[NorCalAthlete]

After looking at these images some more....

Just give me 1 row of physical buttons beneath the screen.

1. Take the row from the ID7 layout that has climate control, emergency flashers, butt warmers, etc on it

2. Add door lock/unlock button and trunk button

3. Shrink the screen vertically juuuuuuust a smidge. Like maybe by 1".

I think that'd be perfect.

[mbanck]

Originally Posted by EUPremier

I wouldn’t have any interest in iDrive 9 due to its lack of controller, let alone X.
When I found out there was a 9 but G9x was only getting 8.5 I was a little annoyed that we were getting an old version.
That quickly stopped when I found out about the lack of controller.
Not sure where BMW are doing their Focus Groups but it’s not using many forum members!

The new X3 has 9 and an iDrive controller, just the lower-tier, front-powered models like the X1 do no longer have the controller.

[BMW-ALPINA]

Originally Posted by EUPremier

I wouldn’t have any interest in iDrive 9 due to its lack of controller, let alone X.
When I found out there was a 9 but G9x was only getting 8.5 I was a little annoyed that we were getting an old version.
That quickly stopped when I found out about the lack of controller.
Not sure where BMW are doing their Focus Groups but it’s not using many forum members!

The G45 X3 has actually iDrive 9 (IDC23) with iDrive-controller. It's just tragic that BMW goes away from the controller. There will be no new BMWs in my garage without iDrive controller.

[brianeck]

Originally Posted by hb

There is some sort of iDrive controller. The touchpad on the steering wheel will play that role. Is it the same? No. Can you do similar tasks with those? Sure.

Will test it properly around the June timeframe.

A touch pad is far from the same. You ever use the one in Mercedes? It sucks compared to the idrive wheel.

Anything solely touch requires you to take your eyes off whatever you are doing to look directly at it - have you been in a car with touch window controls yet? It's scary how much you have to take your eyes off the road to look down to open a window when in any other car you can just send your fingers exploring.

They claim safety first eyes on the road, and in the same sentence they install controllers that make you take your eyes off the road. They also state that these touch buttons on the steering wheel are revolutionary because they will light up depending on the app being used - lmao - that's what screens do, they change what they display and "light up. . ." There is nothing innovative about that whatsoever.

If you guys haven't tried it yet - seriously find a car with touch panel window controls and try and open them without looking. Muscle memory only works when your fingers and hands have a good navigational beacon - think the tiny bump that brings you back home for each pointer finger on keyboard. Sure, you can type on your phone fast. . . But try it without looking - I dare you to put together a good couple of sentences.

[co_440i]

Horrific garish crap built for the generation that can't take their eyes off Tiktok. I can't believe this amazing brand is going this direction.

[EUPremier]

Originally Posted by mbanck

The new X3 has 9 and an iDrive controller, just the lower-tier, front-powered models like the X1 do no longer have the controller.

Ok, thanks for letting me know.

X appears to lose it though.

The trajectory to further evolve over-reliance on screens is far from where we should be going.

[hb]

Originally Posted by brianeck

A touch pad is far from the same. You ever use the one in Mercedes? It sucks compared to the idrive wheel.

Anything solely touch requires you to take your eyes off whatever you are doing to look directly at it - have you been in a car with touch window controls yet? It's scary how much you have to take your eyes off the road to look down to open a window when in any other car you can just send your fingers exploring.

They claim safety first eyes on the road, and in the same sentence they install controllers that make you take your eyes off the road. They also state that these touch buttons on the steering wheel are revolutionary because they will light up depending on the app being used - lmao - that's what screens do, they change what they display and "light up. . ." There is nothing innovative about that whatsoever.

If you guys haven't tried it yet - seriously find a car with touch panel window controls and try and open them without looking. Muscle memory only works when your fingers and hands have a good navigational beacon - think the tiny bump that brings you back home for each pointer finger on keyboard. Sure, you can type on your phone fast. . . But try it without looking - I dare you to put together a good couple of sentences.

Not saying it's the same, but for certain functions, could work. I'll do a full test as soon as I get my hands on it, especially to test common or most frequently used features

[Tejas1836]

Originally Posted by brianeck

A touch pad is far from the same. You ever use the one in Mercedes? It sucks compared to the idrive wheel.

Anything solely touch requires you to take your eyes off whatever you are doing to look directly at it - have you been in a car with touch window controls yet? It's scary how much you have to take your eyes off the road to look down to open a window when in any other car you can just send your fingers exploring.

They claim safety first eyes on the road, and in the same sentence they install controllers that make you take your eyes off the road. They also state that these touch buttons on the steering wheel are revolutionary because they will light up depending on the app being used - lmao - that's what screens do, they change what they display and "light up. . ." There is nothing innovative about that whatsoever.

If you guys haven't tried it yet - seriously find a car with touch panel window controls and try and open them without looking. Muscle memory only works when your fingers and hands have a good navigational beacon - think the tiny bump that brings you back home for each pointer finger on keyboard. Sure, you can type on your phone fast. . . But try it without looking - I dare you to put together a good couple of sentences.

Originally Posted by hb

Not saying it's the same, but for certain functions, could work. I'll do a full test as soon as I get my hands on it, especially to test common or most frequently used features

Do some research, this has been tested ad nauseam

[hb]

Originally Posted by Tejas1836

Do some research, this has been tested ad nauseam

One thing that I always do is research. And I've been one of the biggest critics of iDrive 8-9. Pretty sure everyone in their digital team knows that by now.

But I do have to give them the benefit of the doubt. So I cannot say that the touch pad on the steering sucks until I test it. And I'll make sure to properly test it since I actually studied UI/UX.

[RPM33]

Originally Posted by BMW-ALPINA

The G45 X3 has actually iDrive 9 (IDC23) with iDrive-controller. It's just tragic that BMW goes away from the controller. There will be no new BMWs in my garage without iDrive controller.

I agree with this. The number of times you use the iDrive controller is a lot, I will not buy a BMW without it.

[s1500]

Even as a young driver, who I suspect they’re marketing towards, I find this design choice horrid at worst, and ambitious at best.

[Calamari]

Originally Posted by RPM33

I agree with this. The number of times you use the iDrive controller is a lot, I will not buy a BMW without it.

I have iDrive 8 in my 2024 G21 and I use steering wheel buttons and rotary controller for 90% of all interactions with iDrive system. Maybe even more than that. In fact, before purchasing I spent 2 hours in a 2024 car to check if rotary controller is still usable for navigating and controlling the iDrive system. I came from a pre-facelift G20 in which I loved iDrive 6 paired with physical buttons for A/C and shortcuts. I find the ergonomics of that system almost perfect and I would hate to see the controller go away in the future.

There is no replacement for haptic feedback and muscle memory. Especially during driving

[hdahman]

Looks 💩