BMW’s new iDrive system is taking a new approach on infotainment displays
January 27, 2025 at 09:50
- The Bavarian carmaker uses big displays in its current models, but it’s changing things up with its new system.
- Future BMWs will have a rhombus infotainment screen and a full-width panoramic display.
- The second-generation electric iX3 will be the first BMW model to debut the new system.
Over the last few years, we’ve seen a growing number of car manufacturers adding huge displays in their models, combining the gauge cluster and infotainment screen under a single piece of glass. BMW has done the same with its excellent Curved Display. However, big changes are afoot, and future BMW models will adopt the Panoramic iDrive unveiled at CES earlier this month.
BMW’s solution still uses a large infotainment display placed in the center of the dash, but rather than being rectangular like most others on the market, it’s in the shape of a rhombus. Positioned behind this display and stretching between the pillars at the base of the windshield is a narrow, panoramic screen that’s highly configurable and includes the gauge cluster.
Read: BMW’s Panoramic iDrive Brings Pillar-To-Pillar Display To Future Models, Eliminates Knob
Screens Can Be Too Big
According to BMW chief development officer Frank Weber, the company doesn’t believe adding ever larger screens is the solution. He adds that having “those larger TV screens” in a car can “disconnect you from the road. Making it bigger and bigger is not the right thing.”
“BMW is connecting you to the steering wheel and the steering wheel is connected to the vehicle and the vehicle is connected to the road, and this is the kind of thing you expect from a BMW,” Weber told MA during a recent roundtable at the launch of the new display.
The way motorists interact with BMW’s new system will also be different. BMW has confirmed it’ll ditch the traditional iDrive controller in the center console. It hasn’t revealed the redesigned console, but BMW Group Senior Vice President of UI and UX Stephan Durach confirmed there will be a physical volume button. The main infotainment screen is touch-sensitive, and many controls have been shifted to the steering wheel.
A Sleeker Solution?
The thin panoramic display will be highly configurable, featuring six large spots for widgets and no less than 22 widget options. Should a driver want a more minimalist look, they can even switch off two segments on the passenger side of the screen.
Whether you like the new system or not, all future BMW models will get it. The first to debut with Panoramic iDrive will be the second-generation iX3. Weber says that the size of the screens could vary between vehicles.
