Announcement about bmw The addition of a monthly subscription to heated seats didn’t sit well with its users, who break into cars to get the service for free.
bmw is testing a subscription model for seat heaters in its vehicles in South Korea, charging $18 per month or a one-time fee of $415 for access.
Against
Users are complaining because bmw does not charge any additional services other than those already included in their cars.
wired He points out that companies like Britain’s Litchfield Motors, for example, modify the chips and can “help” owners with other digital features, including pay-as-you-go heated seats.
bmw made similar moves in the past. The German automaker sparked a similar controversy in 2018. Then he launched a program that made customers pay $80 a year to enjoy wireless Apple CarPlay. Soon after, he turned things around to get more clients and changed the program to include 240 months (yes, 20 years) for just $300.
Criticism of the model
There is criticism of the project, since in the case of heated seats, the owners already have all the necessary components, but bmw it simply put a software lock on its functionality, which buyers have to pay to remove. For some software features that may incur ongoing costs for the automaker (such as automatic traffic camera alerts), charging a subscription fee seems more reasonable. But that’s not a problem with heated seats.
Other features that bmw blocks subscriptions (according to the company’s UK digital store), including a heated steering wheel from $12 per month; the ability to record images from your car’s cameras for $235 for “unlimited” use; and the “IconicSounds Sport package”, which allows you to play engine sounds in your car for a one-time fee of $117.
We recommend you METADATA, an RPP tech podcast. News, analytics, reviews, recommendations and everything you need to know about the world of technology. To hear better, #StayHome.
Source: RPP
I’m Liza Grey, an experienced news writer and author at the Buna Times. I specialize in writing about economic issues, with a focus on uncovering stories that have a positive impact on society. With over seven years of experience in the news industry, I am highly knowledgeable about current events and the ways in which they affect our daily lives.