No, BMW Isn’t Charging $18/Month For Heated Seats in The US—But It Might One Day

But what these headlines don’t say is that BMW is “only” charging owners month-to-month for luxury services in a few countries, which doesn’t include the US. That isn’t to say the subscription model isn’t important, but if you were dreaming of using your new BMW’s heated seats in the States this coming winter, you needn’t pick up your pitchfork quite yet.

So far, BMW has begun charging monthly for perks in South Korea, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK, according to official BMW web pages first spotted by The Verge. (The South Korean sales page seems to have since been taken down.) Drivers in the UK, for instance, will need to pay the equivalent of nearly $18 USD each month in order to use their vehicles’ heated seats feature. (A year costs about $178, three years $297, and “unlimited” access $415.) Toasty seats aren’t the only subscription-based feature: BMW’s “high beam assistant” (which switches off high beams in the face of oncoming traffic), adaptive suspension, steering wheel heating, and full sound systems are also behind a monthly paywall, despite already existing inside the car.

BMW’s interest in making its vehicles’ most indulgent features subscription-based is odd, considering the old Apple CarPlay incident of 2018. Back then the automaker attempted to charge drivers $80 per year for CarPlay, even as other companies’ far less expensive vehicles included CarPlay for free. This, predictably, elicited the type of confusion and rage that seems to have returned now, four years later. Eventually BMW caved, making CarPlay standard across all of its new vehicles. BMW seems to have forgotten this experience—or heavily relied on the world’s relatively rapid (yet reluctant) embrace of subscription everything.

Considering BMW’s cheapest vehicle is about $36,000 off the lot, it’s understandable that owners are incensed by the automaker’s audacity to charge for pre-installed features, even if the model hasn’t made its way to certain countries yet. After all, if you’re paying for a vehicle with such luxuries as heated seats and a premium sound system, you probably expect to be able to access those luxuries. Did I mention they’re already there?

Continue reading

Apple Might Bring Wireless Charging to the Next iPad Pro

The next iPad Pro refresh could feature wireless charging and a glass back panel, says Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

How USB Charging Works, or How to Avoid Blowing Up Your Phone

If you take a phone that came with a 900mA wall charger and plug it into a 2,100mA iPad charger, will it explode?

Microsoft Surface Duo 2 Pops Up at FCC With 5G, NFC, and Wireless Charging

Microsoft has a Surface hardware event on the agenda for Wednesday (September 22), but an FCC filing might have just spilled the beans. The document reveals some notable details on the alleged Surface Duo 2, a follow-up to Microsoft's first Android phone in 2020.

Apple Reportedly Working on Long Distance Wireless and Reverse Charging Tech

Apple never did deliver its AirPower charging pad, but it could offer up something even better in the future.