Lucid brings Gravity’s UX to the Air, but older owners must pay $950

Lucid Air owners are finally getting the Gravity’s interface. Lucid started pushing Air UX 3.0 today as part of software version 2.11.0, its biggest Air software overhaul in years.

Owners of 2025 and newer Airs get it for free over the air. But if you bought a 2022, 2023, or some 2024 Air, you’ll first need a $950 infotainment processor upgrade at a Lucid service center.

What’s new in Air UX 3.0

Lucid says the new software is modeled on the Gravity SUV’s interface, which picked up a Gold iF Design Award in 2024. The company is promising faster, more responsive screens and less digging through menus.

The biggest change is on the curved Cockpit Panel behind the steering wheel. Its Home screen is now a stack of swipeable cards: your music, a shortcut to charging stops nearby, one-tap routing home or to work, calls, and car settings. Pull a card down and the full app opens on the Pilot Panel, the vertical touchscreen in the center console.

The Pilot Panel gets a new Quick Controls menu you pull down from the top of the screen, much like a phone. Lucid also claims apps now hand off between the two displays with less lag.

Here’s the rest of what’s in the update:

• Navigation: a revamped dual-screen layout, Favorites, and Auto Dark Mode
• EV routing: pick preferred charging networks, include stations that work with Lucid-approved adapters, and set a minimum arrival range
• Profiles: faster switching, more control for the Primary profile over linked keys, an easier Guest reset, and a six-digit PIN to exit Guest mode
• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto: both now stretch across the full right side of the Cockpit display, over wireless or USB

That last one matters more than it sounds. Lucid only added CarPlay as standard across its lineup in 2023, and a lot of owners live in it. Giving the phone projection more screen and, according to Lucid, better reliability is a direct response to how people actually use the car.

Marc Solsona Palomar, Lucid’s VP of Software, said Air owners “will enjoy more reliable and intuitive experiences” with the update.

The $950 catch for early Air owners

Early Airs don’t have the processing power to run the new interface. Lucid is offering an infotainment processor swap for $950 in the US, installation included but taxes extra. Pricing in other markets hasn’t been announced, and owners have to contact Lucid Customer Care to check eligibility.

So the people who took a chance on Lucid first, some of whom paid $169,000 for a 2022 Air Dream Edition, are the ones being asked to pay again.

Lucid isn’t the first to do this. Tesla launched an infotainment computer retrofit for older Model S and Model X vehicles at $2,500 in 2020, then cut it to $1,500 amid controversy. Lucid’s price is lower, but it applies to cars that are only two to four years old, not eight.

This is only the third major version of the Air’s interface since deliveries started in late 2021. Lucid pushed UX 2.0 to the Air in October 2022, about a year after first deliveries.

Electrek’s Take

This update is much needed. Lucid’s hardware is excellent. Its software isn’t there yet.

When we reviewed the Lucid Gravity GT earlier this year, we were stunned by how good it is. It drives like a dream, it’s incredibly efficient for its size, and the range is class-leading. We gave it 86.3 out of 100, and it would’ve scored much higher if not for the software. The seat app froze and needed a reset. Navigation opened and closed on its own. We asked for seat ventilation and got the seat heater. The car lost track of the key after short absences. The whole system felt like the CPU was pegged at 100% by background processes.

That’s the same interface Lucid is now porting to the Air. So the redesign is only half the job. Lucid already had to publicly promise to fix Gravity software problems last December after a wave of owner complaints, and the bugs we hit this summer show it’s not done.

If Lucid gets the software to the level of its hardware, it’s a top-tier EV maker. Its motors, efficiency, and packaging are already ahead of almost everyone. Software is what keeps people cross-shopping a Tesla or a Rivian.

As for the $950, we think Lucid should eat that cost for early adopters, or at least discount it heavily. Those owners funded the company when it needed it most and put up with the roughest software along the way. Will Lucid treat them like it wants to keep them?

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