BMW unveils new curved screen technology

Volkswagen and Daimler might have been at the forefront of digital dashboard development, but BMW is playing catch up with a Curved Display for the iNext EV.

The first full-generation new EV from BMW since the i3, the iNext will be a hive of new ideas that will trickle into other BMW production machinery.

The Curved Display will be one of those ideas, branded as a single screen that curves towards the driver, instead of forcing the driver to look across at a central screen.

The move reinforces BMW’s idea of asymmetrical, driver-focused cockpits, with a heavily pronounced curve in a single piece of material.

It won’t be the first curved screen in production, though, with Volkswagen’s Touareg SUV claiming that title with its Innovision screen. That screen was trialed with larger and smaller curve arcs, and ended up settling for a relatively modest curve. It was also tested for the first time on Audi’s Prologue concept car.

“The curved, single-section display is the central control element and represents the modern interpretation of driver orientation,” Domagoj Dukec, Head of BMW Design, said.

“It occupies a dominant central position in a highly iconic display structure that provides a highly distinctive display experience.

“The Curved Display is set in high-quality materials and is virtually freely suspended on the instrument panel. This makes it a key element in terms of the modern, luxurious and generous sense of space in the BMW iNEXT.”

It’s connected to the instrument cluster by struts, which can’t be seen from within the cabin, which is meant to convey lightness.

“The Curved Display in the BMW iNEXT takes us to the next level of driver-oriented controls. The new display unit enables intuitive, natural and ergonomically perfect use of the touch function,” BMW i boss Robert Irlinger said.