Volvo Cars is launching its largest over-the-air software update ever as it rolls out a new, more intuitive user experience to millions of customers – around 2,5-million Volvo cars across 85 countries around the globe will receive the new user experience – Volvo Car UX.
A more user-friendly new layout for the car’s central display screen allows drivers to enjoy a faster, easier, and more intuitive way to interact with their cars while reducing the number of taps to get to different functions.
Customers who drive a Volvo car with Google built-in will receive the upgrade on their Volvo cars built as early as 2020 free of charge, an initiative in line with Volvo Cars’ strategy to make its cars better over time with regular software updates.
“This update is one of the largest over-the-air updates in automotive history, leveraging years of investment in Volvo Cars’ tech stack to improve life with their cars for millions of people,” says Anders Bell, chief engineering and technology officer at Volvo Cars. “Our new user experience delivers significant updates and improvement in areas most used by drivers – and directly addresses the needs and desires of our customers.”
The new layout also includes easier, more prominent navigation and a refreshed, more modern look with many upgrades grounded in real-world research and feedback from customers.
The new user experience creates a contemporary and consistent design philosophy across all Volvo car models – a three-year-old XC40 benefits from the same approach as an EX90 owner, for example.
The content on the screen represents the biggest change, with the most common apps and controls such as maps, media and phone, presented on the home screen. This means, for example, that customers who are following navigation directions and want to change the music, no longer have to leave Google Maps to access the media feature.
Then there is the contextual bar, which changes what drivers see according to the situation and displays the most recently used apps. When driving at low speeds, the icon for outside cameras appears so drivers can get help manoeuvring in tight spaces.
For plug-in hybrid drivers, the new user experience makes it easier for drivers to get the most out of their electric powertrain. Via “Drive Modes” on the home screen, drivers can easily access “Pure” mode alongside other options. That means switching from hybrid to electric-only power is now only one tap away – giving drivers more control.