BMW UNVEILS PANORAMIC IDRIVE SYSTEM

BMW has introduced its Panoramic iDrive system at CES 2025. The system, powered by BMW Operating System X, will debut in BMW’s Neue Klasse models from late 2025. The new iDrive system balances analogue and digital controls, utilizing physical buttons for core functions like wipers and indicators while integrating touch and voice control for media, navigation, and driver assistance settings.

The system integrates four key elements designed for driver-focused interaction:

• BMW Panoramic Vision: A newly developed Head-Up Display that extends from A-pillar to A-pillar, providing critical driving information within the driver’s direct line of sight.
•  BMW 3D Head-Up Display: An optional feature that integrates navigation and automated driving details, presenting them alongside Panoramic Vision projections. BMW says several patents underpin this advanced projection technology.
• Central Display: A matrix backlit touchscreen with an updated QuickSelect menu, enabling intuitive operation. Content can be seamlessly transferred to Panoramic Vision via swipe gestures, allowing for personalisation and efficient multitasking.
• Multifunction Steering Wheel: BMW’s “shy-tech” approach ensures illuminated buttons provide easy access to critical functions, maintaining the “hands on the wheel, eyes on the road” principle. The haptic buttons are designed to enhance ease of use without distraction.

BMW’s Operating System X, developed in-house, underpins the system. The company says that it offers seamless updates, greater personalisation, and enhanced AI capabilities, including a more responsive BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant.

“With this advance, we are giving one of the world’s best and most comprehensive infotainment systems even greater capability and once again setting the industry benchmark in multimodal interaction,” said Frank Weber, BMW AG’s Board Member for Development. “Starting with the first series-produced Neue Klasse model at the end of this year, the new BMW Panoramic iDrive will form an integral part of all future BMW models.”