#IDRIVE REVIEWS 2018 UPDATE#
#IDRIVE REVIEWS 2018 ANDROID#
#IDRIVE REVIEWS 2018 SOFTWARE#
#IDRIVE REVIEWS 2018 TRIAL#
#IDRIVE REVIEWS 2018 FREE#

In place of the usual circular instruments we’ve become accustomed to, the new dials describe a more angular shape. Yep, the main dials have changed, too (above). You’ll see a lot of that: this is UX for a connected generation… What’s happened to my favourite BMW round dials? This stores all your favourites and is displayed top right on the right-hand digital screen, just as it would be on a web browser when you’re logged in. To put that another way, you can store 40 of your favourite apps (nav, trip computer, media, parking, weather, news, whatever) just a few swipes or scrolls away.Įach user is assigned a profile, which can be connected to your key, a PIN number on entry or – soon – your phone (dubbed ‘Digital Key’ by BMW, although this is not yet announced). You can still customise the homepage live tiles, with a maximum of four ‘widgets’ on screen, and you can swipe through a maximum of 10 pages. The left arrow on the homescreen can be tipped to enter a pop-out primary menu (navigation, media, settings) while a top toolbar runs the most popular commands (recent destinations, calls etc). There are two main navigational controls on screen now. Every function can be accessed via touchscreen or rotary controller. It’s been given a bit of a makeover and looks more jewel-like on the next X5, but its functionality is little changed. The round knob still takes pride of place in the centre console. Is there still a rotary controller? Or is it all voice-activated?įret not.

#IDRIVE REVIEWS 2018 UPDATE#

In a nutshell, the update is designed to streamline the information architecture of iDrive 6.0 (what you’ll find on today’s 5-series), present less information to the user but prioritise what they really want to see – and look better, more modern, more natural and less distracting, its makers told CAR.

#IDRIVE REVIEWS 2018 SOFTWARE#

And here is the latest iteration, in a very Apple-esque update that makes you realise it’s as much software developer as car maker these days. This correspondent was sent to test it on the then-new 7-series with a list of complicated tasks and was timed changing radio stations and syncing phones.įast-forward to 2018 and BMW refined the system to be one of the best multi-controllers yet. At first, it was a groundbreaking new way of controlling the flood of digital controls in modern cars – and it bamboozled many.

The iDrive multi-controller has been with us since 2001, believe it or not. It made its production debut on the new BMW X5 SUV in summer 2018, as well as the 3-series and 8-series that autumn. The new iDrive infotainment system is part of a broad suite of new services being rolled out by the premium car maker. Stay tuned for our test coming soon – and read on for more background on BMW iDrive and OS7.īMW announced a major update to its iDrive multi-controller system back in 2018 – and CAR magazine went hands-on with the new OS 7.0 in a special preview in Munich. We’ll be getting hands-on with the latest OS7 BMW release in the coming weeks. If this sounds familiar, this is because Tesla has been doing this for years. So inter-connected are many of the car’s systems that BMW is confident the hardware already enables many of these functions, even if the software hasn’t been enabled.

New features The digital and physical worlds collide in the latest updates, which let owners spec new services, such as auto high beam, active cruise control and even heated seats.

BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant Better voice recognition and bespoke assistance – will even learn your regular patterns and eg lower the window when you approach a toll booth on your commute.

#IDRIVE REVIEWS 2018 ANDROID#

Android Auto Finally, Munich adds Android connectivity alongside Apple CarPlay so your phone can sync with your car.

BMW Digital Key So you can use your iPhone as a key to unlock and start the car, using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

#IDRIVE REVIEWS 2018 FREE#

Connected Parking services To show you which spaces are free.

BMW Maps Cloud-based mapping brings faster navigation and real-time data, such as traffic updates borne from 14 million connected BMWs.

The latest release brings the following features to eligible models:

#IDRIVE REVIEWS 2018 TRIAL#

We expect many new functions to be available on a monthly subscription, meaning you could pay a few quid extra a month to trial gadgets like smart cruise control to see if it’s worth signing up for a year or longer. All BMWs with the seventh generation operating system (OS7) will be eligible for over-the-air updates, which don’t just add digital services but also physical ones.

Idrive reviews 2018