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Idrive 8.5/9 and the IX

12219 Views 127 Replies 28 Participants Last post by inxs, 4 h ago

Dan UK

Discussion Starter · 5 mo ago

any info on whether the IX will upgrade to idrive 8.5? I’m on the verge of buying a 2nd hand early car and given the debacle with parking assistant pro not working with pre March cars, I’m even more concerned that 8.5 might not be ported to early cars. This would likely mean no meaningful software updates and investment from BMW in the old idrive 8 stack As they will already have to support 8.5 and 9 on cars they are selling new.

I have to say I’m very dismayed to hear I drive 8 is already superseded. I have zero trust in car companies to support sold cars with different tech. Enough to make me just get the substantially cheaper model Y - I don’t to want to drive a new model around with old tech for this money, nor take the residuals hit that would accompany that.

N.b. apparently they have already said not all idrive 8 cars can be upgraded to 8.5 but I’ve only seen the current 3 series mentioned.

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BrendanC

· #2 · 5 mo ago

I guess its wait and see, to be honest I share your frustrations as fan of BMW the one area I really was hoping BMW was going to step up their game in with the IX was supporting cars via proper integrated software, however it seems the reality was iDrive 8 was nothing more than same old with a new skin and will probably mean the last BMW i own for some time.
With new brands understanding how important the software is these days like Tesla, Polestar and others who continue to support and improve their cars via software BMW has managed to offer disjointed experiences based on regions with software skus so fragmented it's not surprising there ditching the OS already.
Some countries get OTA updates for maps others don't, some regions get working on route charging others don't, some regions get OTA updates others don't at all, and so on and so on.
To add insult the best BMW has managed to offer so far is some digital art mode and a clock.

I do love the IX overall however there is a high chance if the car is going to be considered unsupported within 12 months that I will be offloading it for a Polestar 3 or something similar

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electric_journey

· #3 · 5 mo ago

@Dan UK I can't answer your question. I searched the net and couldn't find anything concrete. Part of me feels that given the iX is the flagship EV for them, they won't be that silly to leave this model unsupported in terms of the software, but I could be wrong.

Yeah, the software, UI and OTA upgrades for the iX are so far behind Tesla it's a joke. However, I knew this before deciding to get the iX. My priority is an EV that is screwed together well, has good support should anything need fixing, and drives super luxuriously. None of which apply to the Model Y, it's not a rival to the iX.

I've drove one for a week, and it's like a nice go kart and super efficient but the iX is on a whole different level when it comes to ride, comfort and refinement, and most importantly, no interior rattles/loose trim, which is what I've noticed with every Tesla I've spent time driving.

Sounds like you need to hold off your iX purchase until you get some facts from BMW themselves.

Reactions: 1

Dan UK

Discussion Starter · #4 · 5 mo ago

electric_journey said:
Sounds like you need to hold off your iX purchase until you get some facts from BMW themselves.

Deposit is in but I don't have to decide until I'm back from a trip in a week. Its a fully spec'd up IX50 and I don't particularly want to walk away, but I intend to own it for 4 years so stuff like this does concern me.

Conversely there is talk of some major March update I've seen? Could it be 8.5?

Typical mis-step here for a traditional car company that doesn't have people who understand software in decision making roles.

Dan UK

Discussion Starter · #5 · 5 mo ago

I have found a bit more info on these threads:

www.i4talk.com

BMW Announce iDrive 8.5 and iDrive 9

Probably won’t apply to the current i4 but maybe we’ll see this in future models (LCI?). Article Link

www.i4talk.com

www.i4talk.com

English -- i4 idrive software vs iX

Bjorn's iX 10KM challenge brough forth something really interesting. He was told that the i4 and iX share two different software platforms for the idrive Normally the number one reason for investing in different software would be different hardware. That would mean that any assumptions on what...

www.i4talk.com

The i4 is on SP18 which is an older platform, where as the ix is on SP21. Similarly older hardware of MGU vs MGU21.

