BMW has conjured up a number of striking new gadgets for the CES in Las Vegas. On the iX, the brand showcases, among other things, a color-changing exterior, a home cinema and new ‘atmospheres’ for the infotainment.
BMW shows a number of new ‘tricks’ during the CES (not in Las Vegas, but from Germany). We can safely call it that, because not everything is equally relevant. BMW is first of all building on the big CES news from last year: the latest generation iDrive. It showed that then in the iX and now BMW uses its large electric SUV as the perfect showcase for novelties.
To start with, BMW is adding new options for ‘My Modes’. We already know that in the iX, but there will be more personalization options for the multimedia system. With My Modes you can save the settings of the car and, for example, the color scheme used in the displays and mood lighting, and that is now assisted by an even more extensive visual spectacle.
BMW iX My Modes Expressive
There is the My Modes Expressive, a new mode in which a visualization with blue and yellow ‘oil slicks’ appears on the two screens. Only the essentials remain on the instrument panel and infotainment screen. Then there is also My Modes Relax. That conjures up a kind of starry sky and also ensures a pretty dark interior. Finally, there is My Mode Digital Art, which conjures up special visualizations by the Chinese artist Cao Fei.
The modes are enhanced by special in-cab sound, IconicSounds Electric, to match the atmosphere. For this BMW collaborated with the well-known composer Hans Zimmer. IconicSounds Electric will be available this year for both the iX and i4, and the expanded My Modes capabilities are part of the latest iDrive system.
Watching a movie
Anyone who thought that we had had all the visual stimuli with that, is wrong. BMW also shows how it can be in the back seat during a long drive in the near future. We have of course known the screens in the headrests for years, but BMW likes to take it to a new level. A screen that folds down from the roof would not look out of place in your living room in terms of width. Named ‘BMW Theater Screen’, this 31-inch screen can handle resolutions up to 8K and shows movies, series and apps from Amazon Fire TV in 32:9 format. The system is connected to the internet via a 5G network to enable lightning-fast streaming. Naturally, the car’s sound system, perfected by Zimmer, helps to create a surround soundto give experience. A kind of mobile home cinema.
Change color
Perhaps the most notable thing BMW would have liked to show to a large audience in Las Vegas was an iX that can change color. And no, we’re not talking about a lightning-fast change of panels as we have seen with other brands in the past, because the iX can really change color right in front of you. The iX Flow christened car has a so-called ‘E Ink’, or a ‘digital coating’. The car is wrapped in a layer in which, according to BMW, the following happens: “Electrical signals bring different color pigments to the surface through electrophoretic technology, giving the wrap the desired color.” In any case, it looks very special in the video below.
According to BMW, not only does it look interesting, but it could also be practically useful in the future. For example, a car can best be white in the summer to reflect sunlight and black in the winter to absorb sunlight. This of course has an effect on how hard the climate control system has to do its job and, above all, on the energy needed to get the battery to the right operating temperature. Who knows, you might end up with a different color car at your doorstep twice a year.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl