BMW to charge drivers $80 per year for CarPlay access in 2019
Since 2016, BMW has offered Apple CarPlay integration as a one-time add-on option, but that will soon change, as the German car maker is switching to a subscription model for 2019.
Currently, BMW offers CarPlay as a $300 option on car models with built-in navigation systems. Starting next year, however, BMW owners will need to pay $80 per year for the luxury, reports The Verge.
Don Smith, technology product manager for BMW North America, revealed the new pricing strategy at the Detroit Auto Show on Tuesday, framing the subscription model as a more flexible alternative to single purchase activation.
"This allows the customer to switch devices," Smith said. "A lot of people buy [CarPlay] and think its okay, but sometimes they stop using it or switch to Android."
The new plan grants free access to CarPlay for the first year of ownership on a new BMW model, after which the $80 per year fee comes into play. Smith points out that, for a three- or four-year lease, the subscription plan is less expensive than BMW's current one-time fee. However, customers who purchase outright could pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for CarPlay over the course of a car's lifetime.
BMW is one of a handful of carmakers that charge for CarPlay access. The German firm jumped on the CarPlay bandwagon in 2016, and later that year debuted the first car to employ a wireless variant of Apple's infotainment system.
Apple provides auto companies access to CarPlay software if built-in infotainment systems meet a certain set of criteria, mainly relating to touchscreen and connectivity hardware.
Smith said BMW plans to diversify its virtual assistant integrations in 2018 with the addition of Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa.
Currently, BMW offers CarPlay as a $300 option on car models with built-in navigation systems. Starting next year, however, BMW owners will need to pay $80 per year for the luxury, reports The Verge.
Don Smith, technology product manager for BMW North America, revealed the new pricing strategy at the Detroit Auto Show on Tuesday, framing the subscription model as a more flexible alternative to single purchase activation.
"This allows the customer to switch devices," Smith said. "A lot of people buy [CarPlay] and think its okay, but sometimes they stop using it or switch to Android."
The new plan grants free access to CarPlay for the first year of ownership on a new BMW model, after which the $80 per year fee comes into play. Smith points out that, for a three- or four-year lease, the subscription plan is less expensive than BMW's current one-time fee. However, customers who purchase outright could pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for CarPlay over the course of a car's lifetime.
BMW is one of a handful of carmakers that charge for CarPlay access. The German firm jumped on the CarPlay bandwagon in 2016, and later that year debuted the first car to employ a wireless variant of Apple's infotainment system.
Apple provides auto companies access to CarPlay software if built-in infotainment systems meet a certain set of criteria, mainly relating to touchscreen and connectivity hardware.
Smith said BMW plans to diversify its virtual assistant integrations in 2018 with the addition of Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa.
Comments
Exactly WHAT does subscribing get the consumer? Continued fixes and/or updates? Or is it literally just to use it?
My BMW's are my final purchases from that blood-sucking company. My business partner bought an $80K BMW a few years ago (against my recommendation) and got rid of it not even two years later as it spent more time in the shop than it did on the road.
This will be hacked in no time because people won’t put up with it.
It is this kind of laughable nickel-and-diming that led me to abandon BMW and switch to an Audi when I bought a new car six months ago.
Are they daft?
This is like a company not having a presence on iOS.
Stupid company!
But the price will not drop one red cent.
The greed by car manufacturers is just beyond the pale. If VW can give you CarPlay AND Android Auto on a VW costing less than 20k, why does BMW need to charge $80 a year to people who have already overpaid for the "Ultimate Hype Machine"?
you have an iPhone, CarPlay is activated. You have an android, android automis activated. As long as you have a head unit with usb or wifi and the facility activated, it works. A one time, at the time of manufacturing activity.
BMW is despicable.