Hi Brydo,
Having been playing around with the specs of various new (July 2019) BMW X1’s, it seems that you have to spec the ‘Apple Car Play Preparation’ option at a cost of £235.00 to get Apple car play to work in the new X1. This is across the new X1 model range. It cannot be subsequently fitted after production.
The small print in the pricing brochure also says that the ‘Apple Car Play Preparation’ option also:
1. Requires a BMW ConnectedDrive account.
2. Connectivity may vary depending on model/version of your iPhone
3. Available for 3 years, renewable thereafter
4. Purchases of Apple Car Play via the ConnectedDrive store are not available after production on the new X1 models.
https://www.bmw.co.uk/pdfs/price-lists/BMW_X1F48LCI_PriceList.pdf
(pages 25/26 of pricing brochure above)
So if you want Car Play to work the ‘preparation’ option is essential.
Also it does state that connected drive is available for 3 years then renewable, so I don’t know what it means in relation to your posting about it.
Dave