X

BMW iDrive Touch (pictures)

BMW announced significant updates to its iDrive system, with a new controller, navigation system, voice command, and a 4G LTE hot spot.

Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Wayne Cunningham
NewBMWConnectedDrive_SS01.jpg
1 of 7 BMW

BMW cabin electronics

As it does with its performance engineering, BMW has been pushing its cabin electronics to the bleeding edge, bringing in the unique iDrive controller, hard-drive-based navigation, and app integration. On July 11, 2012, BMW announced a new generation of its cabin tech systems, revising the iDrive controller, increasing the capabilities of navigation, add more voice capabilities, and offering a 4G snap-in hot spot.
NewBMWConnectedDrive_SS02.jpg
2 of 7 BMW

iDrive Touch

BMW pioneered the idea of a universal single controller on the console cabin electronics. iDrive has been refined considerably over the years, and the latest upgrade involves a touch surface on its top. Now called the iDrive Touch, BMW is playing catch-up with Audi, which demonstrated similar technology earlier this year.
NewBMWConnectedDrive_SS03.jpg
3 of 7 BMW

iDrive Touch

As with the Audi MMI controller, you can trace letters on the top of the iDrive Touch to input addresses and other data into the car. This entry method is much quicker to use than selecting letters from an onscreen keyboard.
NewBMWConnectedDrive_SS04.jpg
4 of 7 BMW

iDrive Touch

The touch surface also supports gesture control of the navigation system map. You can pinch the surface to change the zoom level of the map, or swipe across the surface to pan the map.
NewBMWConnectedDrive_SS05.jpg
5 of 7 BMW

BMW Navigation system Professional

BMW refers to its navigation system as BMW Navigation System Professional, although there is no lower-level navigation system available in the cars. BMW rebuilt this system from the ground up, with a new CPU, graphics processor, and a 200-gigabyte hard drive to support the new, more detailed maps.
NewBMWConnectedDrive_SS06.jpg
6 of 7 BMW

BMW Navigation System Professional

The maps show 3D rendered buildings, as before, but also have new, more detailed graphics for upcoming turns. BMW says the system will tell you when to change lanes and coordinate the turn graphics among the navigation screen, head-up display, and instrument cluster display. BMW calls the new turn prompts High Guidance, and it automatically comes on about 500 feet from an upcoming maneuver.
NewBMWConnectedDrive_SS07.jpg
7 of 7 BMW

LTE hotspot

As smartphones and tablets all tend to have data connections now, the value of mobile Wi-Fi hot spots in cars has diminished. But BMW gives the idea more relevance with this snap-in LTE hot-spot module. It connects to available 4G networks and opens a Wi-Fi network. Devices in the car that may only be capable of 3G can connect through Wi-Fi at 4G speeds.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos