[RahulNagaraj]

BMW has confirmed that it will be discontinuing the iDrive rotary knob. The click-wheel controller debuted 24 years back in the 2001 BMW 7-Series, before becoming a standard across all models.



The rotary knob has already been eliminated on certain models like the X2 and has been replaced with touchscreen controls. However, with the arrival of BMW's newest Panoramic iDrive system, the knob will be retired across all models.

Joern Freyer, Head of User Interaction, BMW, stated that the decision to remove the knob was based on data. It showed that on recent versions of iDrive, customers moved towards touchscreen controls, leaving the rotary knob to be hardly used. The lack of engagement with the knob resulted in BMW no longer needing to design its software to work via two different controls.

Apart from the rotary knob, BMW has also decided to kill off its Gesture Control feature.

Source: Road&Track

Link to Team-BHP news

[Dr.AD]

I understand the reasoning that BMW is giving for this decision, but I feel sad about this. Rotary knob was such a nice design, with a nice feel and click, and was an iconic element in the BMW interiors. I think the rotary knob was one of the best industrial designs that combined both functionality (ease and intuitiveness of use, and so many different actions quickly performed by this knob) and the aesthetics (it looked so nice). Sad to see this iconic design element gone from BMW interiors.

In my old 320d, I use this rotary knob a lot. Maybe because my iDrive is not a touchscreen, and I am forced to use the physical buttons and knobs. I can imagine that this will be less useful with the large touchscreen iDrive. But still, just a sad design loss.

[shibujp]

Thanks to my used 2017 X1 happy to own a part of history. As I was watching the i5 M60 video by Autocar today and seeing how adjusting the AC needed a two click process, using the iDrive is so much more intuitive. I find tapping the screen while driving so distracting compared to something like the rotary iDrive controller. RIP iDrive Controller and may you find your way back in a new avatar courtesy a creative designer.

Drive on,
Shibu

[agambhandari]

I'm royally disappointed at this move. I have found using the iDrive controller to be much easier to navigate the built in BMW software and even Carplay/Android auto across multiple generations of BMW, and that is vital when you are driving and need to focus on the road.

Another issue with the touchscreen is that its not always within easy reach and with the hot mess that iDrive 8 is, the giant screen takes a lot of hand movements to reach all its corners. I have touchscreen and the knob both on my car and i use the knob 90 percent of the times,its just that satisfying.

I was a bit sad to see it go away with the new X1 but deleting it across the lineup is the final nail in the coffin

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

In my old 320d, I use this rotary knob a lot.

Same here. In my case I use it A LOT as I have retro fitted Apple Car Play and Android Auto and the iDrive screen is not a touch screen (Can be upgraded to aftermarket Touch screen. I chose not to). I would still prefer the controller as the screen is a wee bit far away for your hand to reach it, even if it were a touch screen. Modern BMW's may not have the same issue as the screen maybe placed a little closer and have a larger area.

[Beam_it_Vikk]

I seldom use the rotary knob, but gesture control is a great feature. It makes it easier to operate the infotainment system while driving.

[sunikkat]

I might be in a minority here, but personally I don’t feel any difference if they removed the rotary knob. Other than the aesthetics it’s not adding anything for me. In my 4 months use of 330Li, I have forced myself to use the knob twice and never found it very useful. It’s much easier to use the touchscreen directly.

[ACM]

Despite having a Touch Screen on my X6, the feel of using the circular idrive is unmatched.

I feel saddened by this measure.

That said about gesture control - Good Riddance to a dumb idea.

[ashpkd]

I have an aftermarket 10.25 inch touch screen but I always use rotary knob. Simple reason, I need to lean forward to use touch screen but with rotary knob it is super easy and you dont have to move at all. More over when you are driving if you want to do something quickly rotary knob is really helpful. I really don't think touch screens have a place in vehicles. It just a gimmicks feature.

[Altocumulus]

I have a 330Li with the huge iDrive 8 screen. I do use the iDrive rotor quite a few times especially to go into the home screen directly and switch between widgets. Especially helpful to go to maps directly.

However, I don't agree personally that using the touchscreen going forward will lead to taking your eyes off the road. Even with using the iDrive controller you need to do that to see where the cursor is going and what it is getting selected. Frankly, it's faster on the touch screen, where you can click the apps directly, without having to scroll through. Also there are voice commands which get a lot of stuff done as well.

I use the iDrive controller mainly when am lazy to even raise my hand and reach out to the touchscreen and it's definitely a nice to have. Same with gesture control. Nice fun feature to have, but its more work. I anyways have all the buttons for music control on the steering wheel.

iDrive controller definitely made sense on cars which did not have touchscreens. Super convenient compared to 4 arrow buttons. But with touchscreens, it actually does not have any value other than novelty.

[mrpotato]

As a designer myself I feel sad that such a beautifully designed experience is going away but I find joy in the fact that I get to use it in my old bmw. It is a great case study for any designer specialising on User interaction. But totally agree on BMWs reasoning of having to support two different interaction methods - touch and rotors. As more and more sensors and features get built into the vehicle, it becomes challenging to ensure the experience of using all these features with touch and rotors/buttons is seamless. Imagine connecting your phone to a keyboard and mouse and trying to design an experience to make a call with just your mouse. But I hope this not a step towards making everything a touch based interaction. I love my air condition and volume knob.

[Sensible_Speed]

The iDrive revolutionized the industry. I'm a bit sad to see it go, but BMW's new OS and interface seem very interesting. I think AR is a safer bet than physical screens operated by touch control. I almost exclusively use voice activated functions when driving. They work well for the most part and are much safer than even knobs and buttons. With voice and speech recognition tech being as good as it is today, this is a sane decision on the outset. I only hope they don't mess it up by making it unintuitive or doing too much with it.

[astrodex]

I hope they retain the buttons around the knob even if that goes away. I use the home/menu and other buttons quite a lot despite having the touch screen, some of these have become second nature to use without taking the eyes off the road. Even Benz is now removing its secondary touch interface, though I always preferred BMW rotary knob to the touch pad of Benz

[benbsb29]

I definitely enjoy using the iDrive controller when needed, as much as I use the touchscreen for some tasks. I use Waze a lot and when some notification comes up, i find it super easy to nudge the iDrive controller one click to the left, one down and click, to dismiss the notification, all without taking my eye off the road much. I agree this is also easy enough with the touchscreen but with my seating position it takes a bit more effort to reach across and click the screen.

The iDrive was revolutionary when it came, but I agree it probably finds lower usage now with massive screens and the minimalist design approach with taking off buttons and controls from the console.