Adding CarPlay or Android Auto

[OrangeFurious]

Originally Posted by dreds2nv

Anything yet
I’m looking to upgrade myself


Sent from my iPhone using Xoutpost.com

Thanks for the bump and reminder.

I haven't installed in my X5M yet - it's been in the shop for six weeks on unrelated ignition issues - but I did install the unit in my 2010 E93 M3. My feedback is based on that experience, which should be identical from an end-user perspective.

Short answer - it's a good unit.

CarPlay without a touch screen takes a little getting used to, but the iDrive interface works well once you adapt to it and is very responsive. The CIC screen isn't the highest resolution thing in the world, but it looks clean and crisp, feels like a near-OEM solution, and is overall indistinguishable from a typical CarPlay device once running.

My unit uses WiFi to connect to the iPhone for CarPlay, but also needs a Bluetooth connection for calls. A cable runs from the unit to the AUX audio jack in my M3's center console, so I installed it in a way that keeps all that wiring tucked away and out of site. The end result is a very clean OEM look, no wires to the phone, and all the CarPlay features I want.

To get to it you need to hold down the Menu button on the iDrive controller for a few seconds. After that holding down the controller wheel button activates Siri, and all the other buttons return to their OEM BMW function. You can also return to the BMW functions by choosing the BMW app in CarPlay.

Personally I alternate between a few cars with CarPlay in them, so I need to remember how things work - same as finding the wiper stalk in someone else's car - but I think someone daily driving a vehicle with this unit in it would acclimate quickly and not even think about how the interface works.