Introducing the all-new BMW iDrive 8

[ZL9M2]

Kind of a perfect description of everything I don't really need. Or want. Makes you realize that most of us on this forum are such a very small subset of BMW owners, and getting smaller.

[Rob_G77]

Originally Posted by soheil

No, this is not just a SW update, you'll also need updated HW and processors to be able to run it

I guess 2 or 3 years is an eternity in the car business. It's all about planned obsolescence with these designs rather that true upgradability. Some people always want the latest and greatest so this is just another reason to upgrade. IDrive8 will come and then 3 years later it will be IDrive9. And while IDrive7 is very updatable, BMW will probably abandon updating the platform just like Samsung abandons updating phones older than a few years.

The new design is fricking ugly. Maybe they will sell themes so you can customize how the guage cluster looks (to a degree).

Rob

[soheil]

Originally Posted by Rob_G77

I guess 2 or 3 years is an eternity in the car business. It's all about planned obsolescence with these designs rather that true upgradability. Some people always want the latest and greatest so this is just another reason to upgrade. IDrive8 will come and then 3 years later it will be IDrive9. And while IDrive7 is very updatable, BMW will probably abandon updating the platform just like Samsung abandons updating phones older than a few years.

The new design is fricking ugly. Maybe they will sell themes so you can customize how the guage cluster looks (to a degree).

Rob

Amen brother, 100% with you! Although to be fair, you used to own a car for 10-20 years, now it's mostly a 3 year lease so no wonder why it's being treated as a cell phone! Get a new model every other year, hell we'll throw in free HBO if you get 2!

[soheil]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

I watched the 11 minute video. Lunatics have taken over the asylum

I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for the big reveal, and all I saw was a wanna be Steve Jobs announcing the next Windows Phone...

[soheil]

Did he really say 10,000 SW engineers? For this shit?! This is max a job of 10 people so wonder what the other 9,990 were working on?! Who wants another personal assistant?! I'm just gonna connect my iPhone on CarPlay and use Siri to call my wife! This doesn't need another virtual assistant!

[JorgenM]

LOL, you clearly have no clue about SW developement. Planning, research, design, programming, server tech, QA etc... The back end of iDrive 8 seems extremely complex and if it works as described it's an impressive piece of enginering.

(I've worked with SW since 2001, mainly gaming, e.g. EA Games)

[jkap27]

Originally Posted by CntryClub007

No actual buttons and knobs for controls? Bye bye BMW!

You will not be driving cars within 5 years then cuz everyoneeee is doing this 🤣

[Nahlem]

There is a lot of potential with this new i-drive system this will be exiting to se, they will just simply have to make use of all that screen estate and not just let it be black maybe add the whole navigation behind for easy swap between the two or simply have relevant information in the background witch you can glance over fast.

When it comes to touch screens it is both nice but at the same time can be troublesome at times. For example it is nice to have some simple stuff on buttons like turning on max ac for fast window defrosting or having a button for steering heating stuff like that usually ends up as a muscle memory witch lets you focus on the driving. But volume up and down on the radio is usually mostly done with the steering wheel anyways and cruise control.

I Think there is a fine balance there between what should be regular buttons and what doesn't need to be on buttons.

So for my own sake i am very exited to se where this new systems goes in terms of both tech that will be relevant for more then just 1 month after the car is sold witch also should represent the environmental profile of BMW so it isn't just "oh you wanted that new feature, oh well that will cost you a new car to get"

But i am also worried sens at times BMW's response times are slow to add fixes to broken software features on current lineup, if i am hearing this correctly he said around 10 000 software employees working on that part and still the BMW app lacks some features that in it self is not very positive.

This will be interesting to follow for sure, consider Volkswagen announced the other day they want to be classified as a tech company and not only auto maker company.

[JohnBucurE92]

most of the complaints in here would be remedied if BMW had slightly angled the screen more towards the driver

[InsideDK]

Originally Posted by Nahlem

There is a lot of potential with this new i-drive system this will be exiting to se, they will just simply have to make use of all that screen estate and not just let it be black maybe add the whole navigation behind for easy swap between the two or simply have relevant information in the background witch you can glance over fast.

Between the dials we have previously seen some screens of the navigation blending nicely into the black spaces. But i'm also hoping that they will utilize the screen estate in a esthetic nice manner!

Originally Posted by Nahlem

But i am also worried sens at times BMW's response times are slow to add fixes to broken software features on current lineup, if i am hearing this correctly he said around 10 000 software employees working on that part and still the BMW app lacks some features that in it self is not very positive.
.

If you read all the press material released yesterday, they mention monthly and even new OTA updates every 14 days. The idrive8 should be much easier to develop and push updates for (everything is made inhouse on linux platform).

Regarding the dials, there will be more themes and profiles coming after release.

[thaalrasha]

First thing i'm thinking ... will this assistant shut up and how to deactivate this. I want to control what's going on, no need to have an AI guessing it.

[mbanck]

Hard to tell, but it looks like the iX steering wheel will also have capacitive buttons?

