BMW 8 Series can over-the-air update from your smartphone

We recently learned that BMW was being cautious with over-the-air (OTA) updates. Tesla is the most famous OTA pioneer at the moment, as it was the brand that really made it famous. But BMW doesn’t want to follow Tesla’s lead just yet, being a bit more conservative in its approach and it’s showing that with its new 8 Series.

With the release of the new 8 Series, BMW launched its first ever NFC-capable comfort access system. So 8 Series customers will be able to unlock their car with an NFC (Near Field Communication) capable smartphone but just holding their phone to the door handle. One slightly overlooked feature is the 8 Series’ ability to do an OTA update with the customer’s smartphone, as well.

This system differentiates itself from Tesla’s, as BMW’s is done by the customer while Tesla’s is done by Tesla. So, if you have a Model S, your car will automatically update on its own whenever one is available and it typically does so overnight so as to not inconvenience the driver. However, with the 8 Series, the customer must connect download the update to their smartphone and then, once inside the car, the Bimmer can download the update from the smartphone. So this is done by the customer when they want it.

Some customers may prefer this sort of system and some may prefer Tesla’s. The pros of Tesla’s system is that it can work in the background, allowing the customer to not have to worry. The cons of Tesla’s system is that some of its updates have actually caused more bugs and quirks, making customers deal with them until a new update comes out. While BMW’s system might seem like more of an inconvenience, the plus side of it is that customers can wait and see how other customers are liking the update and then choose whether or not to do it.

BMW is currently just testing the waters of OTA updates, as it’s not entirely sure which route to take. Major software updates for cars are massive, massive files so BMW is still figuring out how it wants to implement them. This new system in the 8 Series is just BMW’s first step in figuring it all out.

[Source: Car Scoops]

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