{"id":40763,"date":"2023-01-19T09:44:19","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T14:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=40763"},"modified":"2023-01-19T09:44:19","modified_gmt":"2023-01-19T14:44:19","slug":"bmw-modern-head-unit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=40763","title":{"rendered":"BMW Should Make a Modern Head Unit for Older Cars Like Porsche Now Does"},"content":{"rendered":"

Porsche just announced a new head unit infotainment screen upgrade for its some of its older models, such as the first-gen Cayenne, 987 Boxster, and 997 911. What the new head units do is replace the old radio with a larger touchscreen that\u2019s both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-compatible. That takes an older car and makes it feel more modern, while also allowing owners to listen to music easier, without having to use an unsightly aftermarket unit. And BMW should do the same.<\/p>\n

Outside of Porsche, BMW has among the biggest enthusiast following for its older cars of any brand. BMW enthusiasts love its cars from the \u201990s and \u201900s and still own them, even if they can afford newer cars, simply because they drive better than modern Bimmers. However, one of the biggest issues with owning an older car is dealing with its antiquated radios. Trust me, I\u2019m very aware of what it\u2019s like to drive modern cars with wireless Apple CarPlay and then get back into an old car that doesn\u2019t even have Bluetooth phone connectivity.<\/p>\n

In most instances, it\u2019s honestly not a big deal to use an older radio. For instance, my E90 3 Series<\/a> lacks Bluetooth but it has a 3.5mm auxiliary port, so I can plug my phone in and stream music. The problem is that the only way to then interact with my music\u2014skip song, toggle shuffle, pick a different playlist, or fast forward ads on a podcast\u2014I have to then pick my phone up and do it manually, which is dangerous while driving. So I usually just wait until a red light to do so. Again, not the end of the world but frustrating compared to the ase of modern cars.<\/p>\n

Phone calls are another issue, however. In a modern car, if you get a phone call, you just click the answer button on the steering wheel and start talking. But if I get a phone call while I\u2019m driving, I have to look down at my phone, see who\u2019s calling, pick it up, answer it, and either hold it to my ear or use a crappy speakerphone in a noisy car. You don\u2019t realize how dangerous talking on the phone while driving used to be until you become accustomed to the modern way.<\/p>\n

I would love if BMW offered a head unit upgrade for my E90, one that fit in the car\u2019s dash as if it was done at the factory and looked stock. It doesn\u2019t need iDrive or anything fancy. Just a touchscreen with Bluetooth capability, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (doesn\u2019t even need to be wireless), and the ability to control it with the factory steering wheel controls. That would make life significantly easier for not only me but the countless of BMW enthusiasts who still drive cars of a similar vintage. BMW could start off with just a few cars; the E90 3 Series (being selfish there), E46 3 Series<\/a>, E60 5 Series, and E39 5 Series. If Porsche can do it, so can BMW.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, Porsche\u2019s head unit is obnoxiously expensive, at nearly $1,500. That\u2019s absurd, especially when you consider first-gen Cayman\u2019s can be had for under $5,000. However, if BMW made such a thing and sold it for say $500, I\u2019d buy one. It wouldn\u2019t just make my life easier, it\u2019d make it safer and that\u2019s well worth five hundred bucks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Porsche just announced a new head unit infotainment screen upgrade for its some of its older models, such as the first-gen Cayenne, 987 Boxster, and 997 911. What the new head units do is replace the old radio with a larger touchscreen that\u2019s both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-compatible. That takes an older car and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":40764,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}