This Is How The Polestar 2 Does OTA Software Updates

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One gigantically underappreciated industry changing benefit of driving an electric vehicle are over the air software (OTA) updates. As with any modern electronic system, a software update is pushed to the product you own to improve the overall experience. Might I add that this is typically free of charge in most if not all the technology sector. Tesla has championed OTA updates in cars by completely overhauling their UI layout time and time again. It’s as if drivers receive a new and fresher model of their vehicle every single year. Prior to this past decade, whatever the infotainment system and capabilities that were in the car when it left the lot was what you would live with for the entirety of the car’s life. Legacy car manufacturers are only beginning to play catch up with this industry change. So how does Polestar handle OTA updates? Straggling the line between a legacy car maker and a new wave tech company, Polestar is in a unique position. With Google’s Android Automotive powering their infotainment system, one might expect an experience similar to that on the Pixel phones. 

How IT Works

When the Polestar 2 has a software update, the car notifies the driver through the notifications drop down on the main display. A cloud icon with an exclamation mark is the symbol that a system update is available for the car. The icon reminds me of a cloud storage symbol and my initial thought was that I was out of cloud storage. Then I realized this was a car and not my iPhone (which is always yelling at me about iCloud)! It’s a curious choice of an icon for a software update in my opinion. My car is also connected to my Wifi for this update. After clicking the notification open, text will fill up the display with an estimated timeframe for when the update will complete as well as a recommendation that the driver lock their car during the downtime. It’s extremely straightforward and easy to initiate. With that said, after being spoiled by the Tesla Model 3 for three years, I am hopeful Polestar incorporates more control of the car over to their app. As it stands now, the Polestar app is quite barebones with minimal communication with the car. 

When a Tesla has an update ready, your phone will notify and allow you to schedule the process at a later time or initiate it immediately. The app also tells you how much remaining time there is until the update is completed. As of right now, the Polestar 2 has none of those conveniences. As far as I’m aware of, during this update process, the driver has to manually begin the update from inside the car at the time the update occurs. I’m almost positive that this will change in the coming years as not only Polestar, but Google explores avenues to make the car experience more similar to the rest of the technology sector like Tesla has. That’s the only way forward as the car industry has resisted technological change through lobbying for decades.

On the Polestar right now, after the software update has completed, the car displays a completion message with no log of what the update actually did. You can access that specific log deeper within the menu. This is also something that I feel Polestar should alter to include a log of changes automatically on the screen after completion. Tesla does this. Every OTA capable gadget (smartphone, tablet, computer) does this.

The Future of Cars

Overall, I’m happy with the simplicity that Polestar has incorporated into their OTA updates. Tesla has truly spoiled the EV market with this systematic change and I sometimes forget that a simple software update is not a given with the rest of the car industry. While the experience isn’t as fleshed out as I’m accustomed to, I do have to give credit to the EV-only brand for a solid first update. It took the Model 3 years to develop into the car it is today and I’m glad to see Polestar embrace support of the Polestar 2 post-sale. I’m looking forward to seeing the car continue grow just like the Model 3 has over time.    

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