[geome]

To those of you who have the new instrument panel which do you prefer old or new

[aafarup]

Originally Posted by geome

To those of you who have the new instrument panel which do you prefer old or new

upload a pic of the new one pls

[Renalt130]

New cluster pic

[geome]

Is the whole screen lcd

[YellowCone]

No, the needles you see in the pic above are still analogue dials. Just the lower half is LCD. You’d never tell unless you looked really closely at it though, it’s pretty seamless.

[Boosh99]

Originally Posted by Renalt130

New cluster pic

The "large" digital speed display - is that standard in the new 2018 models? My wife's Oct 2017 build model has the large digital display as per your photo, but doesn't have the speed display in digital display by default, but I've coded it in. However, it is quite small relative to your photo. My wife's car has HUD if that makes any difference.

[hongkongloftus]

Originally Posted by geome

To those of you who have the new instrument panel which do you prefer old or new

Is it a 6WA2? Do you have part number? Thanks.

[YellowCone]

The large digital speed display is now a standard part of the new update. It comes from factory as one of the ‘bc’ button options. I don’t have HUD in my car, it apparently just uses nav data and the cars camera in the windshield.

I don’t know the part number, none of the official sources have been updated since 02/2018 new spec started 03/2018.

To answer the other question, I had analogue dials in my 2017 f30 and by far prefer this new setup. I will say though, it looks great but I suspect it may not stay that way. It’s gonna be hard to keep that deep black panel scratch free, and when it’s off you can REALLY see the dust...

[jmhumr]

Has anyone determined if we can retrofit this?

[internizzi]

I just picked up an X1 today with build date 3/23/18. It has the black panel cluster.

One thing I noticed is that I can't save songs from a usb drive to the car. I have Navigation Plus (6UPA) as part of premium package.
Am I missing something?

[AndyUU]

Originally Posted by internizzi

I just picked up an X1 today with build date 3/23/18. It has the black panel cluster.

One thing I noticed is that I can't save songs from a usb drive to the car. I have Navigation Plus (6UPA) as part of premium package.
Am I missing something?

That is good to hear. So far I have only seen EU builds have the black panel, yours is the first I heard in the USA. My X1 is on order and soon to go into build any day now.

As far as importing music, I noticed that iDrive 6.0 is different compared to the version I have in my '15 GC, at least. So in case you haven't tried this yet, the 6.0 manual lists instructions as follows, hope this helps...

Storing from a USB storage device
1. Connect the USB storage device.
2. "Media/Radio"
3. "USB"
Or: Select the name of the USB storage device.
4. Move the Controller to the left.
5. "Import music"
The audio data is stored in the music collection.

[internizzi]

Originally Posted by AndyUU

That is good to hear. So far I have only seen EU builds have the black panel, yours is the first I heard in the USA. My X1 is on order and soon to go into build any day now.

As far as importing music, I noticed that iDrive 6.0 is different compared to the version I have in my '15 GC, at least. So in case you haven't tried this yet, the 6.0 manual lists instructions as follows, hope this helps...

Storing from a USB storage device
1. Connect the USB storage device.
2. "Media/Radio"
3. "USB"
Or: Select the name of the USB storage device.
4. Move the Controller to the left.
5. "Import music"
The audio data is stored in the music collection.

It seems that the Nav Plus doesn't come with a hard drive. I don't see the option to import files after following the steps from the idrive manual.
I guess I just need to have a usb stick there.

Good luck with your build!

[Eziv]

Originally Posted by jmhumr

Has anyone determined if we can retrofit this?

Today I drove a rental that had this new instrument cluster. Maybe it was because I was expecting more, but it just seemed so cheap-looking and useless. The most disappointing thing for me is that it doesn’t add anything new; it just digitally mimics the analogue dials — i mean, why(?). Whereas Audi and others install actual LCDs which can show nav maps between the dials and lets you customise the cluster, the BMW chooses this. .. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised that this was another cost cutting.

So.. think again if you really need and want to retrofit this — even if that is possible.

[YellowCone]

To be fair Eziv that cluster in your pic is the entry model. It’s the new style update for SE models, but the higher spec models do in fact get a larger display with all the features you allude to. Admittedly the top two dials are still analogue but still it is more impressive than this entry version.

[Boosh99]

Originally Posted by Eziv

Today I drove a rental that had this new instrument cluster. Maybe it was because I was expecting more, but it just seemed so cheap-looking and useless. The most disappointing thing for me is that it doesn't add anything new; it just digitally mimics the analogue dials — i mean, why(?). Whereas Audi and others install actual LCDs which can show nav maps between the dials and lets you customise the cluster, the BMW chooses this. .. I honestly wouldn't be surprised that this was another cost cutting.

So.. think again if you really need and want to retrofit this — even if that is possible.

Thanks for the feedback, having come from 2 Audi's (and even these two didn't have full dash graphics to display maps), the BMW dash display feels a generation behind for digital content. Their iDrive system and graphics in centre of dash as well as connectivity are a generation or two ahead of where my Audi's were(particularly in Australia where Audi crippled functionality).
In terms of retrofit, I was only hoping for coding changes, not a physical dash change.

[Douggie]

Originally Posted by Eziv

Today I drove a rental that had this new instrument cluster. Maybe it was because I was expecting more, but it just seemed so cheap-looking and useless. The most disappointing thing for me is that it doesn’t add anything new; it just digitally mimics the analogue dials — i mean, why(?). Whereas Audi and others install actual LCDs which can show nav maps between the dials and lets you customise the cluster, the BMW chooses this. .. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised that this was another cost cutting.

So.. think again if you really need and want to retrofit this — even if that is possible.
Attachment 1826922

The reason why you think it's mimicking the analogue dials is because they are still really analogue. They just put a heavily tinted screen on top of everything, so you can barely see the dials when it's off. It is not the latest and greatest, but like YellowCone mentioned, it's still a nice step up from the super base cluster.

With today's super mass production of LCDs (TVs, mobile devices), it is cheaper (hardware-wise) to make a LCD screen because it doesn't involve assembly of moving mechanical parts. The LCDs are also easily programmable so that they do not need to keep separate inventory for different models and different measuring units (US vs metric), so that saves them a ton of holding costs.

For me, it's not worth the money to upgrade because the difference is minimal. Besides, it's better to keep your eyes on the road