Post 62 on the first link does also talk about upgrades coming. Were there to be a hardware limitation, as per the other info, preventing some cars being updated, I would guess the i4 is the most likely due to older generation platform, and rather than a technical limitation, a lack of desire to spend the money to backport to a version of idrive 8 that is potentially only used in one platform (I don't know if the newer cars such as 2 series tourer, X1 or 7 would be on the old platform but it seems unlikely?)

Still all of these are current models, so it would seem tragically inept to render any of them obsolete, and unless we are expecting a severely early LCI why would they change any hardware?

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electric_journey

· #6 · 5 mo ago

Dan UK said:
Deposit is in but I don't have to decide until I'm back from a trip in a week. Its a fully spec'd up IX50 and I don't particularly want to walk away, but I intend to own it for 4 years so stuff like this does concern me.

Conversely there is talk of some major March update I've seen? Could it be 8.5?

Typical mis-step here for a traditional car company that doesn't have people who understand software in decision making roles.

@Dan UK I would walk away and get a stopgap car (subscription maybe?) - there are plenty of new EVs coming out in the next 18 months including the new Macan EV from Porsche which is something I would be looking to pre order so that it arrives when my iX lease ends.

March update is just the November update to idrive 8 but not expected OTA until March 2023.

Dan UK

Discussion Starter · #7 · 5 mo ago

So it’s bad news. New hardware required for 8.5 which is already in the i7. They will bump it up in new IX at some point which means we are going to end up with before and after upgrade cars. Doesn’t bode well for 8.0 being maintained. Definitely putting me off purchasing now.

www.bmwblog.com

Older BMW Models Will Not Be Getting iDrive 8.5 and 9

At CES 2023, BMW announced two new iDrive systems, 8.5 and 9, and both will be rolled out on different cars.

www.bmwblog.com

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electric_journey

· #8 · 5 mo ago

Dan UK said:
So it’s bad news. New hardware required for 8.5 which is already in the i7. They will bump it up in new IX at some point which means we are going to end up with before and after upgrade cars. Doesn’t bode well for 8.0 being maintained. Definitely putting me off purchasing now.

Older BMW Models Will Not Be Getting iDrive 8.5 and 9

At CES 2023, BMW announced two new iDrive systems, 8.5 and 9, and both will be rolled out on different cars.

www.bmwblog.com

@Dan UK Thanks for sharing. What a way to treat owners of their flagship EV! Sounds like despite all their investment, they can't cope with this modern era of tech in cars. I don't blame you for not purchasing an iX at this point, given everything that's been just been announced.

Had I known all of this before I ordered last summer, I probably would have not ordered the iX, but I'm glad I don't own my car and can hand it back in a couple of years when the lease finishes. Hopefully by 2025, they will have figured out how to design software and hardware that works and can get OTA updates. Or maybe not. Who knows.

Rickardg

· #9 · 5 mo ago

I

electric_journey said:
@Dan UK Thanks for sharing. What a way to treat owners of their flagship EV! Sounds like despite all their investment, they can't cope with this modern era of tech in cars. I don't blame you for not purchasing an iX at this point, given everything that's been just been announced.

Had I known all of this before I ordered last summer, I probably would have not ordered the iX, but I'm glad I don't own my car and can hand it back in a couple of years when the lease finishes. Hopefully by 2025, they will have figured out how to design software and hardware that works and can get OTA updates. Or maybe not. Who knows.

Even as a devoted BMW fan i need to agree... After about one year of production, the flagship changes user interface and leaves the first year of produced cars to appear old.
Compare Apple and Tesla, they really make sure "old" customers don't feel left behind..

Karel

· #10 · 5 mo ago

I am pretty sure that minor versions (i.e. version 8.5) will also run on the same hardware as the major versions (i.e. version 8) - this is a common software development paradigm that minor versions behave like this without "breaking" changes. Major versions (i.e. between version 8 and version 9) I would assume "breaking" changes and hence potentially new hardware requirements... If not, then I think there is something wrong between their software and hardware teams & approach to software versioning...

