I spent a bit of time this morning exploring all the iPhone integration options on my new M4.
Background: my Last vehicle was a 335i with no iDrive or display. The iPhone integration consisted of a cable with a Lightening connector on one end, and a Y-split on the other end, with a 3.5mm stereo jack for audio and a USB plug for charging. The cable was plugged into the AUX IN 3.5mm port in the console, with power from a cigarette lighter-to-USB adapter, also in the console. The iPhone was held by a custom ProClips center console mount. The iPhone displayed either audio information (Pandora, etc.), or the Escort Live app for my Passport Max with SmartCord. Everything worked perfectly, although it was somewhat difficult to read song titles on the iPhone display.
Current vehicle (M4):
Three options exist for iPhone integration:
- 3.5mm AUX IN port in Console
- USB connection in console
- Bluetooth
Method 1: 3.5mm AUX IN port.
The first thing I noticed when using the AUX IN 3.5mm port is that the audio characteristics had changed. Bass seemed over-emphasized, while treble was muted. Dont know why the audio would change because of the port. I didnt like the sound at all. Of course, there is no transfer of song title or artwork to the iDrive display. All audio apps worked fine, including Pandora and the Music Player, although all control was through the iPhone, of course. I could send the audio app to the background, bring up Escort Live, and view radar detector information while audio continued playing. I was also able to plug the USB power connection into the cigarette lighter in the rear passenger area, so the iPhone could be charging while in use. This is essentially the same connectivity as with the 335i.
Method 2: USB to console port.
I immediately noticed that the audio had returned to normal, i.e. it sounds the same as if I were playing a CD. Much improved over the 3.5mm connection. In iDrive, under Multimedia/external audio connections, the iPhone now appears. Selecting it results in song and artwork on the iDrive display, and there are certain controls in iDrive for the audio (e.g. skip to next track). Strangely, there are no stop or play controls. When Pandora is launched on the iPhone, its interface appears under Radio in iDrive. Once iDrive determines that Pandora is playing, the iPhone screen is replaced with a BMW connection screen, as shown below:
When clicking skip to next track, the skip functionality works fine for both Pandora and the Music Player. When using the Music player, I can also bring up the Escort Live screen, and the music continues to play. However, if I am playing a streaming app like Pandora and try and bring up Escort Live, the streaming stops. In other words, streaming audio and Escort Live are in an either/or state. Very disappointing. On the positive side, the USB connection charges the iPhone when in use.
Method 3: Bluetooth.
As with the USB connection, the iPhone appears under the Multimedia options screen. Also as with the USB connection, audio sounds just fine. However, Bluetooth exhibits some peculiar behavior. When clicking skip to next track, the next track seems to be a random track selected from my music library on the iPhone. I was unable to get the skip button to go to the next track on the same album. Weird! And when I launched Pandora, the song and artwork appeared on the iDrive display, but as the songs changed, the iDrive display continued to show the first song. I was not able to get the display to increment. Also weird! I was also unable to get Pandora and Escort Live to work simultaneously with Bluetooth. And as far as charging goes, a separate cable needs to be used to charge the iPhone, using one of the two cigarette lighter connections. Hiding the cable becomes an issue.
Summary:
Both the 3.5mm connection and the Bluetooth connection fall far short of expectations, each having serious issues. This leaves only the USB connection is the most functional of the three connection methods. Unfortunately, since my primary music listening is from streaming sources, and I cant stream and use Escort Live at the same time, Escort Live is not likely to be used very much going forward. It would nice to have better iPhone integration in a $75K vehicle.