BMW says annual $80 CarPlay fee needed for ongoing testing & development
BMW's controversial annual and lifetime subscription fees for Apple CarPlay are because of the demands of ongoing software testing and engineering, the automaker says.
The problem is that CarPlay needs to be tested and possibly updated every time Apple releases new software to avoid conflicts, BMW told Car and Driver. This is exacerbated by support for wireless connections, something still rare in the CarPlay world.
Automakers are still adapting to the idea of constant aftermarket support, Car and Driver noted. While it's of course necessary to offer parts and recalls, cars have traditionally been designed to operate without any other maker updates.
The arrival of CarPlay, Android Auto, and complex first-party dashboard interfaces has complicated the situation.
Toyota's 2020 Supra operates on the same technology as BMW, but the company is reportedly offering CarPlay free for four years while it decides if a subscription is warranted. It doesn't charge for the platform on any other vehicle.
BMW announced plans to charge $80 annually or $300 for 20 years in January 2018. That took effect in July, and was met with backlash. While CarPlay is sometimes reserved for more expensive trims, the vast majority of compatible vehicles are subscription-free.
Indeed the BMW strategy has caused other problems, since an outage interrupted CarPlay use earlier this year. The company's ConnectedDrive service went down, taking CarPlay subscription verification with it.
The problem is that CarPlay needs to be tested and possibly updated every time Apple releases new software to avoid conflicts, BMW told Car and Driver. This is exacerbated by support for wireless connections, something still rare in the CarPlay world.
Automakers are still adapting to the idea of constant aftermarket support, Car and Driver noted. While it's of course necessary to offer parts and recalls, cars have traditionally been designed to operate without any other maker updates.
The arrival of CarPlay, Android Auto, and complex first-party dashboard interfaces has complicated the situation.
Toyota's 2020 Supra operates on the same technology as BMW, but the company is reportedly offering CarPlay free for four years while it decides if a subscription is warranted. It doesn't charge for the platform on any other vehicle.
BMW announced plans to charge $80 annually or $300 for 20 years in January 2018. That took effect in July, and was met with backlash. While CarPlay is sometimes reserved for more expensive trims, the vast majority of compatible vehicles are subscription-free.
Indeed the BMW strategy has caused other problems, since an outage interrupted CarPlay use earlier this year. The company's ConnectedDrive service went down, taking CarPlay subscription verification with it.
Comments
Found this response on Crutchfield's forum asking about firmware updates. This might be accurate but multiple people said the same thing:
"The beauty of CarPlay is that you don't need to update the headhunt. The headhunt displays what the phone wants it to. Thus when you get a new iPhone or iOS update it just works. Any software improvements are done on the phone not the head unit."
If this is accurate, then what is BMW thinking they need to update on their head unit????? I presume Android Play works the same way.
Last year I was thinking of replacing my aging BMW with another (I ended up getting a 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus a month ago) - looked into The Audi A5 Sportback and the BMW (can't remember the model name - their sporty hatchback). Audi included CarPlay for free - BMW didn't. Not only that, but before you could even get CarPlay, you had to buy their $2,000 navigation system!?! One of the main points of having CarPlay is to navigate using its apps rather than the dealer's maps (which also charge for keeping those updated - at least they did back when I bought my BMW).
Now, if BMW wants to update its BMW app that is available in CarPlay, that's different. But how many people actually use it?
This being said, my parents own a small fleet of Mercedes with CarPlay, and they still use the onboard navigation with its internal optical media disc that they purchase for upwards of $300 every year or so. I can't convince them that Google or Apple Maps is superior in dynamic functionality.
At these levels of auto purchase cost, I am willing to bet that many don't even blink an eye.
I had something similar several years ago when I stayed at a nicer (but not luxury) hotel outside of Chicago for a wedding - they nickeled and dimed you for everything. If you took the paper that laid outside your door every morning they charged you $5. If you used the coffee packets in the room, if you drank the water bottle, wifi... all stuff that you get for free when you stay at a Holiday Inn Express.
I agree with others, this is primarily a money grab from BMW. Virtually every other manufacturer out there includes this for free (or as part of the $20-80k+ you are paying for the car. For a luxury brand that is already overpricing their product to do it is especially galling. For reference, I have a 2017 Audi A4, basically a direct competitor to the BMW 328i. CarPlay is free. For life.
I've had to buy the damn navigation system (which I never use, because I use my phone with CarPlay) in my Chevy Volt just to get the better sound system. Every year I get a notice to "update my maps" for only $139.99. Never do it.
Apple periodically increases the things CarPlay can do, though, and some existing platforms may be able to add support for these new features. For example, at initial release, CarPlay ran one video stream (to the head unit) and an iPod Accessory Protocol 2 (IAP2) data stream for audio track information. A few versions ago, they added an IAP2 data stream for navigation directions so the car can display them in a multi-function display in the instrument cluster. Later, they added support for a whole second video stream so CarPlay can show things (like a map) in the instrument console display. Most recently, they've added support for variable screen sizes (as in you hit a button in the car and the car interface takes over part of the screen, so CarPlay squeezes down) and non-square displays. Existing cars might be able to take advantage of some of these features to improve the user experience, but would require software updates to do so.
The WWDC 2019 session Advances in CarPlay Systems is pretty cool, and only 16 minutes long. Check it out.
Edited to add: To be clear, I think BMW's yearly charge is scummy. It is highly implausible it costs them significant development time to deal with Apple's changes to CarPlay.
I'm just saying their assertion of needing periodic updates isn't entirely baseless.