Android Auto & Apple Carplay for BMW - Chigee AIO-5 Play tested

The navigator with ConnectedRide system developed and offered by BMW has some advantages. It's perfectly integrated into the bike, can be controlled via the bike's switchgear, and connects quickly and automatically with all relevant systems on board a modern BMW machine. Add to that the ConnectedRide app, and you get access to your tours and more via your smartphone, the control center of our modern lives. But this control center has to interact with more than just the BMW bike, which is why, alongside ConnectedRide, most riders probably also use Google Maps and plenty of other programs. It's likely this overwhelming flood of apps, this massive glut of programs, that ultimately led to the success of Android Auto and Apple Carplay. These cross-vehicle programs are already practically mandatory in the car sector, but still more of a footnote in the motorcycle world. Only Honda offers Android Auto and Apple Carplay on some production bikes. This is exactly where Chigee comes in, offering smart displays for retrofitting. In the case of the Chigee AIO-5 Play we tested, it's even supposed to combine the same plug&play convenience as the BMW Navigator with the advantages of Android Auto and Apple Carplay. We took a close look at how well that works during our winter escape to Gran Canaria.

The hardware of the Chigee AIO-5 Play, a 5-inch TFT display with 720p resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate, surrounded by a magnesium-aluminum frame and a rugged, waterproof plastic housing, looks very similar to the original BMW ConnectedRide Navigator. On the back there are also two rows of contacts for the electronic interface with the bike. For that, though, you need the navigation mount from BMW's accessories range, which costs a bit over 200 €. This base is definitely required. Both units click and lock into the mount in the same way. For the Navigator, BMW charges 695 € in its configurator, while Chigee lists a price of 511.95 € on its website. So you save nearly 200 € with the Chigee AIO-5 Play.

The main feature of the Chigee, besides the seamless integration of the display on the BMW bike, is certainly Android Auto and Apple Carplay. That might not sound too exciting, but in practice it opens up an entire universe of possibilities. Both systems allow smartphone apps, normally operated and mirrored in a car, to run on the Chigee on a bike as well. This isn't possible with all apps, only with programs optimized and approved for the two systems, but the selection remains huge, with a few limitations, more on that later. Navigation options, messenger apps, calls, Spotify and much more can all be operated. Especially when paired with a Bluetooth headset, the various functions can be used to their full potential. What's practical here is that the headset connects not to the Chigee system but to the smartphone, which is itself connected to the Chigee and thus sends data to both devices simultaneously and without delay.

The second major group of features on the Chigee AIO-5 Play uses the wealth of vehicle data sent to the display via the previously mentioned contacts and the OBD (on-board diagnostics) interface built into them, drawing on various sensors on the bike. In different layouts, the Chigee system can display all sorts of information and parameters such as oil temperature, trip data, tire pressure, RPM, speed, lean angle and more. Since this data comes directly from the bike itself, it's 100% accurate.

The third major advantage of the Chigee system, since it's directly connected to the bike, is that it can also be controlled via the original BMW switchgear. Simply press and hold the menu button upward, and the controls switch from the original display to the Chigee display. Now you can navigate through the apps, various displays and control panels using the familiar rotary and rocker wheel at the left end of the handlebar. There are also additional buttons for further operation on the Chigee unit itself, and the TFT screen is also a touchscreen.

So much for the basic functionality of the Chigee AIO-5 Play. But how well does it work in practice? We install the device on an F 900 GS and ride the most spectacular roads of Gran Canaria with it. On the third-largest of the Canary Islands, one set of twisties follows the next in unbelievable density, sometimes with race-track-quality asphalt, sometimes extremely steep, rough and demanding. After picking up our bikes from the rental company Canary Ride in the capital Las Palmas, we head off through the twisties toward the center of the island.

