enhancement include the F-150, Mustang Mach-E, 2021 Ford Edge, 2022 Ford Super Duty, and all-new Ford Bronco.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.