BMW PARTNERS WITH AIRCONSOLE TO BRING IN-CAR GAMING IN 2023

Use your phone as a controller and play games through the BMW Curved Display

If you’re tired of playing Candy Crush on your phone while you wait in your car to pick up the kids, you’ll soon be able to use your smartphone as a controller to play video games on your BMW’s display screen.

BMW has partnered with gaming platform AirConsole to bring a collection of single and multiplayer games to new vehicles, starting with the BMW 7 series. AirConsole was a part of BMW’s Startup Garage, the company’s incubator for new tech that can be used in its future vehicles. The automaker said AirConsole’s platform fits perfectly with BMW’s curved display and demonstrates the company’s ability to rapidly integrate third-party applications into the vehicle. Games will run directly inside the vehicle’s entertainment system and can be delivered to vehicles over the air.

AirConsole’s games can only be accessed if the car is parked and is therefore impossible to play if the vehicle is in motion “for the passengers’ own safety,” said the company. Players will need a smartphone to play, which will serve as the controller, and a connection between the phone and the car will be established by scanning a QR code in the vehicle.

BMW’s 7 series sedan, which the company launched last year, will also entertain riders with its 31.3-inch 8K Theater Screen with built-in Amazon Fire TV. The series will be built with a hardware update of the head unit that can accommodate the computing capabilities necessary for gaming, according to a BMW spokesperson. Future models will be built with such capabilities and will be able to receive the gaming feature over the air, the company said.

BMW Group and AirConsole have also launched a competition, providing an opportunity for developers to pioneer the field of in-car gaming. The contest allows the two companies to tap into the potential of the global game developer community. Interested developers can submit their game concepts via the official competition website until June 8th, 2023. The top four concepts will each receive EU5,000 for the development of a prototype. If the prototype shows promise, AirConsole will fund the full development of the game to be included on the AirConsole platform.

Stefan Butz, Vice President BMW Group Development for Entertainment and Apps, believes this competition is an excellent opportunity for developers to work with AirConsole to create engaging gaming experiences designed specifically for vehicles. He feels that the entertainment experience offered by gaming is all about joy and aims to provide a first-class experience for BMW customers.

BREITLING’S NEW NAVITIMER PAYS HOMAGE TO THE MOST ICONIC JUMBO JET

The Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 Boeing 747 is a love letter to the “Queen of the Skies.”

A giant in the sky and one of the most recognisable aircrafts in the world, known also as the Jumbo Jet, was withdrawn from production this year after 52 years. Its legacy will continue to be preserved as Breitling honours the milestone with the Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 Boeing 747 model, a limited edition of only 747 timepieces. Flying with a commercial aeroplane used to be a special event, for which people put on their best attire. The experience matched the occasion which frequently exceeded todays’ standards of flying first class. The Boeing 747, with its size and engineering accomplishments, revolutionised commercial aviation and connected the world with long-haul flights more than ever before. Similarly, the Breitling Navitimer model anchored in the hearts of pilots, even to the extent that it was adopted by the American Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and appointed their official timepiece.

To honour the pilots, Breitling added the wings of the AOPA organisation to the dial, and which thus once again return to the logotype of the Swiss brand. The first Boeing 747 was adorned with a band of a vivid red colour on the aeroplane’s tail, which now also shines from the dial of the new Navitimer model. The cream dial is supplemented with black subdials and blue accents, which can also be found on the aircraft. The inscription Boeing 747 also hides in the red band of the logarithmic calculator. Thanks to this innovation, pilots can now, based on this scale, read the speed, distance travelled, fuel consumption, and other crucial factors. A subtly situated date is found at the bottom of the black subdial. The stainless steel case measures 43 millimetres and is 13.6 millimetres thick. The watch runs on the house Calibre 01 with a 70-hour power reserve. This is more than enough even for the longest recorded flight made between New York and Singapore. On the back of the watch, to honour the aeroplane that transformed the way we travel, engravings “One of 747” and “The Original Jumbo Jet” are added.

