New BMW 5 Series softens charging wait times with in-car multiplayer gaming

[Daniel Sims]

In brief: BMW knows electric vehicles can take a while to charge, and its latest partnership seeks to give owners of the new all-electric 5 Series something to do while waiting. The infotainment functionality will eventually come to other BMW models.

BMW unveiled its new all-electric 5 Series sedan, the BMW i5, this week. One of the EV's new infotainment features pulls back the curtain on a partnership the company announced with the AirConsole gaming platform last fall, revealing which models will receive access and when.

When the car is stationary, occupants can enable AirConsole in order to play a selection of casual local multiplayer games on the dashboard screen. They can scan a QR code on the screen with their smartphones to turn the phones into controllers. Playing games or streaming video on the dashboard could help pass the time while charging the vehicle, which can take a while.

AirConsole currently offers this functionality at home through Android TV, Google TV, and Amazon Fire TV apps, or on PC through a browser. The BMW agreement represents its debut in the automotive space.

Users should note that the game selection is different on each platform. While the browser version offers the full library of almost 200 titles, the BMW i5 starts with around 15, including Go Kart Go, Golazo, Music Guess, and Overcooked, with more coming.

Most AirConsole games look like off-brand versions of popular titles like Mario Kart, Worms, Tetris, and Wordle. Even if they aren't quite the same, connecting smartphones the occupants likely already own is cheaper than setting up a Nintendo Switch with four controllers in the car.

BMW marked the partnership by offering the BMW i5 with a special gaming-oriented paint job. It covers the car in mostly dark purple with pixelated patterns and icons to represent buttons (which AirConsole ironically doesn't use).

The new sedan hits the market in October. AirConsole will eventually come to BMW 7 Series, BMW iX, and BMW i4 cars produced after July 2023. BMW X5, BMW X6, BMW X7, BMW XM, BMW X5 M, and BMW X6 M vehicles produced after August will also receive the functionality.

As dashboard screens get bigger (the i5 features a 12.3-inch and a 14.9-inch display), cars have added increasingly advanced infotainment features for downtime. Next year, E-Class Mercedes Benz sedans will be able to participate in conference calls. Tesla started rolling out PC gaming through Steam in Model S and X cars last year.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/98850-new-bmw-5-series-softens-charging-wait-times.html

 

[Aus spot]

What No M3?

There goes the one reason to buy one

 

[Tantor]

So when are they coming out with an inexpensive 'people's car'? Like a Honda Civic. With a 600+ mile range, takes five minutes to charge, and can be fixed in your home garage.

Probably never.

 

[MyIOnU]

Soon your travel plan will have to include times to wait in line to get charged ...

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Or refuel faster than you can run inside to pee.

But oh yeah electric is superior because it pollutes in a different location than gas.

 

[toooooot]

Soon your travel plan will have to include times to wait in line to get charged ...

EV use grows slower. They will have time to plan for more stations and more powerful electric grid.
I personally like the idea of faster charging. Making it safe for the battery would be very good for EVs.

 

[toooooot]

So when are they coming out with an inexpensive 'people's car'? Like a Honda Civic. With a 600+ mile range, takes five minutes to charge, and can be fixed in your home garage.

Probably never.

That is one sad thing about EVs. No more cheap fixes, at least not for the main part of teh car.

 

[nismo91]

One thing I miss in the car industry is the aftermarket car radio which has been left behind. yes we still have non-chinese radio players but they're just behind factory infotainment systems now.

20 years ago if you wanna have a backup camera or navigation system on a regular priced car you can spend a bit for aftermarket radio and you have a much better system than the factory radio. about 10 years ago I've seen some people mount their ipad inside their car so they can better than factory infotainment.

now pretty much every manufacturers put all the important features (including AC and heated seats) in the infotainment system, so you have no choice but to use factory infotainment. don't like your manufacturer's infotainment? too bad. EVs are even worse, I don't think you can use the car properly without the screen.

 

[ZackL04]

Soon your travel plan will have to include times to wait in line to get charged ...

Soon? That already exists for all EV users

 

[ZackL04]

So when are they coming out with an inexpensive 'people's car'? Like a Honda Civic. With a 600+ mile range, takes five minutes to charge, and can be fixed in your home garage.

Probably never.

Its impossible. The cost and charge rate of the current battery tech makes it too expensive and time consuming.

Checkout Toyota and hydrogen. The Japanese already know EV is not the future and they are working hard to make safe hydrogen combustion engines the future.