The BMW Group NEXTGen event unveiled a glimpse of what the future holds for the ‘myBMW’ digital ecosystem. The brand’s services and products will be pooled together under this name. They will be split into ‘My Car’, ‘My Life’ and ‘My Journey categories’. Further details on ‘myBMW’ would be revealed at the IAA Cars 2019 motor show in Frankfurt on September 12 –22, 2019.
The intelligent personal assistant which is available in a large number of models with BMW Operating System 7.0 is now voice enabled. The assistant would respond to the prompt ‘Hey BMW’ and get regular OTA software updates. The assistant will learn and adapt to the driver’s preferences over time.
Amazon Alexa now comes integrated into the cars, customers can now ask Alexa questions, get weather forecasts and traffic information, catch up on sporting events, listen to tracks from Amazon Music, or check out audiobooks from Audible. Appointments and to-do lists or shopping lists can likewise be managed simply by speaking.
The Digital Key employes Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, allowing the new BMW cars to be locked and unlocked from a smartphone. Holding the smartphone up to the door handle opens the car. Once inside, the engine can be started as soon as the phone has been placed in the wireless charging or smartphone tray. It can optionally be shared with up to five other people.
The charging services from BMW put an end to the stress of searching for an available charging station. Customers can check the probable availability of a specific station along the selected route before they begin their journey. Once they are within 20 minutes’ drive of the intended charging station, they can reserve space directly from their car. And if that car happens to be a plug-in hybrid, they will additionally earn valuable iMILES bonus points for any sections of electric driving recorded within the BMW eDrive Zones. These can then be exchanged for extra charging credit at all Charge Now stations.