April 2018 Update:
Again, since this forum doesn't allow edits, I'll just update here and hope people read it through to the end. I recently read this from the beginning and there's a couple things that are outdated or could use clarification:
- Coding the DSP Amp - This was initially a major hurdle as you needed to have a working laptop with the BMW Software Tools suite, NCSExpert, and so on. However, the new v2.0 iBus app allows this coding to be performed from within the app. It's very easy and simple to do.
- Resler interface connection - I didn't know at the time of my original install, but the Xtrons adapter harness which sits behind the head unit has extra wiring in place that mates perfectly with the Resler interface. 12V, Gnd, & bus are all available once you cut off the extra square connector, which you should do anyway for packaging reasons. The connection method I described earlier is still valid, but wiring the interface to the Xtrons harness accomplishes the same thing and saves you $5 in BMW-sepcific connector parts - your choice
- The v2.0 app is a huge step forward. Lots of great features and I'm excited to see what's next.
My impressions of the unit after 3 months:
- The instant resume from sleep is outstanding. As soon as I turn the key, the system is up and ready. I don't even recommend changing the boot screen since you'll never see it.
- Spotify on the head unit is better, after changing the auto-bandwidth settings from "Auto" to "normal". Evidently, in Auto mode the Spotify app sees a full strength Wifi signal and assumes you are sitting at home with unlimited bandwidth, so it tries to stream with very little buffering. This leads to music skipping and so on. If you save the music to the head unit, obviously there's no buffering issue at all. And with 32GB of onboard storage + another 32GB MicroSD, there's really no good reason not to save music to the unit...
- iPod - There is an iPod menu item available, but it does not work with my iPhone 7. Perhaps it would work with an old school iPod? Although the argument could be made that you move all that music from your iTunes library to a SD card and use the included music app (or something like PowerAmp) to just play the music and leave the iPod out of it. If anyone wants to try it, the iPod app can be enabled from within the factory settings (password 126)
- Navigation really shines with an active network connection. Waze is great to have as Nav/Traffic/Police and I could see this being invaluable on a long trip. Using my iPhone as a hotspot works great once connected, but it's tedious to get going as the phone doesn't allow the unit to auto-connect. I have to go into Settings->Personal Hotspot every time and that's a pain for short trips.
- While the active network connection is great for waze, I find it to be of limited use for most other things. I have Google Maps, Google, Gmail, etc on the head unit but it's not like I'm going to type an email or search for a restaurant on the head unit. And that's not a slam of this unit in particular - Ergonomically it's awkward & frustratingly slow to try and one-finger type on any upright screen mounted to your dash. The reality is I'm going to grab my phone and just do it there because it's more comfortable and much faster using both thumbs to type. The trick becomes how do I get directions to the restaurant from my phone to the head unit screen? So far, CarPlay has filled that void nicely. I suspect Android Auto would be very similar. I initially considered the CarPlay interface to be an optional piece of this but now I consider it to be a crucial component of how I use the system on a daily basis
- DSP Amp Volume. Much like it was with the Dynavin, this continues to be a source of minor annoyances and unpredictability. Sometimes you start the car and it works beautifully. Other times, not so much. At this point, I think I'm keeping the DSP amp out of sheer stubbornness moreso than any real "ease" of installation or use. lol