The instrument panels of BMW are moving towards digitalisation thanks to the so-called "O.S. 7.0"

The digital world, step by step, has made its way into every vehicle, so that today even the most basic city car comes with touchscreen infotainment systems that let us navigate through different vehicle functions, such as connectivity, practically leaving behind the CD radios that accompanied us for so many years.

Naturally, depending on the brand, segment and target audience of the vehicle in question, the level of digital technology will keep increasing. If we look at premium brands, this digitalisation runs through their entire ranges in one way or another, although perhaps it is in this respect that Mercedes-Benz has taken the lead, introducing the new A-Class with the new MBUX multimedia system, a system that until not long ago was reserved only for its higher models such as the E-Class.

In this respect BMW does not want to fall behind its competitors either, all the more so since the Bavarian brand was one of the pioneers of this type of technology in 2001, when it introduced the first version of the iDrive into its models. At that time the BMW iDrive was a multimedia system with a colour screen, controlled by a dial located beside the gear lever, evolving into what we know today, with touchscreens that also allow voice control and gesture control through the modern evolution of the dial.

The next step BMW intends to take follows the same direction as the MBUX multimedia system of Mercedes-Benz, where we will have a screen for the digital instrument cluster and another for the central console control monitor, maintaining a uniform design across both screens. The structure of both menus will be flat, so as to guarantee quick access to all available functions and settings.

On the instrument panel screen we will see different display configurations, which will vary depending on the driving mode we have selected, as well as its colour. Meanwhile, on the control monitor we will be able to enjoy real-time content, with the possibility of having up to ten pages of the main menu that will be fully configurable to the driver’s taste, each of which in turn contains between two and four panels.

The first version of this system, which they have nicknamed “BMW Operating System 7.0”, we will not have to wait long to see, specifically before the end of this 2018, when the BMW X5 will be the first to incorporate it in its new generation. Later, progressively, it will be introduced into more BMW models.