Among the most notable automotive tech on display at CES 2025 was BMW’s Panoramic Vision, set to appear in all new models by the end of the year. It’s a heads-up display (HUD), but unlike a conventional screen, it spans the entire length of the windshield.
Essential information like speed, mileage, and gas or battery levels sit directly in front of the driver, as you’d find in any other display. However, the rest of the Panoramic Vision can display things like weather, music information, directions, and climate control settings, instead of pushing them to the central dashboard.
These widgets are customizable, too, even to the point of making them visible only to select occupants. “The driver decides themselves which information they want to display in their own field of vision, or that all occupants can see the entire content,” said Frank Weber, a BMW development board member, when BMW first announced the system in 2023.
BMW’s Panoramic Vision also differs from traditional HUDs in that it reflects information onto a black band instead of using a screen or projecting it onto clear glass. That means you can see it even when wearing polarized sunglasses, which filter out most other HUDs.
Moving infotainment screens to the windshield means you don’t need to look away from the road to see anything. Beyond improved safety, the Panoramic Vision should make it easier to create your ideal driving environment. The display is fully personalizable, so you can choose where to put the info you want to see and remove anything you don’t.
The Panoramic Vision is part of a broader ecosystem BMW calls “Panoramic iDrive.” This digital solution includes additional customization and safety features, such as an optional 3D HUD above the Panoramic Vision, voice controls, and configurable vehicle sounds. There’s also a massive touchscreen replacing a conventional control panel, but fans of physical buttons don’t need to worry. The iDrive system also includes controls with haptic feedback on the steering wheel.
All in all, it’s a new level of interactivity and digitization for BMW. As Senior Vice President of BMW Group Design Adrian van Hooydonk pitched in a press release, “The new BMW Panoramic iDrive not only makes our vehicles smarter and more user-friendly, it also enables much more extensive personalization, which turns every new BMW into a car that is very much the user’s own.”
The Panoramic Vision is the latest in a series of efforts by BMW to balance entertainment with safety. In 2023, it unveiled smart glasses for motorcyclists to bring HUDs to motorcycles. The iDrive platform itself premiered back in 2001 with a less cluttered, more consolidated dashboard.
With this most recent innovation, BMW is setting itself up for future updates. Alongside the new HUD, the Panoramic iDrive brings an upgraded operating system. The Android-based OS was developed entirely in-house at BMW and provides the processing power necessary for more advanced functions down the line.
It’s unclear how the new OS or iDrive as a whole will work with other infotainment platforms. Apple’s promised CarPlay upgrade is nowhere to be seen now but could come out within the next few years. When it does, it’s uncertain if it’ll be compatible with BMW’s current system or how that could impact both enterprises.
How BMW’s tech affects safety and convenience will become clearer when it comes out later in 2025. Drivers will need to wait until then to see whether it’s a momentous step forward or if automakers should return to a more analog approach.
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