Photo: BMW
This year's edition of the Consumer Electronics Show has officially begun, and that means you should get ready for a flood of technological novelties coming our way from over in Las Vegas. You should also be warned, though, that at least until now we haven't heard about anything really breakthrough for the automotive world being shown there.
It seems that most of the carmakers present at CES 2024 are focusing this year on entertainment for drivers and passengers. And since there's not much they can do to enhance music or video, they are all focusing on gaming.
Take BMW, for instance. The highlights of the German carmaker's presence in Nevada are the new infotainment features that have been prepared for the current model line. And by that BMW mostly means new ways of gaming your brains out while inside the car.
The development revolves around the BMW Operating System 9, the BMW Digital Premium suite of digital features, and the ConnectedDrive Store. It also involves, for the first time in a BMW car, the use of gaming controllers to play racing games.
To showcase the new feature BMW is showing on the floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center a setup with a car running Beach Buggy Racing 2, an off-road kart racing game you can usually get on your smartphone or tablet. And you do that by using gaming controllers, not your fingers.
Any common, Bluetooth-enabled gaming controller can be used for the task by simply connecting it to the car's infotainment system. Up to two players can play the game on the car's screens in split-screen mode.
BMW says it will offer the controller connection as an over-the-air update to the Operating System 9 later this year. The problem is you'll have to pay extra to get the feature because the BMW Digital Premium ecosystem, which gives you access and whatnot, is an optional feature that has to be paid for after the 90-day trial expires.
If you don't plan on using controllers for the task, you should know BMW cars (and MINIs as well) already accept smartphones as controllers through an app called AirConsole.
Aside from giving gamers a new tool to pursue their passion inside the car as well, BMW is showing at CES a new way of viewing video content, meaning on the central display – until now that was only possible in the rear compartment of the BMW 7 Series thanks to the BMW Theatre Screen running Amazon Fire TV.
Thanks to a partnership with tech company XPERI, BMW also managed to integrate the TiVo Operating System and DTS AutoStage Video Service. They both can be used to properly experience all sorts of videos, including live channels and TV shows.
You should know BMW's video app is not globally available, as it is only offered for now in the U.S., UK, South Korea, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. Japan will soon join the list.
Last but not least BMW took advantage of CES 2024 to show the world something called the XREAL Air 2. Those are augmented reality glasses, and for the first time ever they are used in Vegas to show how the driving experience might change because of them.
More to the point, BMW is showing locals and visitors from all over the world how a virtual drive through Las Vegas, being informed on how navigation, hazard information, points of interest, and entertainment content are displayed in the virtual environment.
Older but still groundbreaking techs like BMW's personal AI assistant or valet parking can also be enjoyed at the BMW booth at CES.
Take BMW, for instance. The highlights of the German carmaker's presence in Nevada are the new infotainment features that have been prepared for the current model line. And by that BMW mostly means new ways of gaming your brains out while inside the car.
The development revolves around the BMW Operating System 9, the BMW Digital Premium suite of digital features, and the ConnectedDrive Store. It also involves, for the first time in a BMW car, the use of gaming controllers to play racing games.
To showcase the new feature BMW is showing on the floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center a setup with a car running Beach Buggy Racing 2, an off-road kart racing game you can usually get on your smartphone or tablet. And you do that by using gaming controllers, not your fingers.
Any common, Bluetooth-enabled gaming controller can be used for the task by simply connecting it to the car's infotainment system. Up to two players can play the game on the car's screens in split-screen mode.
BMW says it will offer the controller connection as an over-the-air update to the Operating System 9 later this year. The problem is you'll have to pay extra to get the feature because the BMW Digital Premium ecosystem, which gives you access and whatnot, is an optional feature that has to be paid for after the 90-day trial expires.
If you don't plan on using controllers for the task, you should know BMW cars (and MINIs as well) already accept smartphones as controllers through an app called AirConsole.
Aside from giving gamers a new tool to pursue their passion inside the car as well, BMW is showing at CES a new way of viewing video content, meaning on the central display – until now that was only possible in the rear compartment of the BMW 7 Series thanks to the BMW Theatre Screen running Amazon Fire TV.
Thanks to a partnership with tech company XPERI, BMW also managed to integrate the TiVo Operating System and DTS AutoStage Video Service. They both can be used to properly experience all sorts of videos, including live channels and TV shows.
You should know BMW's video app is not globally available, as it is only offered for now in the U.S., UK, South Korea, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. Japan will soon join the list.
Last but not least BMW took advantage of CES 2024 to show the world something called the XREAL Air 2. Those are augmented reality glasses, and for the first time ever they are used in Vegas to show how the driving experience might change because of them.
More to the point, BMW is showing locals and visitors from all over the world how a virtual drive through Las Vegas, being informed on how navigation, hazard information, points of interest, and entertainment content are displayed in the virtual environment.
Older but still groundbreaking techs like BMW's personal AI assistant or valet parking can also be enjoyed at the BMW booth at CES.
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