CarPlay support coming to BMW vehicles this year

By Joseph Keller
last updated

It looks like BMW will begin supporting CarPlay in its vehicles later this year. The BMW X5 M and X6 M will both come with CarPlay-compatible touchscreen displays, and the infotainment system will be an option for the cars when they roll out later this year.

A forum member over at Bimmerpost (via 9to5Mac) spotted BMW's German price list and catalog for the X5 M and X6 M, which also indicates that the cars will support CarPlay wirelessly (translated from German):

Enables wireless and convenient use of the iPhone in your vehicle via Apple CarPlay. Smartphone content such as music, messages / SMS, telephony, selected third-party apps and navigation can thus be displayed and operated seamlessly from the panel of the vehicle. Compatibility and the functionality of your iPhone with Apple CarPlay depends on the model year of the iPhone and the software version installed on it.

BMW expects to ship CarPlay support in the second half of 2016. BMW will be just the latest automaker to bring built-in CarPlay support to its vehicles, which is currently supported by 21 manufacturers on over 100 vehicles.

Joseph Keller
Joseph Keller

Joseph Keller is the former Editor in Chief of iMore. An Apple user for almost 20 years, he spends his time learning the ins and outs of iOS and macOS, always finding ways of getting the most out of his iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac.

5 Comments
  • About time
  • No 3 Series support? Booooo!
  • I actually like BMW's infotainment system as it is. It's one of the best in any vehicle. With that being said, supporting CarPlay is a plus. I wonder if this includes Android Auto... Posted with the Nexus 6, Nexus 5, or Surface Pro 3
  • I, too, like BMW's infotainment system but would nonetheless love to see Apple CarPlay as an option. This is the "wireless" version which presumably uses wifi or Bluetooth or a combination thereof. There has been little written about the "wireless" version of CarPlay. Correct me if I'm wrong but does any vehicle yet support the wireless version?
  • I ordered a MY17 440i Gran Coupe with Apple CarPlay as an option. It actually went into production today!