BMW i5's AirConsole gaming review

Cars are getting smarter and smarter these days - large touchscreens, capable chipsets, more and more cameras - they even have batteries now. See where we're going? Cars, electric ones in particular, are becoming more and more like smartphones.

And as that's happening, they've also become better and better integrated with our smartphones than ever before. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have gone wireless and expand your phone of choice to your car's main screen. BMW is going even further with AirConsole.

AirConsole is an integrated gaming platform that lives on the BMW i5 M60's 14.9-inch curved infotainment screen and uses your smartphone as a controller - even better, you can play with your fellow passengers.

AirConsole has around 15 or so titles at the time of writing, and they include sports, racing, quick, and music quiz ones. We're particularly fond of Burning Rubber' and Golazo!

To start playing, install the app on your phone (available on both Android and iOS), choose AirConsole from the main screen in the BMW i5, and scan the QR code to connect.

You can play alone in competition mode, or against anybody else that might be in the car with you. That includes the rear passengers as well. It's a neat way to kill some time and perhaps the best one to spend the 30-ish minutes it takes for the BMW i5 M60 to charge its 81.2kWh battery to 80%.

You can play with multiple people

We used the iQOO 12 as a controller. It's the perfect fit given that it's a gaming phone, equipped with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, and comes with a BMW Motorsport badge on the back.

Choosing a game and controlling it

The phone shows different controls on-screen, depending on the game you choose. Controls are nicely thought-out - buttons are very large and spaced across the phone's display in a way that you won't accidentally bump the wrong button.

You should check out our detailed review of the BMW i5 over at our sister-site ArenaEV.com.

BMW and AirConsole will expand the portfolio of games, but even now you have enough choice to provide hours of fun for the entire family.

Currently, the BMW X5 M, X6 M, the Xm, the i7 M70, the X5 M60i, X60i and the M760e have AirConsole. BMW will trickle the app to the 7 series, the iX (produced after March 2023), and the non-M X5, X6, and X7 series.