BMW previews the future of its display and operating system

The biggest auto trend coming out of CES 2021? Big screen. Very big screens. Late last week Mercedes-Benz unveiled its mega MBUX Hyperscreen, today BMW is teasing its upcoming iDrive system which will arrive first in the BMW iX all-electric SUV in early 2022 – the new infotainment system won’t just see the screens get bigger but, the automaker says , more flexible and automated too. However, unlike some rivals, BMW isn’t turning to the touchscreen for everything.

In comparison to what we saw from Mercedes, the BMW iX’s panels look a little less overwhelming. The driver will get a 12.3-inch display for their instrumentation, while the central touchscreen will measure in at 14.9-inches. Both will be housed in a new magnesium design, with anti-reflective cover glass.

BMW promised a whole new UI for its iDrive operating system when it announced the iX in November of last year, and now it’s dropping more hints about just what that will include.

“Digital intelligence has been introduced into cars, optimized sensors now allowing them to perceive and analyse their surroundings,” the automaker points out. “As a result, elements of driving and parking can be automated to an increasing degree. And cloud-based services dip into a growing pool of real-time data.”

The result, BMW argues, is that a lot of the time the car will know more than the driver themselves will. That will include things like crowdsourced traffic and hazard alerts from other connected BMW vehicles, or the ability to predict open parking spaces at a destination programmed into the navigation system.

What BMW isn’t doing is getting rid of physical controls altogether, which is likely to please a lot of drivers concerned about a fully-virtual cockpit. The iDrive controller – a mainstay of the infotainment system since BMW introduced the first-generation of the system in the 2021 7 Series sedan – may not look quite the same as it once did, but the crystal knob in the center console of the BMW iX still promises the same sort of hands-on interface.

It’s a distinct divergence from what Mercedes is doing with MBUX Hyperscreen, where almost everything in the cabin has been handed over to the touchscreen UI. Indeed, Mercedes says, only the ECS’ start button will be physical, along with its headlamp controller. While some elements of the onscreen interface – like the air controls – will be fixed in place, everything else will be a virtual button, dial, or slider, allowing Mercedes to push OTA updates and evolve the EV’s design.

That’s not to say BMW’s controls will all be big, physical buttons. The iX’s drive modes, shortcuts for jumping into different iDrive areas, and media controls will be handled via touch-sensitive keys with haptic feedback, the automaker says. Still, the difference there is that those buttons won’t be moving on a touchscreen: while it may take some different muscle memory to pin them down in your brain, it’s arguably going to be more user-friendly on day one than fully-virtual versions.

There’ll be voice control, as you’d expect, and an optional head-up display. Full details will be confirmed when the BMW iX gets its full reveal later in the year. Production will kick off soon but local availability has not been confirmed as yet.

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Papi Mabele

Papi Mabele has a marketing background, he is a digital marketing expert with extensive experience in launching and building global brands in the emerging markets. Papi is also an avid tech writer, enthusiast and all round tech junkie. As a freelance writer and analyst he has been numerously published in Popular Mechanics (SA), GQ South Africa, Premier Magazine, Driven Magazine, Bloem News, Courant, The Weekly, Enthooze Magazine and PiE magazine amongst others.