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Siri 'Eyes Free' Coming to 2014 BMW Models

B

Black107

macrumors regular
Jun 5, 2009
127
71
KindredMAC said:
Can I retro fit my 2004 X5 with this? ;)
Click to expand...

Short answer, mostly yes.

I installed the components in this DIY about a year and a half ago in my 2002 3-series. I'm pretty sure the 3-series and X5 of that vintage (E46 and E53 respectively) used the same nav and head units so it probably works for either. Cost maybe $130-150 between Amazon and Ebay.

With this setup I have

  • Bluetooth phone over the car speakers (had to run a mic as my car didn't come with factory bluetooth module+mic)
  • Answer and hang up calls with the steering wheel buttons
  • Siri over car speakers/mic by pressing the voice command button on steering wheel.
  • Holding the voice command button executes redial.

It's not perfect, but combined with a spec dock + audio cable for music, it's keeping my ~12 year old car feeling fairly new and "high tech".

Not having to use a bluetooth headset or shudder iPhone headphones is worth it alone.
 
GSPice

GSPice

macrumors 68000
Nov 24, 2008
1,632
89
Jaredly said:
Please people do not use this while driving!!! It seems safer but it is not!! I have done studies at the university of Massachusetts that proves that hands free interaction with a cell phone is no safer than hands on interaction. You are still 5x more likely to crash using a phone hands free than no phone at all. Siri is a cool idea but it should not be used In a car.
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Chupa Chupa said:
In that case all passengers, especially pets and children should be disallowed in cars. You should do a study on crash rates with rambunctious kids in the back seat or an overly playful dog. Or maybe a chatty SO.

Bottomline: life is dangerous. The nannystate can't prevent it.
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Jaredly said:
We have done studies with kids and that is dangerous but that can not be prevented. As for other passengers; if you have up to 2 passengers in the car it is safer than driving alone but more than that the rate of crashes increases (all of our experiments are done on a simulator). Obviously some things have to be done and we must learn to live with the danger. But is it essential to have Siri write down something on your Calder while you drive? You can wait the 20 min to write that down when you're done driving. This seems pretty careless to me.

I understand some dangerous driving behavior can't be stopped but that doesn't mean we should use this since it is so easily avoidable.
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Chupa Chupa said:
See my post above yours.

But directly to your post... we lived without cars for even more than 100 years. Before the early 1900s virtually no one died from a car accident. Back then people were saying it was a dangerous machine and should not be allowed in the public's hands... sound familiar?

Today we'd say banning cars wouldn't be pragmatic. But then why isn't hands-free a pragmatic compromise to hands-on operation, especially when enforcing the prohibition of the latter is not effective? It seems to me that people will naturally use hands-free if available. Nobody wants to take their hands off the wheel.




But I'm not talking about playing with a phone. I'm talking about asking short requests to a voice operated computer, which is what Siri is. And guess what, many cars, including BMWs already have voice command, which sometimes works, sometimes not. I've yet to hear the consumers safety commission or anyone else suggested voice command is more dangerous than actually physically changing the A/C temp or radio station, things which require one to look away from the road.
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So true. No matter how many "studies," well-meaning politicians (oxymoron?), and advancements in technology, you can't ban stupid - or legislate common sense. I don't need an expensive study to realize that not concentrating on the road while driving is dangerous.

Ironically, in my experience, eating while driving made me quite nervous; I was comfortable however with my ability to concentrate on the road while talking on the phone.

Sorry Jaredly, you're throwing water on the wrong fire.
 
C

Crzyrio

macrumors 68000
Jul 6, 2010
1,586
1,110
Jaredly said:
We have done studies with kids and that is dangerous but that can not be prevented. As for other passengers; if you have up to 2 passengers in the car it is safer than driving alone but more than that the rate of crashes increases (all of our experiments are done on a simulator). Obviously some things have to be done and we must learn to live with the danger. But is it essential to have Siri write down something on your Calder while you drive? You can wait the 20 min to write that down when you're done driving. This seems pretty careless to me.

I understand some dangerous driving behavior can't be stopped but that doesn't mean we should use this since it is so easily avoidable.
Click to expand...

The way I see it, I would much rather people use siri to do something that have the phone in their hands and attempting to multitask
 
A

abz1981

macrumors 65816
Jan 3, 2011
1,013
4
I wonder when Siri 'Eyes Free' will be available for Audi's. One question I want to know is that do you think this feature can be available as a software update on your car. Or would you have to buy a new model?

Surely they can provide some sort of software update and not need to buy a new car.
 
FirstNTenderbit

FirstNTenderbit

macrumors 6502
Jan 15, 2013
355
0
Atlanta
Tankmaze said:
interesting to see that apple can command the automotive industry to use this feature. but this is probably because the iPod success as a music player that made this, and this is probably why google and other companies won't be catching up soon with this kind of thing.
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Someone only read the title,not the OP. Samsung S Voice included as well.
 
M

MikBe

macrumors member
Jan 25, 2013
42
4
Chupa Chupa said:
In that case all passengers, especially pets and children should be disallowed in cars. You should do a study on crash rates with rambunctious kids in the back seat or an overly playful dog. Or maybe a chatty SO.

