Mercedes-Benz launches OTA entertainment updates for 700,000 vehicles

Mercedes-Benz is preparing a package of over-the-air (OTA) updates for cars with infotainment running the MBUX operating system. The upgrades cover everything from audio improvements to screen capability, but the extras available to each vehicle vary by region, model year, and software generation. The automaker said more than 700,000 products worldwide will be beneficiaries; knowing that the brand sold more than 350,000 vehicles in the U.S. last year provides some perspective on OTA penetration. The full menu available to Mercedes products in the U.S. includes Google’s Place Details, NewsFlash, the YouTube web app, Dolby Atmos, and in-cabin sound for the passenger’s screen. 

Cars running the first-generation MBUX can look forward to Place Details, already a feature of second-gen MBUX software. The add-on provides extra info on more than 200 million businesses around the world, from photos to business hours.  

Vehicles running second-gen software get everything else in MBUX Entertainment Update 2.4. The YouTube web app is coming for the 2024 EQE, EQS, and S-Class equipped an activated Entertainment Package Plus. Those same models that also have the optional Burmester Sound System will enjoy Dolby Atmos, a surround sound upgrade that adds height channels to create 360 degrees of vertical and horizontal layering.

Adding in-cabin sound for the front passenger’s display is the kind of power that will need great responsibility. Right now, models with the MBUX Hyperscreen require the front passenger to use headphones to hear sound when watching video on the passenger’s display. The upgrade appears limited to electric models, the EQE and EQS fitted with the Hyperscreen. Shotgun riders here can also add a “personal decorative image” to their side of the display through the Mercedes me connect app.

NewsFlash will be coming to the U.S. before the end of the year. This plays the headlines found in owner-chosen outlets after receiving the prompt, “Hey Mercedes, play the news.”

To get the update, owners will receive a notification on the MBUX Update Wizard in the vehicle or through the Mercedes me connect app once the package is ready for download.