German automobile manufacturer BMW is diving into the world of microtransactions for some of its vehicle features.
BMW has been putting features behind a subscription paywall since 2020, with heated seats being the newest addition in countries like Germany, New Zealand, the U.K., South Africa and now South Korea.
This reminds me a bit of the failed DivX video format, which came out
soon after the DVD disc format came out in the late 90s - You'd buy basically a DVD movie (though at a lower price), and every time you watched it, you would pay a fee (something like $3). A DivX player
would need to be connected to a phone line so that it could call and charge your card for watching the movie. That system quickly failed as
it didn't become popular.
Sadly people have been now programmed to think subscription based services (or even products) are the norm. I expect
this trend to continue. Heck some of the high end cars have system that check to see if a part is suppose to be in
Sadly people have been now programmed to think subscription based services (or even products) are the norm. I expect this trend to continue. Heck some of the high end cars have system that check to see if a part is suppose to be in that car and if not, it doesn't work even though electrically it should. My friend had that issue with some headlights he bought, Even though they were for that car, the serialnumber from the headlights didn't match what was in the allowed database, so they didn't work. Took 3 months of back and forth from the car maker to get a software update to his car (via the dealership which he had to also pay for) to allow the headlights to work again.
Customers can also opt for a heated steering wheel, though
that too comes at an additional cost of roughly $13 CAD per
month
https://mobilesyrup.com/2022/07/12/bmw-heated-seats-
subscription-plan-kore a/
German automobile manufacturer BMW is diving into the world of microtransactions for some of its vehicle features.
This is one of the most disgusting facts, or things that I'm worried about, concerning smart-vehicles.
German automobile manufacturer BMW is diving into the world of
microtransactions for some of its vehicle features.
This is one of the most disgusting facts, or things that I'm worried about, concerning smart-vehicles.
I wonder how long it will be before we see some auto manufacturer take someone to court because that customer figured out how to enable these features on their own without paying them.
This is one of the most disgusting facts, or things that I'm worried about, concerning smart-vehicles.
I agree. In one sense, I feel like they're taking the easy route in requiring customers to repeatedly pay for something over and over again, rather than always being able to use it because they bought it up-front. If they can make money from these feature subscriptions, maybe they
won't have to innovate as much when making new cars.
I agree. In one sense, I feel like they're taking the easy route in
requiring customers to repeatedly pay for something over and over
again, rather than always being able to use it because they bought
We're all saying basically the same thing, but what I think is disgusting about it is that the feature is already BUILT IN. Its not even like
I wonder how long it will be before we see some auto manufacturer
take someone to court because that customer figured out how to
enable these features on their own without paying them.
Hopefully never - it seems the right to repair is coming along in our country, altho it could move a lot quicker IMO... I wonder where hacking, or 'breaking' a factory paywall would land in that whole scheme of things.
BMW has been putting features behind a subscription paywall since 2020, with heated seats being the newest addition in countries like Germany, Zealand, the U.K., South Africa and now South Korea.
I heard about that. It seems a bit ridiculous to me to buy something that h ou pay for the car when you buy it, rather than having a subscription to use
I mean... where does it end? They could put a dollar sign on every
single function of the vehicle.
I heard about that. It seems a bit ridiculous to me to buy something
that h ou pay for the car when you buy it, rather than having a
subscription to use
It is specially ridiculous because you can just purchase a separate heatpad instead of paying the subscription.
But then nobody should buy a BMW as long as they keep being dicks by placing resources the car already possesses behind a paywall.
I mean... where does it end? They could put a dollar sign on every
single function of the vehicle.
Hmm, they could charge you a nickel every time your turn signal lights up.
Hmm, they could charge you a nickel every time your turn signal light
No, they should pay people for using the turn signal. Even with turn signals being free to use, there are already too many people who don't
use them.
No, they should pay people for using the turn signal. Even with
turn signals being free to use, there are already too many people
who don't use them.
BMW drivers being a prime culprit.
I hear people say that, but in my observations, it's not jut BMW
drivers. It seems drivers of any luxury (or other high-end) vehicle, and trucks, are far less likely to use their turn signals than other
drivers. I'm not sure what it is about those particular types of vehicles, but drivers not using their turn signals is one of my pet peeves. I feel like it's like they feel entitled and think they don't need to alert other people about what they're going to do.
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