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms

70TH

ANNIVERSARY “TECH GOMBESSA”

Blancpain just opened a new chapter in the history of the first modern diver’s watch by unveiling a new model designed to meet today’s technical diving requirements. Featuring an innovation co-developed by Marc A. Hayek, President & CEO of Blancpain, and Laurent Ballesta, founder of the Gombessa project, the new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 70th anniversary named ‘Tech Gombessa’ makes it possible for the first time to measure up to three-hour immersion times.

Seventy years ago, an icon was born: the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. The watch that would revolutionize watchmaking by becoming the first modern diver’s watch was conceived by a passionate scuba diver, Jean-Jacques Fiechter, then CEO of Blancpain. A pioneer in a discipline that was in its infancy, he understood the imperative need to track time while underwater. The instrument he designed to meet his own needs was immediately embraced by the oceanic community, becoming an unfailing ally of elite divers and underwater explorers. By enhancing safety in diving, the Fifty Fathoms contributed to the development of the sport and promoted the discovery of the ocean world. The year 2023, which marks the 70th anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms, also resonates as a reboot of its birth through the arrival of an innovative anniversary diver’s watch, additionally, this new release also commemorates the 10th anniversary of Gombessa, an initiative that Blancpain helped create by becoming the founding partner of the project from its inception in 2013.

Drawing on the invaluable heritage of the 1953 Fifty Fathoms, but also and above all on his own experiences, Blancpain’s CEO —an avid diver— embarked on the design alongside diver, photographer, and underwater biologist Laurent Ballesta. It was intended to meet the needs of all extreme divers, starting with the members of the Gombessa Expeditions whose research work involves long-duration deep dives. With Blancpain’s support, these deep-sea adventurers have joined forces in the multi-year Tamataroa mission. Dedicated to the study of the behavior of the great hammerhead shark, Sphyrna mokarran, in French Polynesia, this project is led by a committee of passionate deep-sea divers, including Marc A. Hayek and Laurent Ballesta. Observation and information gathering regarding this species continued through technical dives on Rangiroa Atoll, aimed at contributing to the implementation of management measures promoting its conservation.

The new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary ‘Tech Gombessa’ was designed to measure the duration of up to threehour-long tech dives or exits from a saturation system. Developed five years ago by the two divers, this watch has been extensively tested. In 2019, after a year of conceptualization, Blancpain began the development of the project, starting with the two key elements represented by the movement and the unidirectional rotating bezel. Unlike the bezels on conventional diver’s watches, the bezel on the Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa has a three-hour scale. It is linked to a special hand that completes one full turn in three hours and whose material and color —a white luminescent coating with green emission— match those of its markers. This device invented jointly by Marc A. Hayek and Laurent Ballesta is a world’s first for which a patent has been filed. Cased in Grade 23 Titanium, the watch sports a massive 47 mm x 14.81 mm case with a helium valve and central lugs attached from the inside of the case middle. The Absolute black dial features luminescent orange block-shaped appliques with blue emission and a three-hour drive hand. The unidirectional 3-hour scale bezel insert is tilted towards the dial and is made of black ceramic with white luminescent markers with green emission.

Powering the new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary ‘Tech Gombessa’ is the automatic 204-part Blancpain in-house calibre 13P8 with a 5-day power reserve and which is fully visible via the display case back. This movement is based on the same criteria of reliability and robustness that have made the Fifty Fathoms the ultimate diver’s watch for 70 years and the watch is water resistant to 300 meters. The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary ‘Tech Gombessa’ is delivered on an integrated black rubber strap that emerges straight from the case middle. The black rubber strap is secured by a titanium pin buckle.

Audemars Piguet Unveils A New Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph In Black Ceramic

Swiss Haute Horlogerie manufacturer Audemars Piguet presents a new version of its Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph 42 mm, housed in its first-ever black ceramic case with a matching bracelet and a black Petite Tapisserie dial for a contemporary monochrome look. This reference is powered by Calibre 4404, Audemars Piguet’s integrated chronograph movement with a flyback function.

