BMW Rejects Apple’s Vision for the Dashboard
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Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) has confirmed that it has no plans to offer support for Apple’s next-generation CarPlay Ultra platform in any of its upcoming vehicle models.
This is the first out-and-out rejection of CarPlay Ultra by BMW since Apple first unveiled the new initiative three years ago. The automaker had previously remained neutral to the idea of including the system in its vehicles since Apple’s 2022 unveiling of the system, according to what it told The Verge in an early interview:
Currently, we have placed a clear focus on further enhancing our iDrive user interface system and, as part of this development, will continue the seamless integration of Apple’s ecosystem. Integral to these efforts will be an evaluation of how the latest innovations announced at WWDC can be integrated into our solutions.
Now, BMW Blog reports that a BMW AG spokesperson has told it that “BMW currently has no plans to integrate Apple CarPlay Ultra.”
Instead, BMW will include its own iDrive X platform in its vehicles, launching later this year on the BMW iX3, which will serve as the digital infotainment basis for all Neue Klasse models in the future. iDrive X boasts what BMW calls the “Panoramic Display,” which displays contextual information along the lower edge of the vehicle’s windshield. The iDrive X platform will eventually make its way into every BMW in the lineup.
While BMW will continue to support standard CarPlay and Android Auto functions, these features will be limited to the central infotainment display, as they’ve always been.
Apple first debuted CarPlay Ultra during its 2022 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2022. The system offers a more integrated and immersive in-vehicle interface. While the standard version of CarPlay is limited to displaying information from your iPhone on a central infotainment screen, CarPlay Ultra expands to take over all the vehicle’s displays, including the main dashboard. It also allows drivers to view and control core vehicle functions, including climate control, entertainment, and more, all through a single Apple-developed interface.
BMW joins several other automobile manufacturers in deciding against adopting CarPlay Ultra for use in their vehicles. Other automakers that have opted not to use the system include Renault, Polestar, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo, despite earlier positive comments from some of these companies.
Car companies that are still expected to include the system in their vehicles include:
- Acura
- Aston Martin
- Ford
- Genesis
- Honda
- Hyundai
- Infiniti
- Jaguar
- Kia
- Land Rover
- Lincoln
- Nissan
- Porsche
So far, only Aston Martin has shipped any vehicles with the system installed, and the timeline for adoption by other carmakers remains up in the air.
CarPlay Ultra builds on the capabilities of CarPlay, effectively displacing an automaker’s native display interface, integrating the best of the vehicle’s systems and the driver’s iPhone. The system provides information for all of the driver’s screens, providing real-time content and gauges in the instrument cluster. While the system can also reflect the automaker’s look and feel, drivers can also customize the experience.
It appears that automobile makers are proving to be reluctant to give up as much dashboard real estate to CarPlay Ultra, possibly having concerns over maintenance of such a system, while also likely being concerned about how it might affect the carmakers’ plans for in-car infotainment systems, and any monthly in-car subscriptions the car company could offer.
