The My BMW app: new features and tech insights

April 12, 2021 Article

Now with added functions and availability in more countries across five continents. The BMW Group is establishing itself as a leading automotive app developer and provider with a Flutter architecture developed 100% in-house.

My BMW app. Img source: bmwgroup.com

Munich. BMW is forging ahead with the development and rollout of the My BMW app. This key interface between smartphone and vehicle made its debut in July 2020. Having already been launched in 30 European markets, China and Korea, it will now also be available with further expanded functionality in Japan, Australia and 10 other countries. The My BMW app will also be rolled out in the USA and Canada from mid-April, making it available on five continents. Underpinning the rapid expansion of the My BMW app’s content and its fast-paced rollout is a scalable and universal software architecture. This has been fully developed in-house by BMW using Flutter, an open-source UI development kit from Google for the Dart programming language. The BMW Group’s Flutter/Dart development team is one of the world’s largest after Google’s, bringing together a total of 300 employees.

My BMW app: new features for March 2021.
The My BMW app runs on both iOS and Android operating systems and can be downloaded free of charge from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. It acts as a new universal interface with the car, providing information on the vehicle’s status at any time. Depending on the equipment fitted, it also enables remote operation of functions, such as vehicle locating, locking and unlocking the doors, and monitoring the car’s immediate vicinity (Remote 3D View).

Functions also include the ability to send destination addresses from a smartphone to the vehicle’s navigation system. Services from Amazon Alexa can be integrated via the My BMW app, too, while the range of functions for electrified vehicles has likewise been extended, including even clearer display of electric range.

The My BMW app makes it even easier for customers to log in to any current BMW model with their personal BMW ID. For example, the user information and settings stored in the BMW ID can now also be imported into the vehicle extremely conveniently by scanning a QR code displayed on the central screen. Last but not least, the My BMW app also allows the customer to contact their BMW Service Partner directly and provides them with a more detailed overview of their vehicle’s servicing requirements.

The My BMW app’s most important new functions from March 2021:

In addition to the integration of Amazon Alexa into models with BMW Operating System 7.0, the voice service is also now available for vehicles with BMW Operating System 5.0 and 6.0.
The Climate Timer allows pre-conditioning of vehicles with electrified drive systems – by heating the interior in winter and cooling it in summer, for example. This comfort-enhancing function has now been extended to diesel and petrol models too, meaning that their auxiliary heating and ventilation systems can also be programmed.
The Charging Plan provides owners of electrified BMW models with a clear, at-a-glance overview of all information on the current charging process (charging status, start time and duration, current range, pre-conditioning, time slot for charging and other relevant vehicle settings). In future, customers will additionally be able to benefit from push notifications informing them of the current charging status.
The filter function for charging station search makes it easy to find suitable charging facilities during a journey by quickly adding or removing various search parameters (provider, compatibility, charge speed, etc.).
Featuring a redesigned menu that is even more intuitive to use and further improvements to route calculation, BMW Maps now offers greater ease of use and enhanced performance.

“The BMW Group’s Flutter software development team is one of the largest in the world after Google’s own,” says Dr. Krämer. “As well as working on internal projects, our experts also offer software components externally as members of the Flutter community.”