This year brought electric vehicle startup Rivian some notable highs and lows, but it appears the software team is still going strong. At the push of a button, Rivian deployed 30 changes to its vehicles this week, ranging from major feature launches to minor bug fixes.
Of note is Snow Mode, which "softens the pedal response for more gradual acceleration and deceleration while also helping to prevent slip and wheel lock," Rivian tells PCMag. Drivers can also now pre-heat the seats and steering wheel and defrost windows from the Rivian app.
Snow Mode is one of several Rivian driving modes, which customers choose on the dash screen. Others include Sport Mode, Off Road Drift, All Purpose, Off Road Auto, Off Road Rock Crawl, Off Road Rally, Conserve, Soft Sand, and Towing.
The latest update also contains several music and entertainment aspects. Music-streaming service Tidal is now available via the Media app, while Spotify and Tidal users can now queue up songs and view what's playing next. Spotify Premium users can also now access audiobooks.
"Because of our tightly integrated software and hardware architecture, we’re able to enhance the vehicle experience via over-the-air (OTA) updates, which is a benefit of a software-defined vehicle," Rivian says.
See below for the full list of approximately 31 software updates, by our count, released by Rivian, which range from updates to "Pet Comfort Mode" to battery and self-driving improvements.
In the second half of 2022, the company has done major releases every month or every few months, such as October's Kneel Mode. That update also included a range increase of about 14 miles on the R1T pickup truck and 5 miles on the R1S SUV, Electrek reports.
At this rate, customers may have a hard time keeping up with the changes, including what data Rivian has collected and shared across the various features. To that end, Rivian added greater visibility and control over user data in the latest update.
It's been a rollercoaster year for Rivian. On the positive side, the company says it's on track to hit the 25,000 vehicle production targets, the R1T pickup truck earned a top safety award, and its first "Adventure Network" charging sites opened in a bid to eventually rival Tesla Superchargers.
On the other hand, Rivian has continued to face challenges. In October, a Georgia court rejected plans to give it a $1.5 billion incentive package for a factory there, leaving the startup scrambling for a plan B. A recall of 12,000 vehicles, meanwhile, brought a sizeable portion of recently delivered vehicles back to dealers for inspection. Rivian also delayed its upcoming R2 vehicle a year to 2026, and backed out of a deal with Mercedes-Benz to build delivery vans just three months after the ink dried.
Supply chain and manufacturing issues underscore most of Rivian's challenges, and software updates can't fix that. But for now, continual OTA releases demonstrate Rivian's commitment to continuously improving the product, and keeping it fun, amid the chaos. For a $100,000+ vehicle customers waited over a year to receive, they are likely welcome improvements.
Full List Of Rivian OTA Updates—Released 12/19