Apple CarPlay was used as an essential feature for many modern car buyers. A must-have that shapes buying decisions and has violent debates online. According to BMW, however, reality looks very different. Stephan Durach, Senior Vice President of the UI/UX Development of the brand, questions what he calls “CarPlay myth”, and argues that customers do not rely on as much as many. Instead, the integrated navigation and integration of BMW seem to be the focus. It raises questions about whether CarPlay is really indispensable.
BMW and the CarPlay “Myth”
According to data in the body, Durach says that people simply do not always use CarPlay for navigation. Despite what you can read on the Internet or here from the industry, BMW’s data does not support the premise. “In the past, a myth was always talked about,” he told us during an interview. “People say they drive around everywhere and use CarPlay for navigation. I can tell you that that’s not true,” he continues. As a memory, BMW collects data of 10 million cars – a number that Durach provides – and you see the patterns. “We can see what our customers do, what kind of controls they use, in what type of driving conditions they use.”
This is a comprehensive data record. It is important to note that Durach’s car play mainly focuses on just one aspect of what the interface does. In particular, he talks about how customers use navigation systems in BMWS. “You have started to use our own navigation,” he says, “people still connected their phone to CarPlay, but only for committed use cases.” While no laundry list of application cases was made available, messaging was awarded.
A solid supportive argument that supports Durach’s statements? Easy integration. The use of voice commands to start navigation is easy in almost every BMW that has been manufactured in the past five or six years. And it gets even easier with a new class. “We can already see it with the entire integration of the service we do,” says Durach. With more natural language interaction and of course you can fully simplify and minimize the interactions by car, such as routines, using the integrated BMW navigation is easier than ever. Then there is the fact that BMW’s panoramic view does not work with Google Maps or Waze, even if you are connected via CarPlay. Remember this is an Apple decision, not the BMWS. One that IDRIVE X navigation is probably driven even more.
The downside of the CarPlay myth
The assumption that the data from BMW is good-and we have no reason to suspect-the conclusion that CarPlay is not as important is a bit like a double-edged sword. On the one hand, this means that BMW’s decision, CarPlay Ultra Support, is not completely pragmatic. On the other hand, it gives rivals such as Rivian and Tesla more credibility than ever before, which CarPlay and Android Auto Support have completely ignored. We wonder which other car manufacturers will make notes?
