Roundtable events are a good way for higher-ups in any organization to let slip morsels of information that got overlooked for the press release. Particularly when the roundtable involves someone like Frank Weber, CTO and member of the board of management of BMW. Today we share insights from the BMW veteran about the newest iDrive software, iDrive X.
No Bigger Displays – BMW “Connects You to the Road”
“We were looking at competitors that are doing bigger and bigger displays. And we asked ourselves, do we like that?” Weber considers when asked about the center screen. He claims that the brand didn’t want to go “even bigger…a large TV screen disconnects you from the road. We had the…I don’t know, they called them hyper screens and other things, and they were large,” he starts, a not-so-subtle jab at the massive screen you’ll see in many Mercedes models today.
BMW is connecting you to the steering wheel, and the steering wheel is connected to the vehicle, and the vehicle connected to the road. And this is this kind of thing you expect from a BMW to do.” We wholeheartedly agree. In fact, Weber had a lot to say about the burgeoning screen sizes in the industry. “Making it bigger and bigger is not the right thing,” he says. He says that the bigger the screen, the tougher it is to make it safely usable for the driver – i.e., easy to touch. The decision to keep a single, central display (primarily), and move it closer to the steering wheel offers, in his words, “ideal touch conditions.”
Bigger Displays, Bigger Consumption
Of course, BMW’s screen size may be staying small compared to the competition, but it’s still growing to 17.9 inches. And there’s a lot of additional hardware to power when you consider the 3D head-up display and panoramic display. How does that compare to the current setups when it comes to power consumption? “We are looking for every watt-hour that we can preserve,” Weber starts. “Unfortunately, it is the system setup.” According to Weber, there’s an entire department tasked with managing energy efficiency. Weber says that, compared to today’s 12.0-inch display and curved display, the new setup consumes around 10 percent more energy.
Anti-Apple CarPlay Via Superior Firepower
In one of Mr. Weber’s more controversial takes, he says he’s “welcome to be anti-Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.” He believes it’s a “short-term, crutch solution,” and that BMW needs to invest in a more “integrated system.” He claims that the BMW system is much more sophisticated and capable than a system that only runs CarPlay. That said, iDrive X is compatible with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
Actions always speak louder than words, though, and regardless of how you feel from a usability perspective, iDrive X is promising some big things. During the presentation, a video call was performed through the screen. This will apparently be possible for production cars, and not just for demonstration purposes. So, there’s one advantage over CarPlay. Weber said, half-joking, “This is our year, 2025…I’m done now with visions and concepts and all of that stuff. Everything you have seen is serious, so yeah, you will be able to [make video calls].”
iDrive X in Different Cars: From the X1 to the 7 Series
As we’ve said a few different times in a few different places, iDrive X will eventually appear in literally all new BMW vehicles. The system might look a little different depending on which model you’re behind the wheel of, though. “When you buy an X2,” Weber says while discussing screens, “it is a little smaller in size than it is in the next segment.” So, expect iDrive X to look similar – but not identical – regardless of the car you’re piloting.
Testing iDrive X
“I can tell you we probably have 3,000 people in the process,” Weber says when a question of testing regiments comes up. Three core regions – China, Europe, and US – require individual testing, utilizing ‘usability labs’ that essentially place customers in front of the technology. Notably and specifically, not BMW employees. “What you do is you invite them for eight hours, every single person for eight hours, and then you go with them, step by step through all the things,” he says. BMW then observes “where misunderstandings occur,” in order to streamline the system.
In total, Weber says this took around three years from early concept until today. And while there are stark differences in how each region’s users interact with the tech, eventually, you find a “global agreement,” something that works for everyone. Even if it isn’t necessarily optimized for one region. “We have just finished the last round, then for production, end of the year,” he finishes.
Design Across EV and Gas Lineup As One
BMW’s well-known for having a flexible architecture that facilitates ease of production. For them, the lines between internal combustion and electrification are more blurred than for most automakers. But going forward “we can only have one design,” so says Frank Weber. “A BMW is a BMW…there is no difference between an ICE car and a battery electric car,” he says. “Neue Klasse…is such a big leap. But then we do this big leap for everything.” So, expect Neue Klasse styling to start showing up across the lineup throughout the 2030s.
Weber thinks a lot of brands have made the mistake of intentionally positioning EVs “above” their ICE offerings. It’s a good point that we haven’t heard in the past – and in fact, might deserve a separate article itself. “You pick the powertrain, and then we do the best car around you for that,” Weber says. “it’s not working [for other brands] because…what are you saying? That battery electric vehicles are more modern than your other vehicles?”
He continues. “I have not seen final numbers for 2024, but you can assume that we have sold more battery electric vehicles as BMW than Mercedes and Audi combined. Isn’t it a strange thing that the company that says ‘equal treatment for everything’ has sold more than the two together.”
For what it’s worth, he was right. It’s an excellent point. He drives it home by essentially saying people decide to buy a BMW because it’s a BMW. Not specifically because it’s an electric vehicle or gas-powered vehicle.
The E65’s A Gift That Keeps on Giving
There are plenty of reasons to dislike the E65 7 Series (produced from 2001 until 2008), but we didn’t expect to hear Frank Weber talk about it in 2025 at CES. “We had to refine our processes,” he starts, when asked about the ‘complete reinvention’ of the Neue Klasse cars and streamlining systems to be user-friendly. “The reason for this is our traumatic experiences with the E65 25 years ago. It was so bad to launch that vehicle that we had to rethink all of our process.” Over the last two decades, BMW has given more thought than its competitors to how the mechanical components and software components work together – and it’s all because of the E65.
Weber’s Final “Biased” Thoughts on iDrive X
Everyone wants to know what the boss is really thinking about the cool new rig, right? The roundtable concluded by asking Weber his driving impressions on iDrive X. “I am completely biased,” he starts. “It was completely obvious how you interact with the vehicle and what it is doing for us. You will see that from the moment we give you a car, it will be very easy to operate this thing.” The highest praise, according to Frank, “anybody who is a UI designer” can ever receive.
We look forward to the challenge.
