PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

Suck at Parking? New BMW 7 Series Will Do It For You

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

Our Expert
LOOK INSIDE PC LABS HOW WE TEST
65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS

Hate parallel parking? That's fine, because your next car might be able to do it for you — if you opt for a new BMW, that is.

The German automaker is previewing its next-generation 7 Series model range, which features a remote control parking feature that can get the car in and out of tight spots completely on its own. And you don't even need to be sitting behind the wheel for this to happen.

BMW isn't ready to show off the design of its new vehicle just yet (as you can see from its awesome camouflage in the image above), but touted some of its new, tech-savvy features, including remote control parking. In a video posted to YouTube over the weekend, the car maker shows how you'll be able to activate the feature using just your key.

"Forget everything you know about keys," BMW spokesman Chris Brow says in the video. "As a driver of the all-new BMW 7 Series you get the BMW Display Key."

The newly developed Display Key is "a remote control and LCD control screen in one," Brow says. It operates various car functions and also supplies you with useful information about the vehicle. Using it, drivers will be able to prompt the car to enter or exit a parking space automatically.

BMW said the new 7 Series is the world's first series-produced car that can maneuver itself in and out of parking spaces or garages without anyone at the wheel. This feature should be especially helpful when your only option is an extremely tight spot, the company said.

Besides that, the next-gen 7 Series also, for the first time ever, boasts new gesture control features, which let you operate infotainment functions with simple hand movements that are detected by a 3D sensor. Gestures can be used for a number of functions like controlling the volume of your music and picking up or rejecting an incoming phone call.

For a look at these new features, check out the video above.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

Read full bio