Rotary BMW iDrive controller is officially dead: all hail the touchscreen!

Auto Express can confirm that the trusty BMW iDrive controller is officially dead, as the brand goes all-in on touchscreens for its next-generation interior layout, which has just been revealed in full at CES 2025 in Las Vegas.

The rotary iDrive Controller was first featured in the E65-generation BMW 7 Series launched in 2001, and was used to reduce the number of buttons on the car’s dashboard. BMW was steadily preparing us for this moment, as some of its models like the latest 1 Series, X1 and 2 Series don’t come with a rotary dial.

It was explained to us that the decision to axe the iDrive controller was based on data collected from more than a million BMW drivers that have opted into sharing information with the brand, which revealed how infrequently the rotary dial is being used nowadays. 

Usage of the iDrive controller has been dropping significantly year by year, we’re told. Motorists in China apparently use the iDrive controller slightly more than those in the US or Europe, meanwhile drivers travelling on Germany’s autobahns also prefer to use the rotary dial for inputting information or interacting with the infotainment screen.

Joern Freyer, vice president of user experience development at BMW, added: “You have more and more third-party applications and these are absolutely not optimised for a rotary dial. 

“Spotify and Apple CarPlay are also quite a hustle with the knob because all of these apps are designed for a touch interface. So people are increasingly using voice commands and using touch, so that's why we took the knob out.”

All of BMW’s next-generation ‘Neue Klasse’ models will feature the new Panoramic iDrive interior design and technology, the first being the new BMW iX3 that’s being revealed towards the end of the year. Following in 2026 will be the new BMW 3 Series and, in all likelihood, the new BMW X5, both of which we’ve spied testing. 

It’s worth noting that the rotary iDrive controller isn’t being removed from existing models, such as the BMW iX – the facelifted version of which is due to arrive soon – or the latest-generation 5 Series that recently arrived in showrooms.

Are touchscreens a good thing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section...