BMW is rethinking its infotainment systems for a new generation of electric vehicles.The Latest Tech News, Delivered to Your Inbox

The once controversial-turned-iconic infotainment system controller interface will soon be officially retired.

Central Display: This is the screen we've all come to expect in any new car, from the Tesla Model 3 to the Hyundai Ioniq 9. BMW still uses its touchscreen menu from the current iDrive, but now, up to six different widgets can be swiped from the display onto the windshield.

The terminology, in typical Germanic fashion, is a little confusing. The entire system is called "Panoramic iDrive," with “Panoramic Vision” being the funky horizontal band display across the whole dash; meanwhile, the all-new software the whole enchilada runs on is named “BMW Operating System X.”

The next generation of BMW ’s iDrive infotainment system is making its global debut this week at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas. At technology partner Amazon’s booth, visitors can get an initial impression using a beta version in an X3 crossover.

Unveiled at CES 2024, the BMW Panoramic iDrive brings forward innovative design of the cabin to be used in future BMW Cars.

Pour one out for the iDrive knob. Nearly a quarter-century after debuting in production form back in 2001 in the E65/E66-generation 7 Series and becoming a staple of the carmaker's models, BMW is retiring the trusty click-wheel controller with the arrival of its newest Panoramic iDrive system.

Dubbed BMW Operating System X, this new system integrates a panoramic screen projected on the windshield, with a lower media screen that can be used as a touch-based controller. The new BMW Panoramic iDrive will debut before the end of 2025 with the introduction of the Neue Klasse generation of BMWs.

BMW’s brand new operating system the iDrive OS X will feature in the upcoming Neue Klasse models and is its biggest change in 25 years

BMW’s iDrive infotainment system is undergoing a radical change. This week, the automaker rolled out a “close-to-production” version of its backbone software infrastructure at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

BMW has introduced the new Panoramic iDrive and Operating System X at CES. It combines infotainment with a customizable pillar-to-pillar Panoramic Vision display. Instead of using a knob, Panoramic iDrive relies heavily on the steering wheel.