Categories: Cars

The BMW iDrive X Screen Measures 17.9 Inches

BMW has gone to great lengths to explain what’s new and improved with iDrive X. However, it intentionally omitted an important fact about its upcoming infotainment system: the size of its touchscreen. Naturally, we decided to ask, and as predicted, the new jumbo display is notably bigger than what you get in cars with iDrive 8/8.5 or 9. Indeed, it stretches at a stately 17.9 inches.

That makes it a full three inches bigger than what you’ll find in cars that ride on the CLAR platform. It’s also 7.2 inches larger compared to the infotainment inside BMW’s smaller, front-wheel-drive-based cars that ride on the UKL2 architecture. Is bigger necessarily better? You’d be the judge of that. Personally, I’d much rather have a smaller display accompanied by physical controls for often-used functions. However, iDrive X appears to be the next step towards a minimalist interior.

Even at 17.9 inches, it won’t be the largest screen BMW has installed in its production cars. The Theatre Screen in the back of the 7 Series and i7 has a gargantuan 31.3-inch diagonal. Since 2024, the ceiling-mounted display has also been available in China for the locally produced long-wheelbase 5 Series/i5. Codenamed “G68,” the stretched 5er is also sold in India, but the swanky rear-seat entertainment system is not yet available there.

As the adjacent images show, cars with iDrive X will not be limited to the central screen. An upper-mounted projection stretching from pillar to pillar will be standard, and a 3D head-up display will also be offered in the driver’s line of sight. Despite the obvious focus on screens, not all controls will be integrated. Accessing some functions will be done through the usual stalks and haptic buttons/switches.

BMW will obviously flip the center screen’s shape for right-hand-drive cars. From our understanding, all models will get this supersized 17.9-inch screen and the panoramic display above it. The next-gen 3D HUD will be optional.