The already-mentioned similarity to the original BMW hardware means the Chigee integrates very seamlessly into the bike. Even on first contact, there's only positive news to report. The device clicks solidly and securely into the mount, the touchscreen works perfectly and without any lag, and operation via the BMW switchgear becomes logical and intuitive after just a few minutes of getting used to it. Even in blazing sunshine, the 1000-nit-bright display stays easy to read. Only with direct sun glare does it reach its limit, since the screen isn't anti-glare coated. In practice, though, this wasn't a big problem for us. Thanks to the fast dual-core Cortex-A53 processor in the Chigee AIO-5, the display and switching between apps is very smooth and quick. There's only a slight delay between input via the bike's controls and the AIO-5's reaction. But even this "lag", which is less than half a second, has no negative effect on using the Chigee in practice.

Leaned over and flat out, we rip through the radii of the GC-65 heater route, then wind our way up to Picos de las Nieves, the highest point on Gran Canaria, cross through the pine forests there in single-digit temperatures, and let ourselves down into the Valley of Sorrow on the narrow GC-210, before climbing back out of the rugged gorges via the adventurous, at times very bumpy GC-606. A genuine off-road stint might have demanded even more of the Chigee unit, but for an on-road tour, pretty much everything was covered. Besides the advantages of the AIO-5 Play already described, the Chigee managed to rack up a few more plus points.

For instance, it takes every jolt, light rain shower and temperature swing without batting an eyelid. Whether pouring rain or snowstorms could do anything to the device was something we couldn't test on Gran Canaria, which is blessed with good weather. According to Chigee, the AIO-5 Play is supposed to withstand -20 to +60 °C. What we could test, though, was the interplay between smartphone and Chigee. The first thing you notice is that the wireless Bluetooth connection happens faster than is the case, in my experience, with many modern cars. No annoying waiting for the connection, no tedious searching for the smartphone's name in some list. Turn on Bluetooth, connect to the Chigee, and less than 10 seconds later everything is ready. That applies both when reconnecting after a riding break and when switching riders, and thus smartphones.

When switching riders, the first negative point becomes apparent, though it's not really about the Chigee device itself. In principle, the AIO-5 works flawlessly with both Android and iOS devices, but there are still differences in usability. Android Auto is technically more demanding and stricter, which is why there are some apps that are only compatible with Apple Carplay. We plotted and recorded our routes on Gran Canaria with Calimoto. Unfortunately, that was only possible with Nils's iPhone, since Calimoto doesn't run on Android Auto. So anyone wanting to use specific apps should check the list of compatible programs beforehand. Other minor criticisms are the sometimes very cluttered info displays showing vehicle data, which make it a bit hard to take everything in while riding. Riders with somewhat weaker eyesight will generally need glasses to use the Chigee, since many text fields in the various apps are fairly small. For healthy eyes, though, readability isn't a problem.

On the downside, fully operating all programs via the bike's switchgear can feel somewhat complex. Standard actions, like changing music, scrolling in Google Maps, or picking up calls, go very simply and intuitively. But anyone who also wants to enter a destination in Google Maps, or handle other more complex tasks, via the BMW rotary wheel while riding should familiarize themselves thoroughly with the control concept beforehand. And even with good knowledge of the system, we recommend, in the interest of safe riding, sorting out the more detailed settings of the Chigee and its programs while stationary. A silver lining for the future: even the somewhat cumbersome aspects of Chigee's operation and software could soon become irrelevant, since the AIO-5 Play can and will be continuously improved and optimized via over-the-air updates. So in the future, even more apps will likely run on the Chigee.

All in all, the Chigee AIO-5 Play was a great asset during our days on Gran Canaria and left an almost entirely positive impression. It's especially recommendable for people who already use Android Auto or Apple Carplay elsewhere and don't want to deal with a new navigation system, in BMW's case ConnectedRide. Chigee also offers a universal version that's supposed to be compatible with any bike model. We'll be testing that device over the course of the 2025 season. The AIO-5 Play integrated perfectly with the BMW bike and, thanks to its greater range of possibilities, lower cost and equal ease of use, is a very attractive alternative to the original BMW hardware.

For anyone interested, more information is available on the Chigee website.