Two years ago, BMW first enabled drivers to control an externally-mounted GoPro action camera from inside the cabin of their vehicle.
Now, the luxury automaker is taking its GoPro integration a step further. Beginning this summer, new downloads and updates of the BMW M Laptimer app will include integration for the action cameras.
So, when BMW drivers launch the M Laptimer app in their iDrive system, they'll see a GoPro tab. Clicking it will give users the ability to control a GoPro camera on their iOS devices, using the automaker's iDrive controller and high-resolution screen.
All recorded footage will not only be saved on the camera itself, but also as a low-resolution version on users' iOS devices. Pretty cool. There isn't any word, as of press time, on whether integration will be available for Android devices as well.
"The BMW M Laptimer and GoPro integrations have both proven to be incredibly popular with driving enthusiasts. From the time that we launched the first in-car integration for a GoPro camera, bringing that integration together with the BMW M Laptimer seemed like the natural way to really enhance the track driving experience," Christian Schmid, senior development engineer of the BMW Group Technology Office USA, said in the company's press release statement Thursday. "This allows us to provide BMW drivers the ability to safely capture and share their track experience."
With the integration, the BMW M Laptimer app's record button prompts GoPro's camera to begin recording with the stop button ending the taping on both the app and the camera simultaneously. With the playback version that appears on your phone, you'll be able to use controls such as play and pause and scrub back and forth between the footage with the playback time displayed above the video image.
Although GoPro doesn't come out and say it, it's almost as if the action camera company thinks that any automaker that doesn't follow suit is behind the curve of BMW.
"The GoPro and BMW collaboration set a new standard in the category when it launched in 2014," Adam Silver, GoPro's director of strategic product partnerships, said as part of BMW's press release. "Since then, BMW has continued to innovate, demonstrating a passion for creating a cutting-edge user experience to enable drivers to capture and share their driving experience."
