Heated Seats:
BMW is now selling subscriptions for heated seats in a number of temperate countries.
To heat your BMW’s front seats costs $18/month or subscribe for a year at $180, 3 years at $300, or a lifetime access at $415.
The thing is, the cars already come with heated seats, these are NOT additional new components.
BMW simply placed a software block on their functionality that buyers have to pay to remove.
It’s understandable to pay extra when the “high-end feature” is hardware-centric.
But in this case, the hardware is there, the software is the limiting factor.
Other features locked behind subscriptions include heated steering wheels ($12/month), dashcam ($235 lifetime) and engine sounds ($117 lifetime).
BMW notes that “the hardware for this feature has already been installed in your vehicle during production, at no extra cost.” How generous.
So, buyers will be getting 100% of the car but can’t use 100% of the car unless they pay extra. 🤷🏻♂️
For those thinking, “I won’t buy a BMW” or “It’s just $18, why does it matter?”, this is when the dominos topple and soon every automaker is gonna normalise microtransactions in their cars. All for the sake of that sweet Monthly Recurring Revenue.
Microtransactions, planned obsolescence and right to repair are issues created from the lack of any regulatory oversight in the tech industry. If left unchecked, can get even more predatory. Although I don’t need heated seats in Malaysia, this TikTok got my butt pretty fired up, ngl.
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