A Unique Aesthetic

Since its creation, the Royal Oak Offshore collection has been dressed in a wide range of materials, such as titanium and forged carbon. In addition to steel or gold, these avant-garde materials offer the perfect balance between technical innovation and design, elegance and robustness. The new reference 26238CE continues in this vein as it is the first Royal Oak Offshore with a case and bracelet made entirely of ceramic. This material is also used for the push-pieces at 2 and 4 o’clock that operate the chronograph, as well as for the screw-locked crown at 3 o’clock. Only the eight white gold screws attaching the bezel to the case stand out, along with the eight luminescent applied hour-markers that punctuate the hours and the titanium caseback.

A Focus On Legibility

The dial is dressed in the same matte black colour as the case, bracelet, push-pieces, bezel and crown. It is decorated with the Petite Tapisserie pattern, a signature motif previously reserved for the 26238 references in gold or titanium. While past references had variations in tone, this new reference is the first to be totally monochrome in pitch black, which is particularly difficult to achieve due to the different materials and textures used. This aesthetic choice gives the timepiece an unprecedented depth. To enhance legibility, a wide range of finishings have been developed for this timepiece. Each of the counters is accompanied by a white hand offering a distinct contrast that is further accentuated by a disc of white Arabic numerals. Similarly, the circular date window (at 3 o’clock) and the three emblematic counters of the Royal Oak Offshore unfold around the two large luminescent hour and minute hands, small seconds at 6 o’clock, chronograph minutes at 9 o’clock and chronograph hours at 12 o’clock. This layout keeps the famous vertical arrangement of the collection. It also follows the subtle introduction made in 2021 where the hour and small seconds counters were switched to offer a top-tobottom reading of the elapsed hours and minutes.

ALLIANCE OF KNOW-HOW AND TECHNOLOGY

The ceramic used on this timepiece has been meticulously finished to reveal its subtleties. The craftsmen of the Manufacture met a triple challenge. The first was to achieve the highest standards of quality and finishing, demanded by Audemars Piguet. The second was to perfectly master ceramic which is particularly challenging to work with due to its extreme hardness. And finally, to marry the complex lines of the Royal Oak Offshore case with alternating polished and satin finishing. Although the exact composition of the ceramic at Audemars Piguet remains a well-kept secret, it is partly made of zirconium oxide powder that is combined with a specific binder. Its homogeneous colour only appears once the material is sintered at temperatures in excess of 1,000oC. Each component is then pre-polished and pre-satin finished. Lines, angles and bezels are meticulously finished by hand to obtain the alternating polished and satin surfaces that are the Manufacture’s signature style. This demanding work reveals the uniqueness of the material and its colour, exploiting all the subtleties of the material.

A Flyback Chronograph With Optimal Performance

This new black ceramic Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph is equipped with the latest integrated automatic chronograph, Calibre 4404, featuring a column wheel and flyback function that, unlike a traditional chronograph, allows it to be restarted without having to first stop and reset it. The column wheel has a vertical clutch designed to allow smooth pressure on each push-piece. When the chronograph is started or stopped, the hands immediately start moving, without any delay or unexpected jumps. A patented reset mechanism also ensures that each chronograph hand instantly returns to its vertical starting position. The sapphire and titanium caseback allows the wearer to admire the operation of the chronograph’s column wheel below. When the reset push-piece is pressed, the hammers, directed by a lever, strike the central cam to reset the chronograph wheels and set the hands to zero. The wearer can also admire the 22-carat pink gold oscillating weight that has been engraved with the initials AP, echoing the historic versions of the Royal Oak Offshore. The movement also features refined finishes such as Côtes de Genève, circular graining, circular satin finishing and polished bevels.

The Continuation Of A Legacy

This new Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph is being released for the collection’s 30th anniversary, which saw its first model presented in 1993. Its various models have never ceased to evolve in terms of the movements, materials, finishings and dials used. Extending the use of monochrome ceramic to the entirety of the case, and reinforcing the presence of the Petite Tapisserie pattern that decorates only three of the current Royal Oak Offshore models, this new reference offers a contemporary and sober tribute to the collection.