Some new BMWs will reportedly come without Android Auto and Apple CarPlay

BMW is temporarily delivering some new vehicles without support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay after a chip supplier change, according to a report by Automotive News Europe (about 9to5Google). The new vendor’s chips are reportedly not yet compatible with Android Auto and CarPlay, and will require an update for the software to work.

“The chips that will be installed in these cars in the first four months of this year will require updated software to be fully functional and to offer Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and Wi-Fi capability,” BMW said in an e-mail. Mail sent statement to Automotive News Europe. BMW did not respond immediately The edge‘s request for comment.

However, drivers might not have to wait too long to get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support. This was announced by the automaker Automotive News Europe that it plans to roll out an over-the-air (OTA) update to make the functionality available “by the end of June at the latest.”

BMW hasn’t specified which car models are affected or how many, but vehicles with “6P1” in their production code will not come with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. It’s unclear if only certain regions are affected by the issue – Automotive News Europe says drivers from the US, UK, Italy, Spain and France have reported receiving their new vehicles without either feature.

This isn’t the first sacrifice BMW has made to the chip shortage. Last November, BMW confirmed it had stopped shipping some of its new vehicles without touchscreens and backup assistants, in exchange for giving affected drivers a $500 credit.

Other car companies such as General Motors were also severely affected by the shortage. GM has dropped wireless charging on a number of vehicles, dropped a fuel management module from some of its trucks, and dropped the driverless Super Cruise feature in the 2022 Cadillac Escalade. More recently, Ford temporarily began shipping and selling Explorer SUVs without rear heating and air conditioning controls.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger predicts that chip shortages, which are affecting a number of industries in different ways, could last into 2024.