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Rivian 2026.03 Hands-On Review, Dual Motor Apple Watch and Winter Improvements
Rivian’s 2026.03 software update is here and it’s a big one. In this video I break down the Dual-Motor updates, improvements to Kneel Mode, the move to Unreal Engine 5.5, new Apple Watch support, and smarter cold weather range transparency. From performance tweaks to UI upgrades, this is one of those releases that quietly makes your R1 feel more refined across the board, and yes even Gen 1 owners will be happy!
Note: I live in Florida so I really couldn’t review cold weather improvements but from others I know who have tested it, it seems to be a huge win.
Release Notes available at https://riviantrackr.com/2026-03/
Friend of the site, Quinn Nelson did a great video and shared it on social media showcasing the Rivian Apple Watch app which you can check out after my 2026.03 review!
This is great, but I really hope they provide Android device access as well. The Apple ecosystem is not something I care to switch over to.
Agreed!
You mention that soft sand and rally modes are a benefit of the performance upgrade, but they were added to (at least) adventure package G2 DM cars a few updates ago.
You are right, if you have the All-Terrain package on your Dual it comes with those as well!
I have a R1S ,QUAD, 2024 . The Apple App Store shows the latest Rivian mobile app version 3.8.1. Where can you find 3.9 or greater?
As of right now, it hasn’t rolled out just yet.
3.9 just showed up in play store, so I’d assume the Apple store was just released too
Forgot to add that regarding toll gantries, my car never slowed down, and just treated them like highway. The only exception is an area where the road splits and there are toll booths on one side but a gantry on the other. There it would warn of an upcoming toll but once it was clear I was in the left express lanes it treated it like regular highway. Note this was the case even before UHF, when it was touch the steering wheel every so often. Maybe the issue near you is that the switch from toll booths to gantries was more recent and the map info was not up to date? I assume the warning to take over is not based on visual cues as it happens pretty far from the toll plaza.
Great review! Appreciate the AWD solution for dual motor owners but we would still LOVE a shortcut (preferably on the right steering wheel buttons) to be able to quickly change drive modes given the auto reset to All Purpose. I know that Kyle from Out of Spec has suggested this as well!
I have to say the driver attention system feels overly reactive.
I understand the safety intent, but it’s so sensitive that even a brief glance at the screen to change a song triggers a warning. It feels like there’s almost no tolerance for normal in-car interactions.
In my opinion, Rivian should consider making it slightly less reactive. There has to be a balance between safety and practical usability. Right now it feels a bit too aggressive.
Curious if others feel the same.
Agreed! It’s the first version release, so hopefully they extend the time till warning as we get closer to point-to-point.
Just got the push! Downloaded and now preparing…
Does the watch app only work after the car also updates? I updated my phone app and installed the watch app, but it’s stuck on the logo spinning.
Hey Jose and Team, Love the new update but I want to provide some feedback to Rivian. Any idea on how to do this? I have had the update installed for 1hr before noticing that the font for the text on the vehicle’s gauges screen appears to be thinner/smaller. The tires on the drivetrain image appear smaller as well. I am just getting to the point where I need “readers” so little things like this are noticeable…. Also I was unable to activate my garage door opener while I am simultaneously “kneeling” the truck. I was looking forward to kneeling while driving down my driveway and then also opening the garage door. I now have to kneel,and then wait for the door opener icon to come up to open the door. So… effectively the efficiency of kneeling on the fly is given up by having to wait until the door opener icon comes back up on the screen. I think this could be a quick fix! Any help getting this feedback to someone at Rivian would be great!
Is there anything else beside AWD for the sport mode?? Isn’t snow mode also make the vehicle AWD, so I assume there are differences other than being AWD.
Hey has there also been a change in the amount of time the windshield washers run?
I’m finding universal hands free way better so far. Off highway it had random slowdowns. It seems to do that less and it is doing better not dragging into turn lanes
One thing I noticed after the update in my Gen 1 R1T that wasn’t notated is now when I go to turn on my wipers I only have to push the toggle up once to start the “Auto Low” program whereas before I had to bump it to wake up or select the setting and then a second time to select the speed. Definitely happy with this little change as it is easy to start wipers!