As promised, BMW has revealed its new Panoramic iDrive technology concept that it will implement in all its new cars, starting with its Neue Klasse range of electric vehicles at the end of the year. The system was previewed in the Vision Neue Klasse and Neue Klasse X concepts, but this is the first time we’re seeing it fully fleshed out in near-production form.
The comprehensively rejigged display and operating concept is dominated by a full-width display (hence the name) that sits above the dashboard and beneath the windscreen, stretching from A-pillar to A-pillar. The BMW Panoramic Vision, as it’s so called, shows the instrumentation ahead of the driver, with the content for the centre and passenger-side portions being customisable.
Munich calls this a new head-up display for projecting content, even though there’s another 3D Head-Up Display that will be made an option, showing navigation and automated driving information. Closer to the driver is a new parallelogram-shaped touchscreen with “matrix backlighting” technology, which presumably means it’s a mini-LED display.
This touchscreen sits next to a new oblong-shaped steering wheel, which we assume provides an uninterrupted view of the Panoramic Vision display. Because there’s no traditional instrument cluster, BMW has seen fit to reinvent the wheel (literally), connecting it to the hub not by spokes on the left and right, but on the top and bottom.
The control pods on either side use BMW’s Shy Tech first seen on the iX, hiding the capacitive touch buttons until they are needed, in which case they light up. This unfortunately does spell the end of some physical controls, but the touchpads do provide haptic feedback and have reliefs cut into them to make it easier to locate each control by feel.
Mind you, some physical controls still remain, such as the wiper and indicator stalks, mirror controls, volume buttons, gear selector and the demister buttons, with the rest relegated to touch and voice inputs. As yet, it’s unclear if the traditional iDrive rotary selector will remain, but all signs point to it being dropped – something BMW has already done with its compact models.
The whole shebang runs on a new BMW Operating System X, which is Android-based just like the existing Operating System 9, again found in the compact models. The latest system coordinates the functions of all the displays and controls.
For instance, an incoming call that shows up on the Panoramic Vision display also lights up the relevant steering wheel button in green. The driver can then either press the said button to accept the call or swipe up on the touchpad to reject it. Navigation directions, meanwhile, show up in the head-up display, with more information on roads and junctions then presented on the Panoramic Vision; the broader map can also be displayed on the centre touchscreen.
Also promised with Operating System X is greater personalisation, with the driver now able to choose drivetrain and chassis settings such as response and steering characteristics in the Personal drive mode – rectifying a major flaw in the current Operating System 8.5 and 9. You can also upload a custom wallpaper and choose from an essentially unlimited palette of colours for the user interface and ambient lighting.
Operating System X also brings with it an updated “Hey BMW” Intelligent Personal Assistant, now with built-in generative AI that allows the system to interpret more detailed and natural spoken commands, such as “take me to a charging station which is close to a food store.”
The system can also proactively suggest the use of various functions based on user behaviour, such as Sport Mode on twisty roads or driver assists in relevant situations. And don’t worry – if you repeatedly ignore these suggestions, it will learn and refrain from making them in the future. Elsewhere, the built-in app store will continue to grow with new apps such as Zoom.
The entire experience will be tied together through a new “sound experience” called HypersonX, comprising of 43 sound signals – adapted to the driving situation at hand – and special driving sounds for Personal and Sport Modes. So, what do you think about the new BMW Panoramic iDrive system? Sound off in the comments after the jump.
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