At the head office in Munich, BMW's top management believes that large screens in cars risk being banned because they steal drivers' attention.
BMW believes that large screens in cars can steal the driver's attention and detract from the driving experience. Instead of following the trend of building ever larger infotainment screens in cars, BMW has developed a new system called Panoramic iDrive.
The system features a diamond-shaped infotainment screen in the center of the dashboard and a narrow panoramic screen that extends along the windshield. This screen contains information about the car and can be individually customized.
BMW's head of development, Frank Weber, says in a new interview that "the larger TV screens" in a car can "disconnect drivers from the road."
He believes that continuing to increase the size of the screens is not the right solution. Instead, BMW is focusing on connecting the driver with the steering wheel, the car and the road.
Panoramic iDrive also introduces a new way of interacting with the car's systems. The traditional iDrive button in the center console disappears after 24 years. Read more about it here.
Instead, the infotainment system will be controlled via a touchscreen and physical buttons on the steering wheel. BMW is not the only one going back to physical buttons. Both Hyundai and Volkswagen have acknowledged that customers don't like touchscreens for everything.
Soon, physical buttons will also be a requirement. At least if car brands want to score top marks when Euro NCAP smashes their cars in the name of safety.
The panoramic display in the new BMWs can be customized in six large fields and there are 22 different so-called widgets to choose from. The driver can even deactivate two segments on the passenger side of the display for a more minimalist look.
All future BMW models will be equipped with Panoramic iDrive. The first model to feature the new system will be the second-generation iX3. However, the size of the screens will vary depending on the trim level.
