BMW Group digital services at #NEXTGen

The digital BMW ecosystem: early insights into myBMW.

The BMW Group #NEXTGen event provided exclusive background information on what the future holds for the myBMW digital ecosystem. All BMW Group and NOW services, along with mobility services and products, will be pooled together under this name. Products and services will be split into My Car, My Life and My Journey categories, presenting customers with a single gateway into an all-encompassing portfolio of personal mobility-enhancing offerings. The BMW Group will reveal further details on myBMW at the IAA Cars 2019 motor show in Frankfurt on 12 – 22 September. 

“Hey BMW, what’s your favourite colour?”. Chatting away with the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant.

Since March 2019 the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant has been available in a large number of models fitted with BMW Operating System 7.0. Responding to the prompt “Hey BMW”, the intelligent, digital character helps the driver, learns their preferences, knows their favoured settings and is an expert on everything to do with the vehicle. Thanks to the regular Remote Software Upgrades supplied over the air for seamless installation directly into the vehicle, the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant acquires new skills all the time, enhancing and expanding his capabilities. The next upgrade will make it possible to enjoy casual chats with him and engage in brief, entertaining exchanges.

Amazon Alexa in BMW and MINI models.

Seamless integration of Amazon Alexa is now available for a host of BMW and MINI models, enabling customers to access many of the Alexa functions they already use at home while out and about in their car. They can ask Alexa questions, get weather forecasts and traffic information, catch up on sporting events, listen to tracks from Amazon Music or TuneIn, or check out audio books from Audible. Appointments and to-do lists or shopping lists can likewise be managed simply by speaking. Added to which, the Control Display in the BMW or MINI also provides visual feedback for the selected content. And Alexa even makes it possible for customers to operate compatible smart-home devices, such as lamps, thermostats and automatic garage doors, from their car.

The BMW Digital Key turns smartphones into car keys.

The Digital Key dispenses with the need for a conventional car key. Employing Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, it allows the new BMW 8 Series Coupe and other models in the BMW range to be locked and unlocked from a smartphone. Holding the smartphone up to the door handle opens the car. Once inside, the engine can be started as soon as the phone has been placed in the wireless charging or smartphone tray. Accessed via BMW Connected, the Digital Key can optionally be shared with up to five other people. The BMW Digital Key is currently available for all NFC-capable Samsung Galaxy devices running Android 8.0 and above.

Digital charging services for electric cars.

The charging services from BMW put an end to the stress of searching for an available charging station. Customers can check the probable availability of a specific station along the selected route before they begin their journey. Once they are within 20 minutes’ drive of the intended charging station, they can also reserve a space directly from their car. And if that car happens to be a BMW plug-in hybrid, they will additionally earn valuable iMILES bonus points for any sections of electric driving recorded within the BMW eDrive Zones. These can then be exchanged for extra charging credit at all ChargeNow stations.