- Jun 10, 2019 CarPlay takes the things that you want to do with your iPhone while driving and puts them on your car's built-in display. When you connect your iPhone to CarPlay, you can get turn-by-turn directions, make calls, send and receive messages, listen to music, and more.
- May 24, 2017 Note: Apple CarPlay is a product of Apple. Approved apps, and their layouts, positions and functions are subject to change at Apple’s discretion. CarPlay requires that your iPhone be.
BMW, the embattled budget car manufacturer that has no choice but to turn to less-savory methods of earning income as its market share fades thanks to stiff competition from the Kia Rio and Nissan Versa, has a new idea for earning revenue. Going forward, instead of charging a onetime fee to enable Apple CarPlay, the luxury auto company will instead charge customers $80 per year.
Apple's CarPlay lets you connect an iPhone to your BMW and use iOS apps on the factory dashboard display. Use Apple Maps for navigation, access your iTunes library or send texts via voice command. And now with iOS 12, you can take advantage of Google Maps and Waze while navigating through the city. You'll be able to use the best features from. Mar 17, 2014 Question: Q: how to i can download app carplay More Less. Apple Footer. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided; every potential issue may involve several factors not detailed in the.
Apple CarPlay, for those of you who aren’t plugged into the Apple ecosystem, is an option that allows your car’s baked-in infotainment system to function as a front-end for accessing content or functionality on an iPhone. If your vehicle supports voice functionality, you can use Siri to order various commands. If not, you can use the touch screen or knobs and dials to control your phone instead. Apps like Phone, Music, Apple Maps, and iMessage are available via CarPlay, as well as some third party applications like Spotify. Vehicles compatible with Apple CarPlay are a fairly limited number of models mostly in 2016 or 2017, though there are some 2015 exceptions from Hyundai and Kia. A full list of supported makes and models is available on Apple’s website.
Now, BMW was price-gouging already for CarPlay — companies like GM make the feature available for free, while BMW charges you a one-time fee to provide it, on the not-entirely-crazy theory that if you can afford to buy a BMW, you can afford $300. But this shift from a $300 one-time fee to an $80 annual fee is an obvious attempt to wring more money out of the long-term buyer. BMW is claiming that the move will save drivers money, and it will — if you only lease a BMW for three years or less. After that, you’re cash in BMW’s pocket.
There was some confusion, initially, over whether or not Apple was changing its fee structure for CarPlay. Initial remarks by BMW Canada implied it was Apple that was shifting to a per-annum license fee, which would make this a much more reasonable case of BMW passing a fee along. But this point appears to have been a miscommunication, according to Cnet. While auto manufacturers do have to pay a fee to join Apple’s MFi manufacturing program, that’s no different than any other licensee and does not hit auto companies with any specific or particular fees.
Of course, one counter-argument is that leases are so common in BMW-land, the company is ultimately giving up some money here. If you’re one of the estimated 70 percent of BMW owners who lease, and you trade in your vehicle every three years, you do save money — you’ll pay $240 versus $300 for your in-vehicle CarPlay. But while 70 percent is the commonly reported figure for leasing versus owning a BMW, it’s not clear how many people swap out every three years or how long the other 30 percent tend to own their cars. And that changes the equation. If your average non-leased BMW is 10 years old, then the car company has just theoretically turned 30 percent of its customer base into a very profitable residual income stream, relative to what those customers previously paid for the same service. Instead of that one-time fee of $300, those same customers will have shucked out $800 for the same privilege.
Why Would BMW Care?
All of this sounds like pitiful amounts of money compared with the tens of thousands of dollars that a BMW sells for, but consider this: Earning money on residual income is fabulous for margins. It props up earnings and improves profits by padding the bottom line with cash that costs the company essentially nothing to earn.
The shift to self-driving cars promises significant upheaval for vehicle markets. It’s not clear what car ownership or usage rates will look like once companies are fighting to deliver cars to your doorstep on-demand, and there are some who think it could kill car ownership altogether, long-term. But whether this happens or not, vehicle manufacturers are facing vehicle support life cycles quite different from anything they’ve previously known. Security updates, self-driving patches, infotainment updates — these are all a part of the future for every vehicle, not just high-end luxury models.
