At the New York International Auto Show, BMW announced the integration of Android apps into the iDrive system of the 2016 BMW 7 Series, along with the first three apps that will be supported by the feature.
The three apps, all of which are music oriented, are Pandora, Spotify and iHeartRadio. The integration, so far, will only be for the aforementioned vehicle.
The integration makes it possible for drivers and passengers to operate the apps through the user interface of the vehicle's iDrive system, removing the need to do so through the Android device.
Through the feature, users can give a thumbs up or a thumbs down to a song that they are listening to in Pandora, access and browse playlists on Spotify and listen to saved Favorites on iHeartRadio.
The three music apps were probably chosen by BMW as the first ones to receive integration as drivers will find it easy to safely operate them.
BMW has supported such a function for the iOS since 2011, and five years later, the same feature has started to roll out to Android apps.
It should be noted, however, that this new feature is different from Android Auto. While BMW has previously said that it will support both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay in vehicles that it will release in the future, the car company is in the meantime integrating specific apps to the dashboard of its vehicles.
To activate the feature in the 2016 BMW 7 Series, users will have to first download the BMW Connected app from the Google Play Store. They should then pair up their Android device with the vehicle, and then choose integration through the user interface of the car's iDrive system.
The feature is only currently available in the 2016 BMW 7 Series, but the company said that it will also be released in other BMW and Mini vehicles soon.
Other plans recently revealed by BMW include the iNEXT autonomous electric vehicle, which is expected to hit roads closer to the start of the next decade.
