The newly-announced 2017 BMW 5 Series will be the first car in the Munich automaker’s stable to fully embrace Apple’s CarPlay smartphone integration, being the first car ever to support the platform’s wireless connectivity option.
When launched, CarPlay required users to plug in their smartphone via USB to launch the interface. However, since the iOS 9 update in late 2015, Apple had added the option to wireless tether via a background combination Bluetooth Low-Energy and short-range WiFi. Since then, though, no automaker had taken the plunge to support it - which is very odd.
BMW’s promotional material reads: "CarPlay is available in the BMW 5 Series Sedan too. Integrating the smartphone into the vehicle's system environment allows the phone, together with any apps that are on it, to be operated via the screen in the car by means of the iDrive Controller or touch control. BMW is the first carmaker to integrate Apple CarPlay without any cables at all."
More and more, buyers are placing more emphasis on the quality of the infotainment system, navigation software, connectivity and audio fidelity as deciding factors when choosing a new car. And the landscape, while better and more capable now, is still very fragmented with each manufacturer peddling their own software and marred by unintuitive interfaces and often dated hardware.
One exception to the jungle of choice is BMW with their iDrive system. It’s unanimously the most sophisticated and easy to use systems out there. And it’s interaction method is ergonomically superior, using a directional wheel/knob on the centre console while also allowing touchscreen manipulation as a secondary option. It’s a formula that’s been adopted by Mercedes-Benz’s COMAND system and Mazda’s MZD Connect, to name a couple.
While we applaud BMW for supporting CarPlay and are a proponent of its usefulness. It’s a little ironic that BMW would be the first to support its wireless connectivity features as the automaker had been hesitant to announce adopting it at all until only recently. Instead, BMW maintained that its own iDrive system would be more than a sufficient alternative.
Apple CarPlay support should find its way to other BMW models in due time following its premiere in the new G30 5 Series. Whether support for Android Auto - Google’s alternative for its smartphone platform - will also be arriving is unknown at this point.
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