Although the BMW i4 entered production a few months ago, the electric gran coupe is already receiving a software update. It’s the company’s first model to benefit from an upgraded iDrive 8 as the iX and 2 Series Active Tourer will likely follow suit. Officially known as the 21-11-550 Software Version, the latest operating system unlocks the Personal eSim functionality.
In addition, it strengthens the mobile phone signal by using the car’s external antenna. For the time being, the new tech is only available in Germany, Japan, and the United States. As with other iDrive 8 tweaks we will detail below, certain equipment is needed to benefit from the new goodies.
A more significant novelty brought by the new software update is a smarter Lane Departure Warning system. The car knows when the driver wants to return to the original lane after passing a vehicle on country roads and highways. In other words, the BMW i4 will not issue a lane departure warning or pull the steering wheel to put the car back in its original lane.
The Software Update Makes The BMW i4 Safer
BMW has optimized Lane Departure Warning furthermore by making the steering interventions smoother when exiting a lane. BMW explains the slower you leave the lane, the smoother the intervention will be. In other words, the system’s duration and the force it applies now depend more on the driver’s behavior.
“Your BMW now aligns itself close to the lane marking that had previously been crossed to ensure that you return to an optimum driving position faster.”
BMW is likely to implement the iDrive 8 fitted with the software update from day one in upcoming products. We are specifically talking about the 3 Series LCI as prototypes have been spied with the new screen setup. The next-gen 7 Series and the production-ready XM will arrive by year’s end with the latest infotainment.
[Source: BMW]