So hoping that an update in the iX to 8.5 will happen..

SDiX50

· #11 · 5 mo ago

The linked article mentions that the iX is the only current model that will be upgraded with a new head unit, so it can run 8.5. So, a bit of a bummer, but it seems existing iX owners are not being totally abandoned.

Rickardg

· #12 · 5 mo ago

SDiX50 said:
The linked article mentions that the iX is the only current model that will be upgraded with a new head unit, so it can run 8.5. So, a bit of a bummer, but it seems existing iX owners are not being totally abandoned.

Don't get your point since all current vehicles wont be upgradable, only the future ix with the new head units will be on 8.5

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SDiX50

· #13 · 5 mo ago

From the article :

“Some current iDrive 8 models will be given the new head unit that allows them to run iDrive 8.5, such as the BMW iX. However, as most cars get replaced, they’ll skip over 8.5 and move straight to iDrive 9.”

I’m hopeful that means the head unit in current iX models will be replaced with a recall, in the way they’ve replaced steering wheel modules etc with recalls so far.

Or perhaps that’s too optimistic.

JonoNZ

· #14 · 5 mo ago

It sounds like the head unit is being upgraded in production after March 2023 for the iX. I doubt BMW will upgrade existing cars with a new head unit, so stand by, we’re all about to be screwed by poor hardware/platform planning and strategy by BMW.

Reactions: 1

Dan UK

Discussion Starter · #15 · 5 mo ago

JonoNZ said:
It sounds like the head unit is being upgraded in production after March 2023 for the iX. I doubt BMW will upgrade existing cars with a new head unit, so stand by, we’re all about to be screwed by poor hardware/platform planning and strategy by BMW.

That is very much my interpretation and since the ghastly heating controls are being redone in 8.5 it’s pretty annoying. I can understand the cpu is too low spec for 3d maps, but the other stuff could surely be ported. I think the problem is they have a shitty fragmented platform and don’t want to spend the money to do it for cars already sold. It’s disgraceful in this day and age, 8.5 shouldn’t even exist. If they want to hardware enable more features in the i7 then that doesn’t require forking the whole OS.

of course if they continue to support 8 with fixes and enhancements then fine, but it seems unlikely given the atrocious planning demonstrated so far with deprecating tech in a model with alleged OTA updates 12m after launch.

Moesess

· #16 · 5 mo ago

I’m still waiting for a fix for our bad headrests lol

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Karel

· #17 · 5 mo ago

I contacted my local service provider (which is a big one here in London) and this is what they said:

"I’ve just spoken to one of our master technicians and he is unaware of any pending upgrade. What I do know is if there is an update then this usually happens when the car is uplifted (LCI) and this won’t happen for approx. 2 years on the IX as it's not been out for very long."

Paladin1

· #18 · 5 mo ago

Moesess said:
I’m still waiting for a fix for our bad headrests lol

Yep. I'm in line right behind you!

Seat head rest options | BMW iX Forums

Dan UK

Discussion Starter · #19 · 5 mo ago

Karel said:
I contacted my local service provider (which is a big one here in London) and this is what they said: "I’ve just spoken to one of our master technicians and he is unaware of any pending upgrade. What I do know is if there is an update then this usually happens when the car is uplifted (LCI) and this won’t happen for approx. 2 years on the IX as it's not been out for very long."

Yes but sadly this seems very unlikely in this case given head office have released info directly. Their whole software platform is a mess. Master technicians aren't going to know anything about it, lets be honest.

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JonoNZ

· #20 · 5 mo ago

Karel said:
I contacted my local service provider (which is a big one here in London) and this is what they said:

"I’ve just spoken to one of our master technicians and he is unaware of any pending upgrade. What I do know is if there is an update then this usually happens when the car is uplifted (LCI) and this won’t happen for approx. 2 years on the IX as it's not been out for very long."

A user in another forum checked the parts database, the current head unit is only valid in cars with build dates to 03/23, then it changes….

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