The screens quickly became the heart of modern cars interiors. While the car manufacturers add more digital real estate, the conversation changes from what is possible to what is practical – and where the line should be drawn between convenience and distraction. For BMW, the next border may not be about larger or lighter displays, but about rethinking who will get access to you in the cabin.
In a chat with Stephan Durach, Senior Vice President UI/UX Development, we learned that car buyers apparently have passenger screens high on their wish lists. However, whether the brand spoils it or not remains unclear. BMW is no stranger to innovation in the cabin. However, the car manufacturer’s approach was always taken care of weighing both technology with the driver focus. Would a screen for passengers press the balance too far to digitize?
Passenger screens in BMWS? It could happen
“You know, there is enormous demand, especially in really big cars,” Durach begins. “People ask about it,” he continues, “people say,” I want to have a special screen for consuming content. “There is space. It is not the confirmation of the upcoming things. But it shows that BMW has at least taken into account The possibility to add a passenger side screen. At least three of the voters of BMW – Porsche, Audi and Mercedes – already offer a passenger -side display or offer. In these applications, it is not always used for “consuming content”. Some offer passengers the opportunity to control media and navigation settings, climate control and much more.
However, Durach is aware of the risks while she recognizes customer demand. “With our panorama -idrive, we try to avoid exactly that there is too much distraction,” he says. According to Durach, the narrow head-up display, which runs over the length of the windshield, is a logical alternative to building screens that dominate the attention of the drivers. “It is not really intrusive inside, it is just a small display,” he says. In view of these comments and the fact that Durach picked up “really big cars”, we do not expect passenger screens to come to cars that are smaller than the 7 Series. That means if you ever come to a BMW.
If you asked us a decade ago whether BMW would only dedicate the dashboard place to a screen for passengers, we might have laughed at it. But after seeing the massive 31-inch theater screen debut in the BMW G70 7 Series a few years ago, it feels a little less unlikely. It is also not the first time that we have heard such rumors. Last year we learned that BMW monitored its competitors and evaluated the integration of the passenger advertisement. Obviously, BMW does not make a decision without careful consideration. It should still be.
