What's the news?
BMW Connected might sound like a familiar name, but what you're possibly thinking of is the company's ConnectedDrive package, which is like a passive level of connectivity. BMW Connected, on the other hand, is the first step down the road to having a 'personal digital assistant'.
Shown a preview of what BMW Connected could one day do in the future while we were on the launch of the new 3 Series Gran Turismo, it's perhaps fair to say that Version 1.0 that is now on sale is a stripped-back programme compared to what's to come. Trying to use as much of BMW's wording as we can to make this even vaguely intelligible, BMW Connected is an all-encompassing app that 'provides a seamless services experience covering all aspects of personal mobility'.
It uses a flexible platform called the Open Mobility Cloud as a basis, neatly integrating the BMW of your choice into your life via multiple smart-device touchpoints. Which, er... which need to be Apple products at the moment, like an iPhone or the American firm's Watch, because that's who BMW has paired up with first and foremost.
This initial version of BMW Connected covers entire journey management for the vehicle. If that sounds like 'traffic announcements for 2016' to you, then you need to listen up. Instead, the app can actively monitor any mobility-related information, such as addresses and arrival times contained in calendar entries, and then alert the driver to the best possible time to set off. Yep, in simpler terms: it knows your route to work and tirelessly watches it for you, telling you to set off 10, 15 or 30 minutes early according to the prevailing traffic conditions.
It sends these alerts in the form of 'time to leave in 10 minutes' messages to the iPhone or Apple Watch, ensuring that you're never late no matter what's going on along your commuter route. But BMW Connected can do even more. It effortlessly imports pre-loaded places and points of interest on your phone into the car's satnav, allowing users to start guidance with a single click. And, during the course of several journeys, it learns your preferred personal destinations - like home, top restaurants or regular meeting places, for example - and automatically stores them as favourite destinations. BMW Connected also does 'Last Mile Navigation' to get you from wherever you parked your car to your ultimate destination on foot.
All sounding good? Then you'll be pleased to know it will be available as a free download from the Apple App Store from August onwards, for anyone with a BMW vehicle with ConnectedDrive Services activated; this feature became standard equipment in January 2016.
Anything else?
There is one slight fly in the ointment, and that's the recent suggestion that BMW's with internet-connected infotainment can be tampered with by talented hackers. BMW assured us at the 3 GT launch that security measures were in place to prevent this, but it perhaps puts a bit of a dampener on the idea of a fully connected BMW right now.