BMW’s iDrive infotainment system is undergoing a radical change. This week, the automaker rolled out a “close-to-production” version of its backbone software infrastructure at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

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After 24 years of service, BMW is officially retiring the iDrive knob, a feature first introduced in the 2001 7 Series. The move coincides with the debut of

Central Display: This is the screen we've all come to expect in any new car, from the Tesla Model 3 to the Hyundai Ioniq 9. BMW still uses its touchscreen menu from the current iDrive, but now, up to six different widgets can be swiped from the display onto the windshield.

The terminology, in typical Germanic fashion, is a little confusing. The entire system is called "Panoramic iDrive," with “Panoramic Vision” being the funky horizontal band display across the whole dash; meanwhile, the all-new software the whole enchilada runs on is named “BMW Operating System X.”

BMW’s brand new operating system the iDrive OS X will feature in the upcoming Neue Klasse models and is its biggest change in 25 years

German carmaker BMW pulled the wraps off the Panoramic iDrive system and the Operating System X that will go into the Neue Klasse vehicles

Pour one out for the iDrive knob. Nearly a quarter-century after debuting in production form back in 2001 in the E65/E66-generation 7 Series and becoming a staple of the carmaker's models, BMW is retiring the trusty click-wheel controller with the arrival of its newest Panoramic iDrive system.

The once controversial-turned-iconic infotainment system controller interface will soon be officially retired.

BMW has introduced the new Panoramic iDrive and Operating System X at CES. It combines infotainment with a customizable pillar-to-pillar Panoramic Vision display. Instead of using a knob, Panoramic iDrive relies heavily on the steering wheel.