Bottomline: life is dangerous. The nannystate can't prevent it.
Click to expand...

Well, it is the case.

When you speak to people you visualize the things you are talking about, like the person's face. This uses the visual cortex and takes away from your ability to process what you're seeing in the real world.

When you are driving you have one thing to do: drive. Anything else is a distraction.

So yes, distractions in the car are equally dangerous. Instead of being a horrible parent with children everyone hates you should teach your children how to behave. Instead of letting your dog sit on your lap and stick its head out the window you should buy a cage for the back or put them in a carrier.

If you can't do those things get off the road until you can: driving is a privilege, not a right.

Regarding our Nanny State mentality: when you act like a child don't be surprise when people treat you like one.

If we don't join the din of silly voices that say, "They ought to make a law!" every time someone does something we don't like we might make a dent in getting rid of the Nanny State. But as long as we have people acting like children then screaming at anyone that tells them to cut it out we'll always have one.
 
K

ks-man

macrumors 6502a
Sep 25, 2007
742
15
So it will work with Siri and SVoice but not Google Now? GNow is much better than SVoice.
 
macs4nw

macs4nw

macrumors 601
Sep 21, 2010
4,336
1,933
Next-door from the little old lady from Pasadena..
Chupa Chupa said:
.....Today we'd say banning cars wouldn't be pragmatic. But then why isn't hands-free a pragmatic compromise to hands-on operation, especially when enforcing the prohibition of the latter is not effective? It seems to me that people will naturally use hands-free if available. Nobody wants to take their hands off the wheel.....
Click to expand...

True enough, and there is no substitute, legislated or not, for a healthy dose of common sense. I've lately actually noticed some drivers on their cellphones, pulled over. Maybe they were just killing time, but it was good to see anyway.

Future voice control in all cars, thru Siri or other, is definitely an improvement over the status quo, imho.
 
S

sjwr

macrumors member
Oct 21, 2011
53
6
United States
software update

Hope the very simple "press and hold button" feature comes as software update for all models with iDrive.
 
A

AndiS.

macrumors regular
Dec 16, 2012
181
0
as much as I love some BMWs, the company has a bewildering approach to updating their cars with new software and features . New features require buying a new car, and that will probably be the same with this feature. It should be so easy to offer features like BMW Apps on cars pre 2010, but somehow BMW does not necessarily want to keep their customers happy that way.

You can update a two year old $200 phone with the latest OS, no problem. But updating your two year old $70,000 car with the latest BMW software is a no-go (unless one is into DIY retrofitting etc.). This borders on arrogance, and actually makes me not want to buy from that company again. I'm not saying those features are too important when buying a car, but it's the least I would expect from BMW, that they offer updates, as opposed to making expensive extras outdated within months.

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macs4nw said:
True enough, and there is no substitute, legislated or not, for a healthy dose of common sense. I've lately actually noticed some drivers on their cellphones, pulled over. Maybe they were just killing time, but it was good to see anyway.

Future voice control in all cars, thru Siri or other, is definitely an improvement over the status quo, imho.
Click to expand...

I never noticed that, but I do see many clowns here driving with a phone pressed to the ear, in cars I know to be equipped with hands-free Bluetooth systems. I might start pulling them over myself soon.
 
J

Jsameds

Suspended
Apr 22, 2008
3,525
7,987
Galaxy S4 stops functioning when you look away, Siri starts functioning when you look away :cool:
 
The Tuck

The Tuck

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2003
427
55
I use Siri in my car fairly regularly over Bluetooth. Unfortunately, when I'm driving above 25 mph, the ambient noise is so much that over the internal car mic, Siri can barely understand what I'm trying to say.

It's a little better if I use the built in phone microphone, but that's not as safe an option. We need better ambient noise reduction in cars for this kind of thing to be functional!

Tuck

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punitnaker said:
Anyone know which iPhone car holder they are using in the picture?
Click to expand...

I don't know which one they're showing in the picture, but I cannot recommend the ProClip enough. I have an air vent mount in my car and LOVE it!
 
3

3282868

macrumors 603
Jan 8, 2009
5,281
0
The Tuck said:
I use Siri in my car fairly regularly over Bluetooth. Unfortunately, when I'm driving above 25 mph, the ambient noise is so much that over the internal car mic, Siri can barely understand what I'm trying to say.
Click to expand...

What kind of car you drive? I have an '13 Infiniti G37xS and use Siri over bluetooth. Haven't had a problem recently. Initially Siri was a hot mess, requiring constant changes to dictated messages and commands. I have noticed huge improvements now. The only issue is holding down the button to initiate Siri. It simply seems BMW added a button to the steering column to initiate Siri.

Check out the 2014 Infiniti line due this July. They partnered with Mercedes/Daimler, and revamped all their models with Q(model number) reflecting sedans/sport vehicles and QX for all four-wheel drive models. The new tech is pretty impressive, with Siri and other mobile device integration via a second, larger display and apps such as Pandora, Facebook, Google, calendar/contact syncing, etc. The navigation simply requires tapping the destination point and the system calculates the route. NFC/Bluetooth integration for personalized driver settings. When synced all your settings - seating, climate, mirrors, music, apps, contacts, calendar, driving modes, etc. automatically load.
 
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