Question for current Air owners (camera, software)

[SiberianStar]

Hi all,

I currently drive EQS580 sedan, but am planning to order Gravity on November 7.
In the absence of actual Gravities to test, I went to test drive Air GT earlier today. Good car overall, but had a couple of complaints that I would appreciate others' input on:

1. Camera quality was horrendous - both, side view with blinker on and 360 (the car had DD Premium) - laggy and noisy image. Felt like 2014 compared to Mercedes. Assume that's not just a tester I was driving, do you know if there's any software update planned to address the issue, and / or if Gravity will have the same camera system or something better?
2. Software was very laggy - a significant delay between pressing "volume up" or "next song" and the actual action, and, just playing with a menu, at times system did not react to touches on the first try and took multiple attempts. I know Lucid software was subject to a lot of criticism when Air was just released, but I was under the impression that it all got solved over time. Is it not the case?

Thanks all, appreciate any feedback and precautions as I'm considering pulling the trigger on Gravity.

 

[Tâm]

Hi all,

I currently drive EQS580 sedan, but am planning to order Gravity on November 7.
In the absence of actual Gravities to test, I went to test drive Air GT earlier today. Good car overall, but had a couple of complaints that I would appreciate others' input on:

1. Camera quality was horrendous - both, side view with blinker on and 360 (the car had DD Premium) - laggy and noisy image. Felt like 2014 compared to Mercedes. Assume that's not just a tester I was driving, do you know if there's any software update planned to address the issue, and / or if Gravity will have the same camera system or something better?
2. Software was very laggy - a significant delay between pressing "volume up" or "next song" and the actual action, and, just playing with a menu, at times system did not react to touches on the first try and took multiple attempts. I know Lucid software was subject to a lot of criticism when Air was just released, but I was under the impression that it all got solved over time. Is it not the case?

Thanks all, appreciate any feedback and precautions as I'm considering pulling the trigger on Gravity.

1. Blinker cameras: I never paid attention to those as I rely on side mirrors, amber lights, and audio warnings. Now that you said the video is poor, and that may be true but perhaps because it's meant to report if there's an obstacle in the blind spot but not necessarily the details of the obstacle.

The 360 view is very good and responsive for me.

2) Laggy volume control: I think you are describing the spring-loaded flipper on the steering wheel: It's a worse controller that I've experienced. Not only for volume on the right but for the cruise speed on the left. It's time sensitive so a quick flipping up or down would be 1-step incremental and a longer ones would quickly step up to 5 on the left and I assume a quicker increase in volume on the right. Thus, for volume, I use the 360 roller below the dashboard and above the big screen: Very responsive, very precise.

My screens are appropriately responsive to touch with no lag. Since you had to touch several times, that could mean it needs servicing.

 

[borski]

1. Camera quality was horrendous - both, side view with blinker on and 360 (the car had DD Premium) - laggy and noisy image. Felt like 2014 compared to Mercedes. Assume that's not just a tester I was driving, do you know if there's any software update planned to address the issue, and / or if Gravity will have the same camera system or something better?

The cameras are not laggy for me at all, or a noisy image, but they're definitely not 4K either. Gravity has far more advanced cameras, and a 6K screen, and I can pretty much guarantee they would not put crappy cameras on a 6K screen in 2024.

2. Software was very laggy - a significant delay between pressing "volume up" or "next song" and the actual action, and, just playing with a menu, at times system did not react to touches on the first try and took multiple attempts. I know Lucid software was subject to a lot of criticism when Air was just released, but I was under the impression that it all got solved over time. Is it not the case?

You should've seen it before. There is occasional lag now, but it's relatively rare and predictable. What version of software was the Air on? I wonder if it was on older software.

In any case, 2025-year Airs have a newer CCC which addresses any lag issues at all; this is the 'chip retrofit' a couple youtubers have mentioned may come one day but Lucid has never confirmed.

Gravity runs a new system, on a brand new chip, and is *way* faster in terms of specs. I wouldn't worry about lag on the Gravity at all, at least not due to hardware.

The Air's chip pre-2025 is a couple generations older. It's fine, but I'd be the first one to jump at a chip upgrade.

