Ford's new Android-powered infotainment system is finally coming to a Ford-branded vehicle. The so-called Digital Experience of the car manufacturerwhich debuted with the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus earlier this year, will power the new 2025 Ford Explorer SUV, the company announced today.
The 2025 Ford Explorer includes many of the top Digital Experience features, including Google Maps, the Google Play Store, the Google Assistant, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, and digital climate controls. It doesn’t have the extravagant 48-inch widescreen setup that the Lincoln Nautilus has, but from the looks of it, the main 13.2-inch touchscreen has the same interface. And the Explorer’s 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster can project maps for the first time.
Speaking of climate control, the new Explorer appears to lack physical buttons for climate control. This falls in line with Ford's redesigned Maverick truck, which also moved its climate controls to the touchscreen. However, the Maverick still runs on Ford's older Sync 4 software, powered by QNX.
The Explorer's much more discreet screen size, compared to the Lincoln Nautilus, shows how the system fits into different interiors and use cases. And as we've previously reported, Ford has no plans to phase out its in-house Sync operating system, which runs on similarly sized screens in many of Ford's vehicles.
Ford is also planning to include its Android-based system in its electric vehicles like the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, both of which feature much larger, vertically-oriented screens and will require a digital experience that looks different than what we see today.
