2021 BMW Fall Technology Updates

• Remote Software Upgrade 21-07
• Revamped BMW News app
• Digital Key now available for select Android devices
• SiriusXM’s Pandora stations

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – December 16, 2021…The next levels of technology enhancements are being rolled out now to BMW customers with iDrive 7. These updates include the latest Remote Software Upgrade (version 21-07), an updated BMW News app with podcast-based news, and the addition of SiriusXM’s Pandora stations.

BMW Remote Software Upgrades deliver comprehensive improvements to key vehicle functions, bring the latest digital products into the vehicle over the air, and ensure the vehicle’s software is always up to date.

Functions and Functional Improvements

Included in the latest Remote Software Upgrade are refinements to the Lane Departure

Warning feature.  Sophisticated detection logic informs the vehicle when it is on a narrow road without a center marking and suppresses steering intervention. This prevents undesired steering towards the middle of the road, e.g., when there is oncoming traffic.  

Real Time Traffic Information (RTTI) from BMW Maps now also processes data from congestion on turning lanes and thus provides optimized routing as well as a more accurate prediction of the arrival time.

Advanced volume control for Android smartphones connected to the vehicle via Bluetooth provides an enhanced sound experience for streaming music or podcasts.

Finally, improvements in key detection mean the driver’s profile can now be recognized even when they don’t have their key on their person; for example, if it’s in a purse or briefcase on the passenger's side or the second row of seats.  This saves the trouble of having to manually select a profile before driving.

Improved Sound Experience for M3 and M4

BMW M3 and M4 drivers will be inspired by a refinement of the sound when starting the engine and clearer audio confirmation of gear changes and changes in shifting loads in vehicles equipped with the 8-speed M Steptronic gearbox. The sound characteristics can be individually configured using the engine settings Efficient / Sport / Sport Plus. A quieter drive mode can be selected with the Sound Control Button. This means that the M driving experience will be even more emotional.

New Features from Spotify and SiriusXM

Podcast playlists on Spotify are now available in the vehicle through BMW Connected Music. Logging in via the Spotify app in the vehicle and BMW Connected Music automatically activates this feature.

BMWs equipped with SiriusXM with 360L now offer Pandora stations, a new feature from SiriusXM that employs Pandora’s listener personalization technology and gives BMW owners the ability to customize their own ad-free music channels, so they can hear more of what they want whenever they want it. 

Pandora stations can be created while a favorite artist is playing via the “Related” button on the “Now Playing” screen, or users may select “Search” to find a specific artist’s Pandora station within SiriusXM.  Listeners can then give songs a thumbs up, thumbs down, or skip songs to customize the channel to play more of what they like.  The newly-created Pandora station can then be saved to their SiriusXM presets or favorites for easy access whenever they want to tune in. 

Pandora stations will be available in all MY2022 and later BMW models equipped with SiriusXM with 360L.  BMW owners and lessees receive a 12-month subscription to the SiriusXM Platinum Plan with the purchase or lease of any new SiriusXM-equipped BMW vehicle.

Revamped BMW News App

The BMW News app has been upgraded to meet the growing desire for news-on-demand and infotainment podcasts. The key new functions are personalized, intelligent filtering of news, significantly higher audio quality and the introduction of news feeds. Accessing news will now be as easy and entertaining as listening to the radio.

With personalized news, the customer can receive news on topics of interest to them by selecting categories. Through the additional “liking” of individual posts, the intelligent app continuously learns the user’s preferences, enabling it to customize the news feed more precisely.  Similar articles will start to populate the news feed based on past “likes”.

Personalized news and top news stories are now provided at higher audio quality for a convenient and pleasant listening experience. Instead of a text-to-speech program, the content is read aloud by speakers.

Through a mixture of short top news stories and longer reports, news feeds offer a more enjoyable infotainment experience.  The feeds can be launched with a simple click.  By integrating additional and major news providers, the updated News app provides a significantly greater variety of news reports.

BMW Digital Key now Available on select Android Devices

The second generation of the BMW Digital Key will be available for select Android operating

system-based smartphones, starting with Samsung Galaxy S21 Series and Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro.

With the BMW Digital Key, customers can easily unlock and lock their BMW simply by holding their smartphone next to the driver’s doorhandle and start the engine when the mobile device is placed in the BMW wireless charging tray. To ensure maximum ease of use and security, the BMW Digital Key is stored on the secure element of the smartphone. It can be easily configured via the My BMW app and is then available as an option for almost all new BMW models.

BMW Group in America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; technology offices in Silicon Valley and Chicago, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 351 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 144 BMW motorcycle retailers, 108 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

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Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com, www.miniusanews.com and www.press.bmwgroup.com/usa.