BMW's Panoramic iDrive Is What's Next for In-Car Tech

• BMW is showing off its newest in-car tech software at CES in Las Vegas this week.
• A panoramic iDrive system and the company's Operating System X form the basis for BMW's future vehicles.
• Expect to see a production version by the end of this year.

At this year's CES (formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show), BMW is debuting a new panoramic version of iDrive that we first saw in the brand's Neue Klasse concept in September 2023. BMW has been hard at work refining the interface, and the result isn't some pie-in-the-sky concept we'll never see but instead the very system BMW will implement in its next generation of cars.

The new iDrive is broken up into four distinct parts. Let's break them down.

Panoramic vision

The first, and perhaps the most eye-catching, is what BMW calls "panoramic vision." Think of it as a head-up display with a bit of a twist. The system comprises a projector and integrates the black band that spans across the dashboard and goes from pillar to pillar in the lower portion of the windshield. What you actually see displayed is broken up into a left, right and center section, each of which can handle up to two configurable widgets for a total of six. The most important information — like what's most crucial to driving, be it your current speed, the speed limit, your state of charge, range and so on — is what's shown right in front of the driver. 

The middle and rightmost sections of the screen are configurable. If you want audio information to show up on the panorama, you can have that displayed in the middle third. If an overhead view of a map makes more sense, that can also be moved to the central part of the display. If you're driving and get a call, the notification will pop up on the center partition of the display ribbon, too. The right-most part of the display is for tertiary information like your overall direction of travel, the weather and so on. It's info that you can use; it's just not as integral to driving.

3D head-up display

While the panoramic view is displayed on a physical panel, this one is displayed on the windshield like more conventional setups. The new head-up display will show you navigation and automated driving information, and it will also notify you of things like lane changes or the distance to your next turn. BMW says both the head-up display and the panoramic bar underneath it show information in a coordinated way so that drivers aren't getting duplicate info across the plethora of screens. 

The center screen

This relatively conventional display is where drivers will control most of the car's primary functions. Things like lights, what drive mode you're in, what media is playing, the ambient lighting color and so on will all be controlled by this center touchscreen. It's also where the car's occupants will be able to decide which of the up to six widgets will appear in the panoramic vision panel. You can also set custom photos to be the center screen's background, which is a neat personal touch. 

The whole system is powered by BMW Operating System X, a new in-house software suite that BMW says will serve as the basis for its next generation of software-defined vehicles. It allows for seamless integration of third-party apps (like streaming, video and gaming), and it comes with the new generation of BMW's intelligent personal assistant. The system learns the driver's behavior and makes suggestions based on what the driver has done in similar scenarios before or will taper those suggestions if they are ignored. 

A new steering wheel

BMW's new wheel has two spokes, one at the noon position and one at 6 o'clock, and it looks pretty cool to our eyes. The buttons on the wheel are right where your thumbs would sit and are essentially divided directly in half. The left side controls the driver aid functions (to turn on the adaptive cruise control or set a speed) and the right side controls all the car's media functions. The buttons themselves are all touch-sensitive but provide haptic feedback. We usually complain about haptic buttons on steering wheels, but to avoid accidental presses the car will only illuminate the buttons on the wheel when they can be used. If a call comes in, a green answer button lights up so you can take the call, but when the call is over it disappears. 

BMW is clearly attempting to take its tech and move it forward to get ready for the next generation of cars but is doing so in a way that the brand's faithful will likely be both familiar with and interested in. We'll be sure to report back on how the system performs when we finally get our hands on one, but the wait won't be long. BMW says the system will start shipping in its cars by the end of this year.