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BMW now includes a $300 CarPlay option on almost all its vehicles in US

CarPlay has been a long time coming to BMW, but it now looks like the system is available as a $300 option across almost all models.

We saw back in May that it was on the way to the X5 and X6 M, and a month later the same option appeared for the M3 and M4, suggesting that BMW might have been reserving it for higher-end models. As of today, though, ‘Apple CarPlay Compatibility’ appears as an entertainment option across most of the range …

The exception, oddly, seems to be the company’s two electric cars, the i3 and i8.

Apple has not yet updated the CarPlay availability page it introduced back in January. If you want to check out your own preferred model, you can do so on BMW’s website, by choosing your car, then hitting the Options tab and looking under ‘Entertainment options.’

It had at one stage been rumored that Apple might choose to partner with BMW and Daimler for an Apple Car based in the all-electric i3, but those talks reportedly broke down.

CarPlay can finally be considered reasonably mainstream, available for many 2017 cars, including all Fords as of last month. There’s also a wide range of aftermarket CarPlay units available, with Sony the latest company to offer one.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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