I rented a car with CarPlay last year for a couple weeks and it was nice but not earth-shattering. I'd pick it as an option on a new car, but if it added a ton of money to the sticker price (or, as with BMW, the ****ers wanted me to rent the feature), I'd be pretty comfortable just skipping it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I did a 3rd party wried/wireless CarPlay on my wife's Mercedes. It's quite nice, IMHO, as it added a number of nice on screen integrations such as map, caller ID, etc. What I like is instead of TouchScreen you just use the MB Dial or steering wheel controls. It also allowed me to hookup a backup camera. YMMV
all this tech and they can't even install working blinkers...
Those are subscription only after the free 3 month trial...
What's the point of the grill in an electric car? Is this just a design choice as the grill on a BMW is widely recognisable?
Brand recognition. BMW's kidney grills have been a standard design feature as iconic as the blue and white roundel.
I don't think BMW knows what it's doing with their design. Why does the i4 and the iX have huge fake grills even though it's an electric vehicle? I don't mind the big grills that much when it's on an ICE vehicle, because at least it's functional. What the heck does an electric vehicle need those huge kidneys for?
As I replied above, they are an iconic part of BMW's design, although the designers have gone overboard; a design element attributed to the aesthetic qualities preferred in Asia, especially China, which BMW sees as a large growth area and thus wants appealing designs.