BMW Will Roll Out New iDrive 9.0 System This Year

BMW has shared that a ninth-generation version of its iDrive operating system will be released in 2023, featuring enhanced touchscreen and voice-based functions. This will also come with a new content-driven design to replace the current tile-based home screen with a 3D map-based structure.

The new iDrive 9.0 operating system, which will debut in the second-generation BMW X2 before being rolled out to other BMW models, replaces the Linux-based software used by the current iDrive 8.0. It will harness an all-new Android-based package that, according to BMW, enables faster and more seamless operational capabilities.

Aside from that, additional advances offer a new app store function developed by BMW at its software centres in Germany, Portugal, the US, Brazil, Japan, and China.

Christoph Grote, Senior Vice President of Electronics & Software at BMW Group, highlights that the new iDrive 9.0 operating system will also get faster internet searching and downloading of software updates over-the-air (OTA) through harnessing 5G connectivity.

Also, the new BMW X1, X2, and BMW 2 Series Active Tourer will all include iDrive 9.0. Each model does away with the iDrive controller, which has been standard equipment on all new BMWs since 2001.

Mini models set for launch in 2023, including the new hatchback and a production version of the Aceman, will also receive the new iDrive 9.0 system, albeit with a Mini-specific interface, according to Grote.

The present Linux-based iDrive 8.0 operating system in current BMW vehicles will be updated and the firm is expected to deploy iDrive 8.5 in the future i5 in 2023 before being introduced via OTA in the previously launched 7 Series and i7.

As confirmed by Grote, iDrive 8.5 will mirror the functionality and user experience of the newer Android-based iDrive 9.0 operating system which however lacks the new app store capability.