BMW Australia gets Connected

BMW Australia has confirmed the arrival Down Under of its full suite of BMW Connected in-car, smartphone leveraging services.

At its most advanced in the new, sixth-generation iDrive-equipped G30 5 Series, which is due to arrive in Australia in March, BMW Connected will be made available to any BMW with the iDrive 5 system and Professional level infotainment and navigation effective immediately.

BMW Connected is dubbed “your personal mobility assistant”. It brings a range of services to your car and smartphone via the new BMW Connected app which is now available as a free download in the Apple App Store. And the Android version is expected to arrive in mid-2017.

Connected also interfaces with Microsoft Exchange to deliver a more seamless mobile office experience.

“BMW Connected learns your daily routine journeys and can also obtain your appointments and destinations from other apps, such as your calendar and popular apps such as Yelp… When it’s time to leave to your next destination, it automatically informs you with ‘time to leave’ notifications at the optimal time to depart, based on the current traffic conditions,” BMW states.

Navigation directions to your appointment are uploaded direct from the smartphone to the car. You can also use voice-to-text to send messages and emails or share your arrival time. ‘First’ and ‘Last Mile’ navigation provides walking directions, and in addition (in some markets) car-to-car parking information can be included.

The system allows smartphone connection via USB or Bluetooth. It also integrates with the Apple watch.

BMW uses its own Open Mobility Cloud platform and handles all data securely via its own secure networks.

BMW Connected also provides a number of car-based services including the ability (in the case of the new 5 Series) to check an around view image of your car up to two times per hour. The frequency is limited under BMW’s privacy policy.

The app can also be used to lock and unlock the car, turn on ventilation, display charge and vehicle status (BMW i & i Performance) and, in conventional BMWs, display fuel level, range and current mileage on models with Professional Navigation-equipped with iDrive 5 software

The services offered under the Connect banner are expected to grow in coming years, in particular as autonomous features become more capable.

BMW Connected eligible models:
BMW 1 and 2 Series (standard on M140i, 230i and M240i, optional on other variants)
BMW 3 Series Sedan and Touring (standard on 330i, 330e and 340i, optional on others)
BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo (standard on 330i, optional on 320d)
BMW 4 Series (all)
BMW 6 Series (all)
BMW 7 Series (all, with touch-screen)
BMW X3 and X4 (standard on xDrive28i and xDrive30d, optional on others)
BMW X5 and X6 (all, with touch-screen)