Apple CarPlay vs iDrive?

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Join Date: Jan 2020

Location: Des Moines

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Drives: 2020 BMW, X6, M50i

Quote:

micmitch

Originally Posted by

I would say that for day to day driving, I’m iDrive first. I use and like BMW’s navigation.

That said, my iPhone connects every time, and is available should I want to use it. On trips we normally use BMW Nav and listen to Audible, though we have BMW Nav “in front”.

I agree that the BMW Wifi through ATT is a waste, I was quite disappointed with that. The X5 does have an internal WiFi and Bluetooth that it uses and connects both to the iPhone.

micmitch

, I almost exclusively use iDrive. I do connect my iPhone via BT at all times and utilize music, podcasts, phone, texts, all via iDrive. In reality, the iDrive improvements for iDrive 7 are much improved from my 2015, F15, so I’ve been fairly happy with just using it this route.

One of the key reasons is as others have noted, I use HUD a ton and love the navigation to be in my HUD, so you’re relegated to iDrive Nav if that’s what you want.

I think it also has a lot to do with how long you’ve been using iDrive. If you’ve been using it for years, it feels pretty good. If this is your first BMW, you may lean towards CarPlay. Honestly, given them both a try. Also, you can switch back-and-forth…at least theoretically.

I’m not sure why others are so down on the on-board Wi-Fi. I’m with AT&T and have set it up beyond the 3-month/3GB trial and like it. I found:
– You can add it to your existing AT&T plan for $10/month. It’s just like adding another phone, iPad, etc. You pay the $10/month and it goes against the data plan you have…and in reality, if you’re tethering or just using your cell phone in the vehicle, it really doesn’t matter as you’d consume the data either way…so, it’s about convenience for others in the vehicle to me and devices connect easily, consistently, etc.
– You can get an “All you can eat” plan just for the X Wi-Fi. While they say that’s $25/month, I just got an offer a week or two ago where they gave me that for $15/month, since I’m an AT&T Customer. So, now, for $5/month (which is a Starbuck’s coffee), I have all you can eat on my X6 Wi-Fi and billing, etc. is covered through my existing AT&T Wireless agreement. I’ll now use less of my data plan for my phone and other devices when we travel, so it’s a good deal, IMHO.

Enjoy your new X5

IftiBashir

!! Congrats!!

I’m pretty similar to, I almost exclusively use iDrive. I do connect my iPhone via BT at all times and utilize music, podcasts, phone, texts, all via iDrive. In reality, the iDrive improvements for iDrive 7 are much improved from my 2015, F15, so I’ve been fairly happy with just using it this route.One of the key reasons is as others have noted, I use HUD a ton and love the navigation to be in my HUD, so you’re relegated to iDrive Nav if that’s what you want.I think it also has a lot to do with how long you’ve been using iDrive. If you’ve been using it for years, it feels pretty good. If this is your first BMW, you may lean towards CarPlay. Honestly, given them both a try. Also, you can switch back-and-forth…at least theoretically.I’m not sure why others are so down on the on-board Wi-Fi. I’m with AT&T and have set it up beyond the 3-month/3GB trial and like it. I found:- You can add it to your existing AT&T plan for $10/month. It’s just like adding another phone, iPad, etc. You pay the $10/month and it goes against the data plan you have…and in reality, if you’re tethering or just using your cell phone in the vehicle, it really doesn’t matter as you’d consume the data either way…so, it’s about convenience for others in the vehicle to me and devices connect easily, consistently, etc.- You can get an “All you can eat” plan just for the X Wi-Fi. While they say that’s $25/month, I just got an offer a week or two ago where they gave me that for $15/month, since I’m an AT&T Customer. So, now, for $5/month (which is a Starbuck’s coffee), I have all you can eat on my X6 Wi-Fi and billing, etc. is covered through my existing AT&T Wireless agreement. I’ll now use less of my data plan for my phone and other devices when we travel, so it’s a good deal, IMHO.Enjoy your new X5!! Congrats!!