Most car makers include features like Apple CarPlay as standard on their cars, however BMW is not only going to make users pay for the feature but will only offer the feature on an yearly subscription basis.
This is an appalling decision by the car marker as the hardware and software that is required for CarPlay feature to work is already present in the car (software is offered by Apple through the iPhone with zero input from automakers like BMW) and they are charging users to use what they already own.
The justification BMW offered for charging its customers on a recurring basis is “This allows the customer to switch devices” implying that it will offer users the ability to switch to Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, both of which are coming soon when they switch to an Android device.
This sounds like a weak argument since other car makers such as Honda already offer both options to user, where the car will run Android Auto or Apple CarPlay based on the device that is connected to it.
BMW will be offering CarPlay for free for one year, after which users will have to pay $80 per year to use the service. (TheVerge)
