BMW i4 Showcases Fully Integrated Apple CarPlay in Instrument Cluster
BMW's upcoming flagship electric vehicle the "i4" features one of the most integrated Apple CarPlay experiences yet, recent promotional material has shown.
BMW describes the Apple CarPlay experience in the i4 as "even more seamless." The i4 features two curved displays and a heads-up display. All three displays can display information from Apple CarPlay simultaneously.
The BMW i4 features iDrive 8, which supports wireless Apple CarPlay, turn-by-turn Apple Maps prompts in the heads-up display, and Apple Maps and directions in the instrument cluster.
The new-generation BMW iDrive 8's higher degree of flexibility makes in-car use of third-party apps even simpler and more convenient in the future. BMW iDrive 8 features full integration of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The control display's large screen clearly presents all available apps in the system's menu. The user's favorite apps can be launched quickly and easily either via the main menu or the toolbar. The increased integration of app functions into the information display and even the BMW Head-Up Display also results in seamless transition throughout the screen grouping. And music streaming and communications apps are now integrated within BMW iDrive 8. They are displayed as original sources in the main menu, enabling customers to make full use of their apps' functions.
Many recent vehicles with Apple CarPlay already feature limited turn-by-turn directional information fed from Apple Maps on the driver's display, but BMW's full integration of Apple Maps into the instrument cluster is among the first implementations of its kind.
Apple Maps and navigation information is displayed in the middle of the instrument cluster, unifying with BMW iDrive's interface that is laid on top of it.
A look at the BMW i4's CarPlay integration and Apple Maps in the instrument cluster may be seen from 08:40 in the video.
Turn-by-turn prompts and Apple Maps in the second display have been supported in CarPlay as of iOS 13, but BMW is among the first to have implemented the full view of Apple Maps in the second display instrument cluster. BMW appears to be using a large number of Apple developer features such as independent night mode per H.246 stream to accomplish this close integration.
BMW has been an early adopter of Apple vehicle-related software features, such as Digital Key and Ultra Wideband Digital Key Plus, in recent years, although it only started offering CarPlay in 2016 and came under fire for charging a $80 per year fee for access to it, before reneging on the subscription following negative feedback.
The BMW i4 launches in Europe later this year and in the United States in summer 2022.
Popular Stories
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why.
In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you skipped the iPhone...
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro.
The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence.
The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles.
iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look.
Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta.
Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device.
The revised beta addresses an...
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March.
As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
