Lucid announced its largest over-the-air software upgrade for the Air on Thursday, raising the user interface to version 2.0. Numerous minor tweaks were made in the Lucid UX 2.0 update, including “changes to the screen graphics, how the screens and headlights work, and it also adds semi-autonomous driving features,” as per InsideEVs.
While there are “hundreds of updates and new features,” the automaker claims in the official press release for Lucid UX 2.0 that they “won’t be immediately noticeable, but they help lay the important groundwork for other significant improvements.”
Furthermore, the speed with which the screens power up will be the first thing Air owners notice after the update, as per Lucid. You would not have to wait for anything to start up with the “instant-on” displays.
Using all of the vehicle’s functions should be easier due to new graphics for the Glass Cockpit, the digital driver’s display, and other screens. Derek Jenkins, Lucid’s senior VP of design and brand, stated in a press release, “Lucid’s truly progressive user interface becomes easier to make use of and much more aesthetically beautiful in each iteration, delivered seamlessly over-the-air to the vehicle.”
He added, “This latest software release incorporates numerous refinements – many based on owner feedback and ideas – which make Lucid Air even more enjoyable, convenient, and capable for our customers.”
According to Michael Bell, Senior Vice President of Digital for the Lucid Group, “this extensive software update, comprising tens of millions of new lines of source code across nearly every updateable computer in the vehicle, is achievable because the Lucid Air was engineered from the start with the capability to get better over time. Thanks to our integrated software and hardware engineering, Lucid has the in-house technical depth to enhance our vehicles long after they leave the assembly line.”
The report also indicated that the turn-by-turn navigation instructions are now programmed in the center screen. It will also offer more accurate range prediction and advanced built-in Alexa voice commands.
Speech News reported that the update would finally include the much-anticipated Lucid’s driver assistance feature for highways, Highway Assist. Notably, it is a component of Lucid’s DreamDrive lineup of driver-assist functions. What’s interesting about this technology is that it combines adaptive cruise control and lane-centering control to let the Air occasionally navigate its lane.
Here are the update highlights as posted on Lucid Motor’s website:
- “Instant-on” displays mean you’ll now be ready to drive as soon as you buckle up.
- New on-screen layout for the Glass Cockpit with most-used controls—Home, Nav, Media, Phone—in more ergonomic places.
- Turn-by-turn navigation now appears in the center of the cockpit display.
- More Alexa Built-in voice control features, including climate-control settings for the rear seat.
- Headlights will now sense you turning the steering wheel to illuminate the area you’re turning into. This complements our bending headlights feature, which illuminates around curves at higher speeds.
- High Beam Assist detects not only other vehicles but other sources of nearby light, and automatically switches to low beams.
- Automatic headlight leveling, with sensor-based adjustments for height and vehicle angle.
- Headlights will now sense you turning the steering wheel to illuminate the area you’re turning into. This complements our bending headlights feature, which illuminates around curves at higher speeds.
- High Beam Assist detects not only other vehicles but other sources of nearby light, and automatically switches to low beams.
- Automatic headlight leveling, with sensor-based adjustments for height and vehicle angle.
- Headlights will now sense you turning the steering wheel to illuminate the area you’re turning into. This complements our bending headlights feature, which illuminates around curves at higher speeds.
- High Beam Assist detects not only other vehicles but other sources of nearby light, and automatically switches to low beams.
- Automatic headlight leveling, with sensor-based adjustments for height and vehicle angle.
The said functions have already begun to be distributed by Lucid via a number of over-the-air updates, and it will continue to do so for the upcoming weeks. This is good news for the company as it shows its determination to move forward. As we have previously reported, it recently lost its top executives amid its production ramp difficulties.
