The 2025 Explorer is the first Ford to get the new Android-powered infotainment system

Ford’s caller Android-powered infotainment strategy is yet coming to a Ford-branded vehicle. The automaker’s alleged Digital Experience, which debuted pinch nan 2024 Lincoln Nautilus earlier this year, will powerfulness nan caller 2025 Ford Explorer SUV, nan institution announced today.

The 2025 Ford Explorer includes galore of nan Digital Experience’s main features, including built-in Google Maps, Google Play Store, Google Assistant, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, and integer HVAC controls. It doesn't person the royal 48-inch panoramic surface setup that nan Lincoln Nautilus has, but from nan looks of it, nan main 13.2-inch touchscreen has nan aforesaid interface. And nan Explorer’s 12.3-inch integer instrumentality cluster tin task maps for nan first time.

Speaking of HVAC, it looks for illustration nan caller Explorer lacks beingness ambiance power buttons. That tracks pinch Ford’s recently redesigned Maverick truck, which besides moved its HVAC controls to nan touchscreen. The Maverick, however, still runs connected Ford’s older QNX-powered Sync 4 software.

The Explorer’s overmuch much subdued surface size, arsenic compared to nan Lincoln Nautilus, shows really nan strategy is adaptable to different interiors and usage cases. And arsenic we previously reported, Ford is not readying to shape retired its soul Sync operating system, which runs connected likewise sized screens crossed galore of Ford’s vehicles.

Ford is besides readying to see its Android-based strategy successful its electrical vehicles for illustration nan F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, some of which person a overmuch larger, vertically oriented surface — and will request a Digital Experience that looks different than nan 1 we spot today.