First Look Video: MINI OS9 and The Circular Display

MINI is reinventing every aspect of the brand and it starts not just with what’s under the hood but what’s on the dash. We recently went hands-on in Munich with the new 2024 J01 MINI Cooper Electric and its circular OLED display, experiencing the new MINI OS9 in-person. What we found was an experience unlike any we’ve seen in the automotive world, let alone from MINI.

Note: Today MINI is launching its next generation with the new MINI Cooper Electric and MINI Countryman Electric. In anticipation of this release, MINI invited us to experience the new cars in Munich and talk to the people that created them. We’ve taken that knowledge and poured it into exclusive in-depth articles, reviews and videos you won’t want to miss.

MINI Cooper EV: Premier | MINI Cooper EV: Hands-On Review | MINI Cooper EV: Video Review

MINI Countryman EV: Premier | MINI Countryman EV: Hands-On Review | MINI Countryman EV: Video Review

New MINI Family: 1st Look Video | MINI Circular Display & MINI OS9 Hands-On Review

A New Experience For All Future MINIs

This digital experience will spread beyond just the all new J01 MINI Cooper Electric. We will see it in all new MINIs – from the all-new 2024 Countryman to the 2025 Aceman EV to even the heavily refreshed F66 ICE MINI Cooper. It’s also worth a reminder that the car we see here, the all electric J01 MINI Cooper Electric, will be available in Europe, Asia and South America at launch early next year. Plans are underway to bring the J01 in North America as soon as possible. The first product the North American market will get with this new experience will be the U25 MINI Countryman (available as both ICE and EV) followed by the heavily refreshed (ICE) F66 MINI Cooper and Cooper S.

The circular OLED screen is 9.5” (240 mm) wide however, because of the bottom cutout, measures about 9” in height. While it may seem like unusual design given the rectangles we’re all used to, it feels very natural in person thanks to the way MINI has organized the information. The “Charismatic Simplicity” design language (as MINI calls it) is focused on both minimalism and a bit of MINI character. The circular OLED display seamlessly accommodates both static and dynamic elements, with a clear and intuitive hierarchy (despite the shape). 

This is all made possible not just by talented strategists and designers but a very thoughtful technical approach leveraging Android. Yes you read that right. But it’s not the Android you all know. It’s actually the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) software stack which does several things for MINI. For one it allows MINI to leverage the massive scale of the Android App store of which MINI will create their own subset. But more importantly it allows MINI to leverage the army of Android engineers worldwide meaning that the platform MINI will rely on for future innovation is open and has a bright future. But don’t mistake the software stack as influencing the user experience. That’s 100% MINI’s own thinking and execution built on top of what is invisible but powerful technology.

This is Just the Start – An Entire New MINI Family is Coming

The new J01 MINI Cooper electric and U25 MINI Countryman (electric) will publicly debut at the Munich Motor Show next week. That will be followed by the internal combustion U25 Countryman which will be shown later this year. Then we’ll see the heavily revised F56 morph into the F66 internal combustion MINI Cooper. This will be MINI’s answer to all those who want a Cooper but aren’t ready for electric. Finally we’ll see the all electric MINI Aceman crossover which effectively takes the place of the beloved MINI Clubman. The Aceman will be a small crossover roughly the size of the original MINI Countryman and will be released late next year.

For more coverage of the new generation MINI released today, check out the following articles and videos.

MINI Cooper EV: Premier | MINI Cooper EV: Hands-On Review | MINI Cooper EV: Video Review

MINI Countryman EV: Premier | MINI Countryman EV: Hands-On Review | MINI Countryman EV: Video Review

New MINI Family: 1st Look Video | MINI Circular Display & MINI OS9 Hands-On Review