Nowadays cars are getting smarter and smarter: large touchscreens, powerful chipsets, more and more cameras and now they even have batteries. Do you see where we’re going? Cars, especially electric ones, are becoming more and more similar to smartphones.
And as that happens, they’ve also become more integrated with our smartphones than ever before. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have gone wireless, expanding your favorite phone onto your car’s home screen. BMW goes even further with AirConsole.
AirConsole is an integrated gaming platform that resides on the 14.9-inch curved infotainment screen of the BMW i5 M60 and uses your smartphone as a controller – even better, you can play with your traveling companions.
AirConsole has about 15 titles at the time of writing and they include sports, racing, speed and music quizzes. We are particularly fond of Burning Rubber’ and Golazo!
To start playing, install the app on your phone (available on both Android and iOS), choose AirConsole from the BMW i5 home screen and scan the QR code to connect.
You can play alone in competition mode or against whoever else is in the car with you. This also includes rear passengers. It’s a nice way to kill some time and perhaps the best way to spend the 30 minutes or so it takes the BMW i5 M60 to charge its 81.2 kWh battery to 80%.
You can play with multiple people
We used the iQOO 12 as a controller. It’s the perfect fit as this is a gaming phone, featuring the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip and featuring a BMW Motorsport badge on the back.
Choose a game and check it out
The phone displays different controls on the screen, depending on the game you choose. The controls are well thought out: the buttons are very large and spaced out on the phone’s display so you don’t accidentally hit the wrong button.
You should check out our detailed review of the BMW i5 on our sister site ArenaEV.com.
BMW and AirConsole will expand the gaming portfolio, but even now you have enough choice to provide hours of fun for the whole family.
Currently, the BMW X5 M, X6 M, Xm, i7 M70, X5 M60i, X60i and M760e have AirConsole. BMW will roll out the app to the 7 Series, iX (produced after March 2023), and the non-M Series X5, X6, and X7.
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