Fisker has announced that its first over-the-air (OTA) software update for 2024 will begin rolling out next week. The OEM’s new update, called Ocean OS 2.0, will be delivered to all trims of Ocean, its electric SUV.
Among its key changes are performance and powertrain improvements, enhancements for the SolarSky energy meter, improved energy management, and other UX improvements. Fisker confirmed that the update will be available to Ocean owners located in its launch markets across the North America and Europe regions from next week and continue through February as part of a sequence of three updates. Following Ocean OS 2.0, Fisker will roll out further OTA updates over the course of 2024.
Heading up the new update is a revised front/rear torque split, which will change the distribution ratio of the Ocean’s dual-motor AWD models from 50:50 to 45:55. While improving traction and handling performance, this update aims to provide sportier, more dynamic, driving in the EV’s Fun and Hyper drive modes. Replacing the Ocean’s Hill Hold feature, the update’s new Automatic Vehicle Hold (AVH) increases the vehicle hold time to improve driver ease and comfort. AVH activates the brakes once the vehicle is stationary, only releasing them when the driver presses the accelerator pedal to move it. Based on user feedback, the feature allows the driver to maintain brake pressure until they’re ready to move the vehicle, where the Hill Hold previously maintained it for around two seconds.
On the Ocean’s Extreme and One trims, a new SolarSky energy meter located in the infotainment system’s Charging/Energy menu shows the driver how much solar charging is being delivered to their vehicle. All trims will benefit from Ocean OS 2.0’s Brake Disc Wiping feature, which sees the braking system automatically clear water from the brake disc surface in wet weather, improving braking response, as well as the new Trailer Sway Mitigation feature which helps counter trailer sway.
For the infotainment system, new Standby Time controls can be used to adjust the amount of time it stays in standby mode, reducing battery usage while increasing vehicle range. Fisker noted that drivers may experience longer vehicle boot-up times when Standby Time is reduced, in order to facilitate this reduced power consumption. Through Ocean OS 2.0, the infotainment system will now incorporate Driver Profiles, allowing multiple drivers using the same vehicle to set individual profiles with unique preferences as well as privacy, comfort, climate control, and audio settings.
The update will also bring a variety of focused performance improvements, including improved energy management and power retention, a reduction in the state of charge lost while the EV is parked, and calibration changes in the cabin heating and cooling to improve defogging. In addition to improved heating and cooling performance while the Ocean’s Earth Mode is active, OTA updates can now be installed while the vehicle is plugged in (though charging will be paused during a software update). For the Extreme/One trims, the update will revise audio tuning to improve bass response, while enhancements to the key fob’s performance will improve its responsiveness. The update will also improve the accuracy in both trip metering, and energy consumption metering.
Following the Ocean OS 2.0 update, Fisker will continue to take a staged rollout approach to software updates, allowing it to implement customer feedback from prior releases and thoroughly test the OTA pipeline.