Apple should yank their licenses from BMW for their attempt to make more money on a feature this Apple developed, all BMW had to do was intergrade Apple Carplay into their unit.
That takes BMW off the list of dealers for me to go to for my next car. That is just crazy. I'm guessing they will see the light and reverse this decision once they see enough WTF looks from customers.
As an owner of a 2014 328i who loves driving his car, I say “BOO BMW!”
BMW didn’t have CarPlay in 2014 so I’ve been driving without and using BMW’s third rate media interface. I almost think that because they make great cars, by extension they think they also make great auto electronics interfaces. Pure hubris.
My 2017 MercedesHas Carplay and the Android version. Or you can disable them and just use the built in system. BMW has jumped the shark. This is shameless. Do you have to pay extra for FM too.
Just having to setup and track the subscriptions, collect the payments and handle the unavoidable snafus is going to eat most of the $80/year. It’s creating a lot of antagonism for a very debatable payoff. I think it shows how incredibly tone deaf BMW management is, and how the nickel-and-diming of the customer is engrained in their corporate culture. Yeah, they make nice cars, but they don’t exactly have a reputation for reliability. Don’t be surprised if you see them backpedaling soon when they start realizing this stupid move is costing them sales. Go Tesla!
They say say the reason is that some people may want to switch to Android further down the line. Then why not supply both up front, like every other car manufacturer.
Silly $ grab. Must think their customers are dumb. I enjoyed Bimmers through the E39 generation. They no longer have the magic. Process has overtaken content.
I have a 2016 VW Golf 1.8 TSI S- the standard model in the US- and it included both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and not on a subscription. This is just greed on a scale beyond tolerance- especially since many BMWs are built by non Union labor in the American South instead of in high wage Germany. They are getting ready to shift production of even more of the US line to a new plant in Mexico- so your "German" car was actually built by people who speak Spanish.
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"?
VW has manufactured tens of thousands of US-bound cars in Brazil & Mexico over the years. Robots are more efficient than humans.
BMW may have seriously misjudged the market here, and is looking at a major backlash.
Factory CarPlay is rapidly becoming one of the key features people look for in a car at baseline.
Car features as a subscription model are not accepted in the market .
The key to acceptance of subscription pricing is delivering improvements or enhancements that have perceived value.
in the case of CarPlay little to none of those are coming from BMW , at least no more than your home TV , and overwhelmingly updated an improvements are from Apple, and are not part of the car.
if they want subscription to be successful, they need to do something to earn it, and CarPlay isn’t it
As an owner of a 2014 328i who loves driving his car, I say “BOO BMW!”
BMW didn’t have CarPlay in 2014 so I’ve been driving without and using BMW’s third rate media interface. I almost think that because they make great cars, by extension they think they also make great auto electronics interfaces. Pure hubris.
I'm constantly amazed at how poor these interfaces are. Clearly automobile manufacturers are clueless about software that humans are supposed to interact with.
The only way I can justify this in my mind is if there are other software updates at the same time (BMW's navigation maps, iDrive, etc.). I believe BMW charge for navigation maps updates. Of course, with CarPlay, the iPhone has the latest maps already, so that cuts off one recurring revenue stream. Perhaps this $80 yearly charge may be the response to that lost revenue.
Just like some of my friends make car decisions based on CarPlay or not (Toyota taking the hit here), this decision will affect further BMW purchases, including mine.
I think Uroshnor is correct - there will be a backlash.
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.
Ditto. So many things in the Premium Plus trim level that BMW definitely nickel-and-dimes you for, not the least of which is the awesome B&O sound system.
What they don't discuss is that you will still pay a premium for CarPlay and then the $80 fee, so it's just an additional fee. If they were dropping the price of CarPlay models $300 they might have a point, but we all know they won't.
I have a 2016 VW Golf 1.8 TSI S- the standard model in the US- and it included both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and not on a subscription. This is just greed on a scale beyond tolerance- especially since many BMWs are built by non Union labor in the American South instead of in high wage Germany. They are getting ready to shift production of even more of the US line to a new plant in Mexico- so your "German" car was actually built by people who speak Spanish.
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"?
The majority of 3-series BMWs are now made in South Africa. Some of the X1s are made in Brazil. X3, X4, X5, & X6 are all made in South Carolina. 4, 5, 6 series and up all made in Germany. Many 2-series models also still seem to be made in Germany. But get this, Audi Q3 models are made in Spain, at least some of the 2018 Q5 models are made in Mexico, A3 models are Hungarian, yet they all still sport VIN numbers that start with "W" which I thought was supposed to mean they were manufactured in Germany. No so much anymore. Also, at least half of the C-Class Benzes I've seen are from Alabama. But they, at least, have VIN numbers that begin with a number.
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I'm willing to bet that if you buy a certified pre-owned BMW from a dealer, it will come with a free year of CarPlay.
As an owner of a 2014 328i who loves driving his car, I say “BOO BMW!”
BMW didn’t have CarPlay in 2014 so I’ve been driving without and using BMW’s third rate media interface. I almost think that because they make great cars, by extension they think they also make great auto electronics interfaces. Pure hubris.
They say say the reason is that some people may want to switch to Android further down the line. Then why not supply both up front, like every other car manufacturer.
VW has manufactured tens of thousands of US-bound cars in Brazil & Mexico over the years.
Robots are more efficient than humans.
Factory CarPlay is rapidly becoming one of the key features people look for in a car at baseline.
Car features as a subscription model are not accepted in the market .
The key to acceptance of subscription pricing is delivering improvements or enhancements that have perceived value.
in the case of CarPlay little to none of those are coming from BMW , at least no more than your home TV , and overwhelmingly updated an improvements are from Apple, and are not part of the car.
if they want subscription to be successful, they need to do something to earn it, and CarPlay isn’t it
Just like some of my friends make car decisions based on CarPlay or not (Toyota taking the hit here), this decision will affect further BMW purchases, including mine.
I think Uroshnor is correct - there will be a backlash.
Did Ubisoft take over BMW or something?
The majority of 3-series BMWs are now made in South Africa. Some of the X1s are made in Brazil. X3, X4, X5, & X6 are all made in South Carolina. 4, 5, 6 series and up all made in Germany. Many 2-series models also still seem to be made in Germany. But get this, Audi Q3 models are made in Spain, at least some of the 2018 Q5 models are made in Mexico, A3 models are Hungarian, yet they all still sport VIN numbers that start with "W" which I thought was supposed to mean they were manufactured in Germany. No so much anymore. Also, at least half of the C-Class Benzes I've seen are from Alabama. But they, at least, have VIN numbers that begin with a number.