Polestar 2 P2.9 Software Update: New YouTube & Apple CarPlay Features!

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As a fully electric family living in the suburbs of Southern California, we certainly picked up a thing or two about the quirks of owning electric vehicles. One of the reasons we decided to get a Polestar was in hopes that Polestar would continue to improve its features and functions through regular software updates. 

Polestar’s latest P2.9 software update is potentially one of the most exciting ones yet, especially when it comes to Apple CarPlay. Let’s unpack what’s new with the newest version:

1. Dedicated YouTube App: Here’s one that we’ve been crossing our fingers for for a while now. While our Tesla Model 3 has a fantastic entertainment library, the Polestar has been a little lacking even when trying to compensate with YouTube and Netflix compatible browsers like Vivaldi (must be downloaded in the Google Play Store in the vehicle). With the P2.9 software update, YouTube has a dedicated made-for vehicle app that lets you now watch The Sypnotix reviews while you charge (hint hint). For now, it looks like you can only watch YouTube on the vertical console display while charging or in parked mode.

2. Improved Range Assistant App: There’s also improvements in the Polestar’s range assistant app that is supposed to more accurately show energy consumption and improved metrics that share more realistic ranges based on road conditions, driving style and more. For those looking to conserve more battery or drive more efficiently, this update should help with real time updates and improved variables.

3. Better FM radio connection: For those who listen to FM radio, Polestar has also included additional improvements so that drivers have a better connectivity experience.

For CarPlay users, there’s a huge functionality drop with Polestar’s latest update:

1. Apple Maps navigation in driver display: One of the biggest reasons I changed out of CarPlay mode to the regular Android Auto interface was the inability to use the driver display for navigation as an extended screen. This update has completely solved that problem and for drivers that prefer Apple Maps, you’ll now see navigation in the driver display, making it easier to drive and get directions without looking further away from the window.

2. Improved functions on home screen: CarPlay users will now see buttons like “Next/Previous”, “Play/Pause” and “Now Playing” on the home screen, making it easier to view at a glance buttons and feel more seamlessly integrated with the vehicle.

3. Calls now show on the home screen with more functionality: In addition to the added buttons on the home screen, drivers can see phone call information on the home tile. It’ll aso show on the driver display while on calls too. Again, these small improvements help create a more holistic and integrated experience for those driving with CarPlay. On top of that, steering wheel buttons have finally been enabled for phone calls in CarPlay too.

P2.9 brings an official YouTube app to the Polestar 2

I love that Polestar’s 15th software update enables a little bit more for everyone. With improvements to both entertainment and driving (especially for Apple users), it’s exciting to see my vehicle continue to unlock new features. The P2.9 update is shaping up to be what the V10 update did to push Tesla into the modern era. With this huge step forward, there’s plenty of possibilities (like Netflix and more display modifications) that now seem open for the Swedish company. I’m looking forward to trying these all out on the road and can’t wait to see what comes next.

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