Apple And BMW Might Be Working On An OS
Historically, the BMW Group and Apple have held a number of conversations regarding the integration of Apple products and services into their cars. In fact, BMW was one of the first brands to integrate the iPod in its vehicles. Most recently, these discussions have surrounded the topic of advanced connectivity, and according to [Auto Motor und Sport](http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/news/apple-verhandelt-mit-bmw-i3-koennte-zum-apple-car-werden-723275.html), the two giants have partnered to develop a deeply integrated OS that would make its way into the i3. This new system “would allow not only iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, laptop and Mac computers to communicate and exchange data, but it also could be integrated with the car’s fuel consumption and movement data.”
Since CarPlay has been announced, a number of BMW and MINI enthusiasts have been wondering when would the BMW Group open its platform to Apple. While our sources have repeatedly told us that investigations in that regard were ongoing, it now seems that we might get something even more advanced than CarPlay. When looking at infotainment systems, iDrive and MINI Connected are one of the best offerings in the space. However, they are far from being perfect and a touch of magic from the Cupertino firm would probably be a welcome addition.
Most things BMW tend to make their way into MINIs, so with that in mind what do you think of a potential Apple OS running your car?
<p>“…think of a potential Apple OS running your car?” Oh geeze – NO! More dark side/evil empire stuff. For me I don’t want CarPlay or more Apple software/apps/tech in any car that I would/will own. (don’t want more Microsoft stuff either) To much useless tech stuff already in cars such as news feeds, twitter, facebook, etc, etc, etc. Just drive the darn car and stay off the phone, twitter, social media crap. Too much.</p>
<p>No thanks…</p>
<p>What I DO want is for the in-car system to be able to turn into a dumb screen that supports mirroring applications from my phone regardless of OS. Apple’s current licensing scheme for Car Play is ~$850 per unit without hardware according to leaks from Mercedes, that means the consumer is going to have to eat ~$1000 (not including the cost of the screen) in order for the car maker to get a cut.</p>
<p>Will it be a success? Probably, but only because consumers are ignorant of technology and are willing to pay a grand to turn their car into an iPhone accessory…</p>
<p>So, I used to have an iPhone and now am on Android. Should BMW/MINI blow me off as a customer because they’ve aligned with an OS? Dumb dumb dumb…. No reason that car companies could publish an API for the car and let any OS talk to it. Makes too much sense, but the seduction of captive markets and walled-garden revenue models is too much for corporations to ignore, and we get stupid stuff like this.</p>
<p>Nothing brings out the haters like a good story about anyone supporting Apple. It took just three posts to get the usual talking points: “Walled garden”, “Evil Empire”, “Dark side”, “Technology-ignorant consumers” and “Licensing scheme.” We even got an unsubstantiated “leak” that’s about eight times higher than anything a car manufacturer would ever pay to put something like CarPlay in a car. All we’re missing now are “closed system” and “locked in.” and we will have just about every cliché commonly used to trash Apple. The article doesn’t say anything about exclusivity.</p>
<p>The truth is that nearly every car manufacturer is planning to (if they don’t already) support Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and their own native solution all simultaneously. The fact that BMW might partner with Apple on tighter integration doesn’t mean they will ignore the rest of the industry and only support Apple products exclusively.</p>
<p>You are entirely wrong here. My wife and oldest kid are iPhone users. My home is mixed platform with most being Apple boxes. You could swap everything I said if they’d adopted an Android model that was iPhone incompatible. Point is that if a car maker is going to tie their tech interface development to one of the walled garden model business partners in order to leverage their expertise, they take the market risk of alienating people who aren’t part of that market space.</p>
<p>Any walled garden partner, cell phone infrastructure is a good example, has this as a baked in conflict in the fundamental business relationship. Cars didn’t used to have a closed eco-system. You could have different car brands, makes and models in one home and not really suffer much. But now, with each car supplier working with a tech partner, you already have “families” of brands that get the same basic nav system or whatever. As these systems get more complex, one has to learn a lot more to use all the features that the tech packages offer. This is further complicated by the branding that each car manufacturer puts on top of the systems they buy from others.</p>
<p>Say what you want, but there have standards based infotainment interface specifications that have, as far as I know, never been adopted by a single car manufacturer. Why is that? It’s not cause the development costs are too high, it’s off the shelf spec compliant interface hardware. The only actual explanation for carrying the costs of multiple solutions paid for by the industry is that it generates more profit to do so.</p>
<p>Look at the elimination of the DIN specification head unit mount. There is often a DIN spec space behind the dash, but the front panel isn’t DIN unit compatible. You HAVE to get something from the manufacturer or get a custom dash panel AND the head unit.</p>
<p>There are lot of examples currently offered in cars RIGHT NOW that show it’s often the case that what is offered limits consumer choice and locks in revenue streams that could have gone to the aftermarket.</p>
<p>We’ll see where this leads, but the track record of the car companies isn’t great here.</p>
<p>They will only alienate people if they exclude them. The article above says nothing about exclusivity.</p>
<p>This article below indicates broad support for both Android and CarPlay: <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/article/2598527/emerging-technology/automakers-put-apple-s-carplay-in-the-slow-lane.html" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.computerworld.com/article/2598527/emerging-technology/automakers-put-apple-s-carplay-in-the-slow-lane.html</a></p>
<p>“Two dozen manufacturers plan to implement CarPlay and/or Android Auto in new vehicles. They include Chrysler, Fiat, Maserati, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Suzuki, BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar/Land Rover, Toyota, Nissan, Ferrari and Volvo.”</p>
<p>That’s all fine and dandy… But how well did Mini connected serve the Android community when it rolled out? You can quote intention all you want, but I’ve listed several concrete examples of how car makers have acted to constrain the customer. I hope I’m wrong, but I think I won’t be.</p>