 

[vav493]

The cameras are not laggy for me at all, or a noisy image, but they're definitely not 4K either. Gravity has far more advanced cameras, and a 6K screen, and I can pretty much guarantee they would not put crappy cameras on a 6K screen in 2024.


You should've seen it before. There is occasional lag now, but it's relatively rare and predictable. What version of software was the Air on? I wonder if it was on older software.

In any case, 2025-year Airs have a newer CCC which addresses any lag issues at all; this is the 'chip retrofit' a couple youtubers have mentioned may come one day but Lucid has never confirmed.

Gravity runs a new system, on a brand new chip, and is *way* faster in terms of specs. I wouldn't worry about lag on the Gravity at all, at least not due to hardware.

The Air's chip pre-2025 is a couple generations older. It's fine, but I'd be the first one to jump at a chip upgrade.

I’ve had a good experience as well! The cameras are normally responsive and, sure maybe the blinker camera’s resolution isn’t cinema worthy but, I’d say it’s not meant for you to stare at while driving 85+ mph and attempting a lane change, so it serves it’s function of letting me know that someone is there haha

For volume control/screen control, I haven’t had any issues, so as mentioned, the vehicle probably needs to be looked at. If it’s a demo unit, I’m curious if (and this is just speculation unless someone can confirm) it’s due to some kind of additional software layer that’s being run to prevent/limit certain functions.

Now, there have been software updates though that have been released that have improved response time and quality, so I’d say it’s comforting to know they actively still care about the product and your experience long after you finalize your purchase. For me, the steering wheel volume control switch improved with this last update, and I think they changed the volume output curve (thank goodness) so it feels much more natural now.

 

[Lucken]

I’ve had a good experience as well! The cameras are normally responsive and, sure maybe the blinker camera’s resolution isn’t cinema worthy but, I’d say it’s not meant for you to stare at while driving 85+ mph and attempting a lane change, so it serves it’s function of letting me know that someone is there haha

Yup. I’ve got an 8K OLED at home for watching movies and my own 8K videos, but the lower resolution of the turn signal cameras never bothered me for a second. They do what they’re supposed to do, augment the blind spot mirrors by showing you the car you’re about to hit if you so choose.

 

[borski]

Yup. I’ve got an 8K OLED at home for watching movies and my own 8K videos, but the lower resolution of the turn signal cameras never bothered me for a second. They do what they’re supposed to do, augment the blind spot mirrors by showing you the car you’re about to hit if you so choose.

Yeah, I guess that’s just it. I don’t care if I can see the tiny dust cloud on my right. I just care if there’s a car or human, lol

 

[Lucken]

Yeah, I guess that’s just it. I don’t care if I can see the tiny dust cloud on my right. I just care if there’s a car or human, lol

Who are you aiming for?

 

[chris]

um. I have no complaints about camera quality and I've honestly never noticed lag. Perhaps I'm not as picky but I see no issue with mine. I snapped this photo earlier today just for fun and even on my photo I see no problems

 

[DeaneG]

@SiberianStar as others have said, the Gravy has all-new electronics compared to the Air. Can't make any judgements until you drive one.

 

[SiberianStar]

Thanks everyone for the inputs. Reassuring to hear people are mostly happy with cameras and software, so I think there's a chance the demo car I drove was a one-off.

I agree that average picture quality is not necessarily a deal breaker, was just surprised to see it on a car of that cost, given it's built from scratch and isn't anchored to some legacy platform / hardware. Cameras are pretty cheap nowadays - I'm sure a full set of 360 cameras costs way less than $1000, so assumed it would be perfect on a GT. On my Mercedes, everything looks super-crisp / smooth / HDR-like, so I guess this contrast played a role in my nitpicking.

 

[DeaneG]

...On my Mercedes, everything looks super-crisp / smooth / HDR-like.

I'm sure that you will find at least a few things that your Mercedes does better. And some that are clearly nicer on the Air. All in all though, after 2+ years I often think about driving my Air, and sometimes dream about it. Never felt that way about our very competent and handy Volvo.