https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-technology-business-health-congress-761cac7ae30a03ab6a399b9676ae44bb So it seems they've approved matrix-led style headlights in the US, a bit quicker than anticipated, which is awesome. Now I'm wondering how quickly manufacturers could/would start shipping with them enabled (in the case of Mini). I would LOVE it if my 2023 came with them enabled. My build sheet references "Variable Light Decoding", I'm guessing this is their note to ensure matrix-led's are deactivated? Wonder if I could somehow get that removed now that they'll be legal?
For a hint, look to BMW and its adoption of wireless Apple CarPlay. MINI Coopers still don't have wireless CarPlay. I expect it will be years after BMW begins shipping cars with matrix-LED headlights to the US before US MINI Coopers may get them. Remember, BMW named the platform upon which our MINI Coopers are based "UKL" for Untere Klasse, "lower class" in German. That suggests why MINI Coopers don't get every cool innovation found on BMWs. Ignoring the cost, I wonder how much less my SE would weigh with a carbon-fiber body like the BMW i3?
Perhaps I've missed something completely - but I was under the impression new Mini Cooper SE's do indeed come with Wireless Carplay standard? So far as I'm aware it's also now standard on BMW's as well. My i3 has it without any sort of subscription (though I believe it was a one-time fee when the vehicle was purchased new).
Oops. I apologize. I just rechecked old forum posts and learned the SE does have wi-fi for Wireless CarPlay (I'm a poor Androider). So perhaps BMW and MINI will offer matrix-LED headlights concurrently.
Don't be so hasty. Remember that BMWs added Android Auto a couple years ago and it still isn't offered for MINIs.
MINI SEs (and I assume ICE models) have matrix headlights in Europe, so it's already a feature of the brand. I've got a query into my service department to see if they can be a retrofit.
I’m not as excited about matrix LED headlamps in the Mini just because the headlamps are so good anyway. I would like them on our Tesla though as the lights in that are not as good as the Mini. That said, I did have a Mercedes E-Class rental car in the UK with matrix headlights and I was blown away by how good they are keeping high beam on all the time and just turning off a section to not glare oncoming cars…
Here's a nice video of the active matrix headlights in action by EV Puzzle (Nigel), former 2021 SE owner .
FYI, as the narrator notes at the 32-second mark, the car in the video is NOT equipped with the Matrix LED headlights, just the auto high-beams. You can see a demo of the matrix LED system in this promo video from Mini... In short, instead of the binary low-beam/high-beam settings of the "high-beam assistant" we get in the States today, the Matrix LED tech allows for multiple high-beam zones—very much like LED TVs that offer local dimming, for folks who are familiar with TV tech. The video above does a good job illustrating what the technology does.
I attempt to disbelieve. He clearly showed it adapting (one part dims for oncoming cars while other part stays bright). I use the auto high beams all the time and it's a completely different behavior. But the important thing is MINI has them. Update: It is possible I conflated the two videos in my mind.
