Upgrade offers a glimpse into a world with far more advanced technology than what could be considered possible in the year 2020. While not the spotlight of the film's events, advances in network communications largely drive the plot of the movie. In the first few minutes, we see Grey repairing a car that would not look out of place on the road before the year 2000, which might seem slightly out of place considering the sci-fi-esque tech we see throughout the film. In an opening scene, Grey and his wife Asha are driven by a self-driving car to his client, Eron. These cars are shown to seamlessly transport their passengers to their destination, regardless of traffic and/or additional detours. It can be reasonably inferred that these cars clearly are connecting to an outside source to retrieve the information used to navigate, however, whether this information is delivered via an Internet connection or a far more powerful technology is never made entirely clear unless it is brushed aside with a convenient plot point. Upon closer inspection it is revealed that these self-driving cars are a relative rarity in the world of Upgrade. Whenever a smart-car is shown onscreen there are always substantially more "non-smart cars" on the road in comparison, possibly indicating a class difference between those who can afford the visibly expensive technology and the many, many others who cannot.

In addition to self-driving cars, several characters are seen using earpiece-like devices to place and receive phone calls. These earpiece phones are seen used often enough to infer that this is the standard way to call someone in this setting. At first glance, the police drones shown in Upgrade do not look too different from modern drones, however they have substantially more powerful technology behind them. These drones are used to survey areas seemingly 24/7 and are also equipped with facial-recognition software to assist in the tracking of suspects. The technology depicted in Upgrade is substantially more connected than existing technology circa 2020 and serves to facilitate several plot-crucial events in the film, but is largely overshadowed by more plot-relevant technologies such as information privacy and network security.