BMW is showing off all the shiny new tech it has been working on at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024. That includes improved entertainment capabilities, augmented reality, a better voice assistant, and autonomous parking.
The most relevant features for today’s BMW owners are the entertainment capabilities offered by its Operating System 9. Set to become available over the course of the coming year, the system will make in-vehicle gaming even better.
Already, BMW allows occupants to play a video game on the in-vehicle screens while they are, say, charging. However, they’ll soon be able to connect any Bluetooth video game controller to their vehicle and play even more games.
Read: BMW Partners With AirConsole To Bring In-Car Gaming From 2023
To show off the new feature, attendees at CES 2024 will be able to play “Beach Buggy Racing 2,” an action-packed racing game that can be played by one person, or many using the split-screen mode.
If they just want to watch something, rather than play a video game, 7-Series owners who have Operating 8.5 or 9 will now be able to watch TV and movies on the front display (rather than just in the back). BMW worked with XPERI to optimize the TiVo Operating System that runs content on the screen, and customers can now watch live sports and news, and can browse a library of TV series and movies. The app is now available in the U.S., U.K., South Korea, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Japan is coming soon.
Looking Forward
In addition to the tech that’s coming soon, BMW is also showing off some more futuristic stuff. That includes offering CES attendees an augmented reality trip through Las Vegas. Visitors will have to don AR glasses, and will see how BMW’s technology can inform them about road hazards, points of interest, navigation, and even entertainment content, all of which is superimposed onto the real world.
In addition, the automaker is working with Amazon to show off an Intelligent Personal Assistant. It will use generative AI to offer conversational answers to questions from the driver about vehicle functions. In addition, it will be able to control some vehicle functions for the driver.
Finally, BMW says it will show off its next-generation Level 4 autonomous parking system at CES 2024. With that customers can leave their vehicle, and their car will leave, look for a spot, get itself into it. Owners will also be able to summon their vehicle to them.