Cnet calls this move from BMW egregious, given that Apple charges no specific fees for CarPlay, and it is. It’s also not terribly much money compared with the price of a BMW. But I suspect this isn’t quite a cash grab or a minor point. It’s a company taking a baby step towards experimenting with different ways of earning money off its cars, at a time when there’s more uncertainty over how vehicles will be operated in the future than there used to be.
Bmw X5 Apple Carplay
The ★★★ 2019 BMW 330i sport sedan explores how to meld the brand’s claim to be “ultimate driving machine” with rising levels of driver assistance, but it locks down the title for “ultimate display of gall by an automaker.”
For 2020, BMW moved from its previous practice of charging customers once for a feature other brands made standard years ago to requiring an annual subscription fee, in perpetuity.
We’re talking about Apple CarPlay here. It’s standard equipment in vehicles including the Chevy Equinox, Honda Civic and Hyundai Sonata. I name those three competitors because you could buy one of each for less than the $58,925 sticker of the 330i I recently tested.
CarPlay reduces driver distraction significantly by using excellent voice recognition to easily access the smart phone features you’re most likely to want while driving: Navigation, music, phone calls and finding a business’s address or phone number. It reads text messages to you and takes dictation for replies. It also projects driving-friendly versions of those features on the vehicle’s touch screen.
No infotainment system is perfect, but CarPlay comes close. It significantly reduces the temptation to take your eyes off the road and provides limited, simple touch screen features you can use about as easily as reaching for a volume or tuning knob.
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BMW makes the first year of CarPlay free, so you’ve got plenty of time to get hooked on how valuable the feature is. After that, BMW owners must pay $80 a year to keep the feature, every year you own the 330i, unless you choose to pay an extra $300 up front for lifetime coverage.
The charges apply to every BMW that has a navigation system, including $100,000-plus vehicles like the glorious 8-series coupe.
It’s an avaricious policy customers should scorn and resist. Apple does not participate in the policy or get any of the subscription money BMW takes in.
In fact, Apple doesn't charge automakers a cent for CarPlay. The company considers it just another update to its iPhone operating system, like all the other free updates it provides. Automakers' only cost is the engineering to make the infotainment system compatible with iPhones.
We’ll get back to CarPlay, but first, a few words about the pretty good car this money grab came wrapped in.
Behind the wheel
2019 BMW 330i
Rear-wheel drive sport sedan
Price as tested: $58,220 (excluding destination charge)
Rating: ★★★ (out of four stars)
Reasons to buy: Handling; touch screen
Shortcomings: Charge for Apple CarPlay; unstable connection for wireless CarPlay; rear legroom
What’s new?
The 3-series sport sedan has been BMW’s signature car for decades. The seventh-generation car went on sale as a 2019 model. I drove one just as the model years changed, but there were no meaningful changes in 330i features or price for the 2020s that are on sale now. BMW did add more powerful and expensive M340i models for 2020. I have not tested an M340i yet.
BMW dropped the base 320i model when the new 3-series arrived. The entry level model for 2019 and 2020 becomes the 330i, with more power and standard features. The 320i had just 180 horsepower. The old-gen 330i got 248 and 258 pound-feet of torque from the same displacement. The bigger 330i sees torque improve impressively to 295 pound-feet. Horsepower grows more modestly, to 255.
An 8-speed automatic transmission is the only gearbox offered, the first time the 3-series hasn’t offered a manual gearbox.
The new 3-series is 2.9 inches longer than its predecessor, but passenger and luggage space didn’t change much. Rear legroom remains tight. Weight increased about 40 pounds. That’s modest, particularly considering how many features BMW added, including contemporary driver assistance features.
Competitive base prices
(Excluding destination charges)
(Automatic transmission models.)
- 2019 BMW 330i: $40,250
- Alfa Romeo Giulia Sport RWD: $38,545
- Audi A4 Prestige Quattro: $42,000
- Infiniti QX50 Pure 3.0t: $36,400
- Jaguar XE S RWD: $39,900
- Lexus IS 300 RWD: $38,560
- Mercedes C300 4Matic: $41,400
- Volvo S60 T6 AWD: $40,550
Source: Autotrader
How much?
