(Pocket-lint) – In recent years, BMW has been at the forefront of many of Apple’s automotive developments. It is often the first brand to offer more advanced features than the iPhone offers.
Apple CarPlay was the first to offer wireless Apple CarPlay, and while we weren’t interested in offering Android Auto until it was also wireless, it was also the first brand to support Apple CarKey, and we decided to work together to bring it to life. We have established standards to support.
But there are limits to how far BMW can let Apple and Google control its vehicles. BMW is happy that Apple CarPlay or Android Auto offers a variety of in-car phone features, but it has a clear line when it comes to controlling car functions.
In an interview with BMW executive and head of technology for the German car brand, Frank Weber, he asked what BMW thinks about Apple’s desire to take over all the screens in the car and run a giant CarPlay experience. I was.
The experience will be showcased at WWDC 2022 and will be supported by various launch vehicles in 2023. But how would BMW feel about handing over control to a third party?
“We don’t like it,” said Weber. “Because this is a BMW, not an Apple Car.”
Weber wanted to make it clear that phone functionality would be most welcome: “We want the experience to be comfortable. [for] How do you integrate typical phone functionality with familiar interactions on the phone?” stressed Weber.
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Apple CarPlay is definitely popular. Many people are now in their cars and plugging in their phones to get around the stipulations car manufacturers may be offering to major entertainment services.
However, there is always a downside to using services like Apple CarPlay and that is integration. The main display will take over, and perhaps the cluster or heads-up display music ID, but if you choose to use Apple Maps, Waze, etc., you’ll find that you don’t get the same level of integration. From the car’s own system.
“When it comes to vehicle control, charging station search and charging station rating, this is charging station selection and what’s happening nearby. We want that customer interaction to be BMW. and we don’t leave it up to Apple.”
“Especially with electric cars, there are more and more features. How is the battery? Is it hot? Cold? What time will you arrive at your destination? It has nothing to do with taking over, it’s the vehicle,” says Weber.
Apple’s next-generation CarPlay aims to provide an interface for many functions beyond just entertainment, offering the Apple experience on every display in the car, including the driving cluster, fuel gauge, speedometer, climate control, and more. .
Christophe Grote, Senior Vice President of Electronics and Software at BMW, said: At CES 2023, Apple said it would be supported through the phone mirroring feature, but the full system beyond phone mirroring would not be supported.
Apple is not chosen by BMW. In fact, Google is in the same position, and BMW doesn’t want to offer full Google Automotive Services (as seen with Polestar and Volvo, for example). What happens to customer data? BMW doesn’t want to hand it over to Google.
However, BMW plans to move to the Android platform with operating system 9, the next generation in-vehicle software experience.
But what BMW is doing is using the open source Android Automotive OS, fully customized for the BMW experience and offering a range of native apps powered by the Faurecia Aptoide app store. BMW has full control over it, rather than transferring any part of it to Google. .
While the focus of modern cars is to move away from the traditional realm of ride and handling and instead look to digitally connected experiences, BMW maintains control and without sacrificing connectivity and experience. , it’s clear that you want to develop your own experience. Kind of like what Apple or Google offers.
By Chris Hall.