BMW releases over-the-air vehicle upgrades

BMW Australia has announced several vehicle upgrades that are now available for owners to purchase and download online.

The first over-the-air upgrades available include High Beam Assistant and Drive Recorder, an on-board dashcam of sorts, both of which can be up and running within minutes.

BMW says additional updates are planned and will be added to the BMW ConnectedDrive store in the future, but only certain vehicles are equipped to accept the upgrades.

High Beam Assistant, which uses an in-built camera to monitor the road for up to 700 metres ahead and adjust the headlights accordingly, is available for the new BMW 1 Series (released in October 2019) and the 2 Series Gran Coupe due on sale in coming months.

The Drive Recorder uses four surround-view cameras and is able to capture video recordings for up to 40 seconds and include data such as date, time, speed and GPS co-ordinates.

It can also be used more like a traditional dashcam, with BMW saying owners can configure the system to record using the front or rear camera alone. Recordings can then be saved on a USB device.

The dashcam upgrade works with all models equipped with BMW Operating System 7.0, including the 3 Series sedan and wagon, 7 Series, 8 Series Coupe, Convertible and Gran Coupe (all built from July 2019) and X5, X6 and X7 variants built from August 2019.

Vehicles must also be fitted with Parking Assistant Plus – standard on the aforementioned models except BMW 320i.

High Beam Assistant is available for a one-time purchase price of $259, while owners purchasing the Drive Recorder can opt for a one-month ($19), 12-month ($79) or 36-month ($189) subscription, or a one-time payment of $429 for unlimited use.