Earlier this 2022, Volkswagen updated its MIB 3.0 modular infotainment matrix software. The evolution brought new features like more information in the digital gauge cluster, Travel Assist, and Park Assist Plus, as per Yahoo News.
In addition, it tried to amend a few defects some have complained about since MIB’s debut. It speeds response times to touch inputs, improves touch recognition, tweaks the user experience, and adds over-the-air (OTA) updates, so owners don’t have to drive to the dealer for enhancements.
Notably, the components remain, such as the capacitive buttons, the non-illuminated volume and HVAC controls, and some button placement. Brand chief Thomas Schäfer spoke to Car magazine at the 2022 LA Auto Show and pledged continuous updates over the coming two years.
Meetings about software updates
He explained the uproar from buyers and testers had gotten so bad that the Volkswagen Group Board stepped in and continues to be involved in monthly meetings regarding the system.
The first task was to figure out the brand identity, then the specific model identity. Then, it is about creating a logic to functionality and ergonomics for the brands and models that use the system by asking questions like, “What are the top 10 functions that customers always need?” and adding those on the hard buttons’ first level.
The secondary function is then decided and set. Once that is decided, Schäfer, stated the imperative is “Keep it the bloody same. Don’t change it around!”
It was said the board meetings are not merely discussions but also for trying out improvements, “the [technical] team puts together mock-ups, and we sit down and try them.”
One can say: “This doesn’t really work. Who the hell did this? Next!” More frequent clinics get random outsiders of all ages and abilities to test new ideas. “
“If you listen carefully,” Schäfer said, “you find out what you should and shouldn’t do.”
All of this sounds so easy. However, so many easy and good ideas get pushed overboard when a company wants to be first, and everything is sacrificed to make the deadline.
Module Infotainment System 3.0
The MIB 3.0 overhaul starts as soon as “in the next few weeks” with a software update, but what it contains remains unknown.
Meanwhile, now that over-the-air updates are part of the mix, incremental tweaks will come faster. By 2023, all of the sliders will be illuminated, and revamped steering wheels launching on the new Tiguan will start the return of physical buttons to the cockpit.
Additional hardware changes in 2024
Into 2024, additional hardware changes will carry on. Furthermore, the hardware needs the most time thanks to the VW’s size. Schäfer calls the physical revisions “a monumental task – because you have to change 100 tools and so many suppliers globally to change it into something new.”
The ID.7 sedan and Tiguan are anticipated to show up sometime in 2023.
