Photo: BMW
In October last year, BMW announced the “biggest and most extensive upgrade in the premium manufacturer’s history so far,” a massive over-the-air update for Bavarian cars covering some 750,000 vehicles. But that’s child’s play compared to what was announced on Monday, February 22.
Starting today, one million cars around the world are scheduled to receive the newest version of BMW Operating System 7, namely 11/20. Obviously, this operation has become the largest in the history of the carmaker and a record for all European carmakers.
The update brings a series of extra features to the table. The biggest one, for some, will be the availability of Amazon’s Alexa in Germany, Austria, the UK, Spain, and Italy. More countries will follow shortly.
Then comes the possibility of having your driver profile transferred to other cars, “including rental vehicles,” through a QR code provided by the My BMW app.
The BMW M Laptimer feature is also part of the update, allowing drivers to keep track of their performance on the racing circuits. There’s an improved version of the Intelligent Personal Assistant as well.
Last but not least, comes the expansion of the reach of Active Navigation. The system will now cover drivers in France, Portugal, and Spain, advising them to make “a lane change whenever one is required to follow the calculated route.”
As for the cars that get this update, that's pretty much all of the ones that support the operating system (about 20 models), except the ones made from November 2020, which are already equipped with this version of the software.
Generally, BMW says owners will be kept in the loop via a push notification in their car or in the app, but you can check whether there’s an update available by going to Remote Software Upgrade in the vehicle settings.
If you worry about the possibility of messing things up, don’t. The Germans say users “are only ever offered the next upgrade that it is possible to install, meaning they can never install an incorrect version.”
The update brings a series of extra features to the table. The biggest one, for some, will be the availability of Amazon’s Alexa in Germany, Austria, the UK, Spain, and Italy. More countries will follow shortly.
Then comes the possibility of having your driver profile transferred to other cars, “including rental vehicles,” through a QR code provided by the My BMW app.
The BMW M Laptimer feature is also part of the update, allowing drivers to keep track of their performance on the racing circuits. There’s an improved version of the Intelligent Personal Assistant as well.
Last but not least, comes the expansion of the reach of Active Navigation. The system will now cover drivers in France, Portugal, and Spain, advising them to make “a lane change whenever one is required to follow the calculated route.”
As for the cars that get this update, that's pretty much all of the ones that support the operating system (about 20 models), except the ones made from November 2020, which are already equipped with this version of the software.
Generally, BMW says owners will be kept in the loop via a push notification in their car or in the app, but you can check whether there’s an update available by going to Remote Software Upgrade in the vehicle settings.
If you worry about the possibility of messing things up, don’t. The Germans say users “are only ever offered the next upgrade that it is possible to install, meaning they can never install an incorrect version.”
Google News