Lucid Overhauled The Air's Infotainment. You Might Need $950 Hardware To Get It

Lucid is bringing a Gravity-like digital interface to the Air sedan. Older cars will need a $950 computer upgrade.

Photo by: Lucid Motors

By: Tim Levin

Sep 29, at 3:35pm ET

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Lucid's new user interface for the Air is here.
It's supposed to make the infotainment system faster and more intuitive to use.
For pre-2025 vehicles, UX 3.0 may require a $950 processor upgrade.

Lucid on Tuesday announced a redesigned user interface for the Air intended to make the experience faster and more intuitive. The UX 3.0 update brings a new route planning feature, updated Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integrations, and improved multitasking, among other upgrades. But if you have an older Air, getting the new system won't be as simple as downloading some new software.

The new digital experience, which helps bring the Air up to par with the system that debuted in the Gravity SUV, is available as an over-the-air update for 2025-and-newer Air models. It'll arrive automatically through Lucid's 2.11.0 software update.

Lucid Air UX 3.0 software update.

Photo by: Lucid Motors

For 2022, 2023, and some 2024 models, UX 3.0 will be available with a $950 processor upgrade. That's the price in the U.S., including installation, and Lucid says it will share details for other markets soon. The hardware retrofit is only necessary for some 2024 models, a Lucid spokesperson said, because the switchover to the second-generation infotainment processor happened midway through that model year.

The new system features a redesigned home screen with swipeable cards that display frequently used features. Drivers can swipe those tiles to open up the full app on the lower, vertically-oriented "Pilot Panel." The software also includes new quick controls, which let drivers swipe down from the top of the Pilot Panel to access popular settings. It updates the route planning feature to include preferences for charging networks, arrival range, and charging adapter capability.

Lucid Air UX 3.0 software update brings a larger Android Auto display.

Lucid says the Air's UX 3.0 software update brings a larger Android Auto display.

Photo by: Lucid Motors

One big upgrade: Drivers can now more freely open up different apps on the upper and lower screens. Before, they were linked. The new software allows drivers to "move more smoothly among navigation, media, vehicle controls, and apps across the Cockpit and Pilot Panel displays," Lucid says. For example, drivers can put their navigation up on the upper screen and fiddle with the music on the lower one, a feature that always felt like it was missing from the Air.

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Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Lucid says, should be more reliable now and appear larger on the Air's crescent-shaped screen.

Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com