For those of us getting MY16 builds of the RS with Sync 2 (e.g. EU, Aus) I thought I'd start a thread to collect thoughts on how to use our smartphone capabilities on the Sync 2 screen (such as Google Maps) so that we don't have to rely on Ford's navigation software (which I think will be my biggest gripe from reviews I've read).
I was hoping the RS would have HDMI or AV input so that we could use a Chromecast-like setup to wirelessly mirror our phone screens to the Sync 2 display unit, but when I re-watched that excellent 1-hr German review of the Magnetic Gray RS in which the reviewer went through every inch of the car, it looked like there'd be no such inputs (see the 27:00 mark of the following video to see what I'm referring to).
An informative hour or so on Google showed there appear to be a number of after-market hardware mods to the Sync 2 unit which enable AV inputs. The most promising unit I found however appears to be this one in which a piggyback system augments the stock Ford Sync 2 module with an Android OS and enables several additional inputs (AV, USB, etc). All stock functionality is retained, and a switch allows you to easily flick across to the Android OS. Of most interest to me, however, was that the Android OS comes with Google Maps. Not sure if this unit is compatible with the MY16 Focus/RS, and whether it enables wireless screen mirroring, but am going to email the company (Sweden Car Performance |) to find out. The installation appears to be reasonably straightforward.
If anyone else has any thoughts/ideas on our smartphones to display on Sync 2 so that we can use better nav software and other goodies, would love to hear them!
I was hoping the RS would have HDMI or AV input so that we could use a Chromecast-like setup to wirelessly mirror our phone screens to the Sync 2 display unit, but when I re-watched that excellent 1-hr German review of the Magnetic Gray RS in which the reviewer went through every inch of the car, it looked like there'd be no such inputs (see the 27:00 mark of the following video to see what I'm referring to).
An informative hour or so on Google showed there appear to be a number of after-market hardware mods to the Sync 2 unit which enable AV inputs. The most promising unit I found however appears to be this one in which a piggyback system augments the stock Ford Sync 2 module with an Android OS and enables several additional inputs (AV, USB, etc). All stock functionality is retained, and a switch allows you to easily flick across to the Android OS. Of most interest to me, however, was that the Android OS comes with Google Maps. Not sure if this unit is compatible with the MY16 Focus/RS, and whether it enables wireless screen mirroring, but am going to email the company (Sweden Car Performance |) to find out. The installation appears to be reasonably straightforward.
If anyone else has any thoughts/ideas on our smartphones to display on Sync 2 so that we can use better nav software and other goodies, would love to hear them!