After a delayed summer release, deliveries of the Polestar 2 began in North America late last year. Now those owners will get to experience their first over-the-air (OTA) software update “in the coming weeks.”
Included in this first software update – P2104.1, are stability improvements, range improvements, charging speed increases, new base software, and more (full list below).
Some owners in Europe have already received the update and reported seeing an increase in their range of as much as 50km (31 miles). According to the EPA and NRCan, the Polestar 2 is rated for 375km (233 miles), so a 50km increase is quite substantial.
Polestar also revealed a new feature coming in their next OTA update – Connected Safety. Using cloud-based data from other vehicles, the car will be able to warn drivers of upcoming hazards.
Connected Safety improves driving safety by warning the driver of potential hazards on the road using data collected from other Polestar and Volvo vehicles. For example, the cloud-based service records when other vehicles react to slippery conditions with the intervention of traction control while driving, or when another vehicle that has been involved in a collision poses a potential hazard along the route.
Elon Musk has teased a similar feature when it comes to Tesla vehicles. Using ‘micro-maps’ your car will be able to avoid potholes and other obstacles based on data from Tesla vehicles that have already driven that route.
Free OTA software updates are nothing new for Tesla owners, but it is a big deal for the Swedish automaker. Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar, touted the benefits of the updates in a press release this week.
“With OTA we bring the latest software updates straight to Polestar 2 customers just like they experience it on their smartphones. Our engineers are constantly improving functionality and developing new features, and with OTA we will be able to push new software out regularly – which means that even the earliest cars can run the latest version and gain new features.”
Here are the full release notes for Polestar software update P2104.1.
– Android 10 (Q)
– Admin privileges for vehicle profiles: allows profile owner to do factory reset
– Harman Kardon premium audio: enhanced surround sound
– Radio: FM/DAB linking for seamless listening experience (NOTE: radio favorites will be erased and need to be reprogrammed)
– Air quality visualization (China only)
– Climate timers: stability improvements
– 360 camera: quality and stability improvements
– Bluetooth: phone favorite contacts now sync with the car; general quality and stability improvements
– Owner’s manual: quality improvements
– Connected Safety (Europe, North America): cloud-based safety information shared between Polestar and Volvo vehicles that helps improve driving safety by warning other drivers of potential hazards
– Range improvements
– DC charging: incremental speed improvements
– AC charging: stability improvements