[mbanck]

Originally Posted by JorgenM

LOL, you clearly have no clue about SW developement. Planning, research, design, programming, server tech, QA etc... The back end of iDrive 8 seems extremely complex and if it works as described it's an impressive piece of enginering.

(I've worked with SW since 2001, mainly gaming, e.g. EA Games)

Also, they mentioned they rebased it to Linux which would take lots of effort - does somebody know whether the iD7 infotainment was Linux-based as well, or something more low-level?

[Ikester19]

Most disappointing is the move away from buttons and knobs. Touch screens are more distracting to use whilst driving so I just don't get the logic. And the shape of the steering wheel, is that for real??

[MParallel]

I wish I was blown away and overwhelmed by awesome new and modern stuff.

Non of that applies here.

[eljay]

What I don't understand is all these companies trying to compete with Google and Apple.
To me, it's a waste of resources, but hey, I don't create the business cases for BMW, Audi, etc.
If your whole household drives nothing but new BMWs and keeps buying BMWs for years to come, it MAY make sense to jump into this eco-system.
But most families have either multiple car brands or models from the same brand, but different years and equipment.

With a 2009 BMW and 2016 Audi, I can tell you that I use exactly ZERO of their fancy voice commands. They are useless. By the time you learn them and use them, you switch cars and get frustrated. Even simple thing like iDrive control knob and Audi MMI knob scroll on the screen in opposite direction. Bugs me every time.
For example, updating navigation maps and learning commands to control those are worthless since the easiest thing for me is to pull out my phone and say Hey Google or Hey Siri. Those are apps and devices people use daily.
So, all I need from a car manufacturer is a nice screen and CarPlay and Android Auto out of the box.
I don't need to turn my heat up with a voice command. A knob will do just fine. Learning new touchscreen is not only something most customers won't do, but it's down right dangerous on the road. I hope all these cars come with autonomous braking, driving aids, and driver slapping for checking messages via iDrive.

[Al Bundy's Dodge]

This further reinforces my plan to:

1) hold onto my F87 until the wheels fall off, and

2) buy a Jeep Wrangler or Ford Bronco in pursuit of a 6MT with a very simple, basic, analog feel.

The continued evolution of tech to digitize everything and force me to interact with AI is such a turn off.

I don't want to talk to my car. I want to drive it.

[Northstar1]

The design language does not fit to Driving Machine. It is very elegance oriented. It would suit for MB and upcoming Lucid Air.
It should be more sports driving oriented, simple and less decorated. Like ones in Porsche Taycan and Audi eTron.

Another problem is lack of real support for APPs. At 2022 a new system should be open to developers to create new features into car: TripAdvisor, Weather radar, Google etc. When cars drive themselves the entertainment is critical: Spotify, Netflix, news, podcasts...

[CntryClub007]

Originally Posted by jkap27

You will not be driving cars within 5 years then cuz everyoneeee is doing this 🤣

...and this is my exact concern. Haha

Long live the E70 X5 LCI and F30 340i LCI. I'll run them to 300,000 if I need to hahaha

[ZHP to B58]

Originally Posted by _E90S65_

It's painful to see an iconic brand with so much passion and heritage get reduced to pixels, shiny veneers and "change simply for change's sake."

These designs feel cold and lifeless. I've seen kitchen appliance knobs with more soul than these interfaces.

Yes, I still use an abacus and read by candle-light. But I know what sheer driving pleasure is, and this direction ain't it.

I find this to be mildly ironic seeing as how you have an M340i listed as your vehicle.

[DarkstarZero]

I've owned only BMWs for the last 15 years but this is terrible, do not want.

Even Audi and Mercedes are moving back from screen and flat buttons for common items to physical buttons and switches. BMW is YEARS behind the industry in realizing that people want tactile physical buttons for some things and screens for others. The true golden goose is having a set of programable buttons and dials that people can use or not use for whatever they want. BMW already owns the patent for it which is why no one else has copied it ... and they're basically throwing that away for touch screen climate controls. Welcome to 2010 BMW, you're years behind the curve.

Someone on YouTube comments said it best, "is this a fashion interface for makeup?"

Audi's latest interior:

[InsideDK]

Originally Posted by DarkstarZero

I've owned only BMWs for the last 15 years but this is terrible, do not want.

Even Audi and Mercedes are moving back from screen and flat buttons for common items to physical buttons and switches. BMW is YEARS behind the industry in realizing that people want tactile physical buttons for some things and screens for others. The true golden goose is having a set of programable buttons and dials that people can use or not use for whatever they want. BMW already owns the patent for it which is why no one else has copied it ... and they're basically throwing that away for touch screen climate controls. Welcome to 2010 BMW, you're years behind the curve.

Someone on YouTube comments said it best, "is this a fashion interface for makeup?"

Audi's latest interior:

at least BMW still have the rotating knob for navigating the infotainment system. With Audi you can ONLY navigate using touch.

That is for me much more important that a climate button.