CES 2021 - BMW announces new generation of iDrive!

20 years have passed since the debut of the first BMW iDrive. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2021, BMW is now announcing the future generation of its display and control system, which will lead the interaction between driver and vehicle into a new digital and intelligent age. CES will be held from January 11-14, 2021 in an exclusively digital format. BMW uses the virtual forum of the CES and gives the public around the world a first preview of the future BMW iDrive system, which will be officially presented later in 2021.

CES 2021 - new generation iDrive

BMW’s digital presence at CES 2021 also includes a teaser video that shows in an entertaining way the development of the user experience in cars and especially at BMW over the past two decades. The protagonists of this journey through time are the BMW 7 Series from 2001, in which BMW iDrive premiered, and the BMW iX, which will be launched in the course of 2021 and in which the future generation of the display and control system will be available for the first time will be experienced. In addition, the BMW design team responsible for user experience and user interaction provides a brief glimpse behind the scenes of its development work. For this purpose, another episode of the video clip series “Re-Thinking Design” was produced, which was published as part of the BMW Group's #NEXTGen 2020. All the content of BMW's presence at CES 2021 as well as other digital presentations can be seen in a CES Special on the online platform at bmw.com/ces.

Started 20 years ago in the BMW E65 7 Series

20 years ago, BMW won the battle against the flood of keys in automobiles with a consistent paradigm shift. The BMW iDrive operating system, which was first presented in 2001 in the then new BMW 7 Series, not only did away with old habits, but also with the steadily increasing number of switches, buttons and controls in the cockpit. They were replaced by a color screen, the so-called Control Display, in the dashboard and a rotary pushbutton, known as the iDrive Controller, on the center console. The multifunctional system offered the possibility of controlling a large number of vehicle settings, entertainment, navigation and telecommunications functions with a single control unit. In addition, the BMW 7 Series was the first automobile to have voice control with which selected functions could be activated with the aid of acoustic commands.

With the iDrive Controller and voice control, both convenience and safety have been significantly increased. Where previously a separate button in the cockpit had to be searched for and actuated for each function, it was now sufficient to always use the same handle on the controller, which was ergonomically arranged on the center console. The different functions can be controlled with uniform turning, pushing and sliding movements. The driver could just as quickly and safely see the displays on the control display integrated in the center of the instrument panel at eye level. He only had to look away from the street for a moment to be informed of the status of the waitress. This innovative principle developed into the new industry standard within a few years. Numerous other automobile manufacturers adapted the combination of display and controller, as this was the only way they could master the wealth of functions, which also continued to grow in their models.

Continuous further development increases the lead.

Since the birth of the iDrive, BMW has always been a pioneer in the field of intuitive operation in vehicles. Continuous further development made the lead grow more and more. It led to the introduction of the favorite buttons for saving individually selected operating steps, whose capacitive surfaces, used for the first time, activated a preview on the control display. There were also direct selection buttons for direct access to the most frequently used functional areas of the menu and the touch controller, which enabled characters to be entered. 2015 saw the premiere of the Control Display with touch function again in the BMW 7 Series.

At the same time, BMW established further innovations to optimize comfort and safety while driving. In 2004, BMW was the first automobile manufacturer to present a head-up display that projects information relevant to driving onto the windshield in the driver's direct field of vision. With the world premiere of the BMW gesture control in the BMW 7 Series in 2015, multimodal operation reached a new level. Voice control was also subject to a continuous evolutionary process. Since 2015, Natural Language Understanding has enabled operation using naturally spoken instructions instead of clearly defined commands.

BMW as a pioneer in the field of connected vehicles.

At the same time, BMW iDrive laid the foundation for the introduction of digital services that continuously intensify the relationship between people and cars. The BMW Online service also found its way into automobiles with the first development stage of the system. In 2007, the search engine Google was integrated, before BMW became the first automobile manufacturer in the world to enable unrestricted use of the Internet in vehicles the following year. Following the boom in smartphones and digital applications specially programmed for them, third-party apps could also be integrated into the BMW iDrive operating system in 2012.

In 2016, the connection between driver and vehicle became even closer. For the first time, the BMW Connected App offered the option of fully integrating the vehicle into the customer's digital lifestyle. Navigation destinations can now be transferred directly from the smartphone to the BMW, and information about the status of the vehicle can also be called up on the mobile phone or other digital devices. As the My BMW app, this service now offers even more extended functions.

Digital intelligence supports the driver.

With the debut of the new BMW 3 Series, a new, now online-based voice control made its debut in 2018. The BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant acts as a digital companion whose capabilities are constantly being expanded. This is made possible by the modular and flexible vehicle software BMW Operating System 7, which also serves as the basis for a further, particularly future-oriented service. The remote software upgrade keeps the BMW up to date with the latest digital technology and also enables additional functions to be integrated into the vehicle at a later date.

The courage to come up with a revolutionary answer to the challenge of an increasingly complex variety of functions made BMW a pioneer of intuitive operation 20 years ago. With BMW iDrive, the course was set for digital intelligence in the vehicle. It enables the driving experience to be tailored even more precisely to the needs and wishes of the customer.

With the next generation of BMW iDrive, the resulting relationship between the BMW and its driver is raised to a new level. The new system creates the ideal bridge between analog and digital technology. Another paradigm shift is imminent, because the sum of the functions available in automobiles and their complexity are constantly increasing. Digital intelligence has found its way into the vehicle. Thanks to optimized sensors, it can perceive and analyze its environment. Increasingly, this means that driving and parking areas can be automated. In addition, cloud-based services use a growing wealth of data that is available in real time.

In a large number of situations, the vehicle has a higher level of information than the driver. For example, it can receive and display hazard warnings from the BMW vehicle fleet and make predictions about the availability of parking spaces at the destination. This development continues and presents the display and control system with new challenges today and in the future. The next generation of BMW iDrive is geared towards using the potential of an intelligently networked vehicle more extensively than ever to make the mobility experience even safer, more comfortable and more exciting.