Dropping the 320i base model meant the base price for the 3-series as a whole significantly, but model for model — 2018 330i to 2019 330i — the price was unchanged at $40,250. That rose to $40,750 for 2020.
Optional features on the 330i I tested included:
- Blind spot and cross-traffic alerts
- Lane departure alert
- Lane-keeping steering assist
- Adaptive cruise control
- Traffic jam assist to follow the vehicle ahead hands-free up to 37 mph
- Head-up display
- Wireless charging
- Wireless Apple CarPlay
- 19-inch alloy wheels
- Adaptive M suspension
- LED lights
- Remote start
- Heated front seats and steering wheel
- Harman Kardon audio.
The 330i's base price is very competitive with sport sedans like the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi A4, Infiniti Q50, Lexus IS, Mercedes C300 and Volvo S60. As the list above suggests, options add up fast, however.
How To Download Apple Car Play On Bmw Drive
My test car stickered at $58,925, securely in the upper strata of sport sedans with comparable powertrains.
Specifications as tested
- Engine: 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder
- Power: 255 hp @ 5,000-6,000 rpm; 295 pound-feet of torque @ 1,550-4,400 rpm
- Transmission: 8-speed automatic
- Wheelbase: 112.2 inches
- Length: 185.7 inches
- Width: 71.3 inches
- Height: 56.3 inches
- Curb Weight: 3,582 pounds
- Assembled in Munich, Germany
Driving impressions
The new 330i’s changes in power and weight are modest, so your expectations of performance should be, too.
The 2019/20 accelerates from 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds by BMW account, 0.1 slower than the 2018.
Despite that, throttle response is good. The 330i accelerates with authority around town and on the highway.
The EPA rates the 330i at 26 mpg in the city, 36 on the highway and 30 in combined driving. The key combined figure ties the Audi A4 for the lead. The other competitors I’ve named trail by 2 to 6 mpg.
The 330i’s handling is sharp and precise, despite its increased size and weight. The electric power steering is exceptionally quick, but adjusts for a clear on-center feel on the highway. The new body and suspension combine to create a ride that’s comfortable but also keeps the car stable and planted in sharp maneuvers.
Styling changes are evolutionary.
Paying for CarPlay?
BMW says its fee for CarPlay reflects the engineering changes it will make to keep the feature up to date as technology evolves.
That sounds sort of like the downloads to the features and operating system of your iPhone … except, of course, Apple provides those for free, apparently on the assumption that its customers expect their device kept up to date.
Even brand-new, the wireless application of CarPlay worked inconsistently. BMW’s process to pair your phone is also less intuitive than the leaders.
At some point, of course, Apple stops providing updates, as new features outstrip the hardware of old devices. BMW promises to keep updating CarPlay for 20 years, if you keep paying, but that promise will be sorely tested if Apple’s technology outstrips the car’s hardware.
Apple wasn’t involved in BMW’s decision to charge for CarPlay. Nor did Apple modify the feature so BMW can shut CarPlay off if you stop paying for updates.
BMW sold 232,427 vehicles in North America through September. If every owner paid $80 a year for CarPlay, that’s $18.5 million revenue a year for nine months’ sales in North America alone, and North America accounts for less than 15% of BMW’s global sales.
Even at German labor rates, that looks like a rather aggressive markup over the actual cost of sending an over-the-air or downloadable update like the ones most cars will soon get for many systems.
I hope BMW owners balk at the charge. If one automaker can get away with charging for CarPlay — and eventually its counterpart Android Auto — it’s only a matter of time before others do the same thing.
CarPlay works so well it should be available to as many drivers as possible.
Competitive EPA fuel economy ratings
(Automatic transmission, premium gasoline.)
- 2019 BMW 330i: 26 mpg city/36 highway/30 combined
- Alfa Romeo Giulia Sport RWD: 24/33/27
- Audi A4 Prestige Quattro: 27/34/30
- Infiniti QX50 Pure 3.0t: 23/30/25
- Jaguar XE S RWD: 25/34/28
- Lexus IS 300 RWD: 21/30/24
- Mercedes C300 4Matic: 23/34/27
- Volvo S60 T6 AWD: 21/32/25
Apple Carplay For Bmw
Source: fueleconomy.gov
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter.