Remote S: Tesla app for Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch

[liuping]

If you do a major redesign, I would consider mimicking the official Model S app in that there are different screens. Dedicate one to HVAC, another to controls, etc. Doesn't have to be an exact copy, but instead of forcing everything on to one screen . . .

One of the main features of Remote S is it presents all the useful info and controls on a single page, so you don't have to move between screens.

 

[PatD]

One of the main features of Remote S is it presents all the useful info and controls on a single page, so you don't have to move between screens.

I hear that, but I like the idea that we have MORE features than are available to us in the official app. That's where the value is in my opinion. If we have one screen and can't fit everything in, that's not valuable.

Changing to an additional screen to access more features is a win to me. Losing features because they can't fit on one screen doesn't seem a good "fit."

 

[liuping]

I hear that, but I like the idea that we have MORE features than are available to us in the official app. That's where the value is in my opinion. If we have one screen and can't fit everything in, that's not valuable.

Changing to an additional screen to access more features is a win to me. Losing features because they can't fit on one screen doesn't seem a good "fit."

There is already an extra features page (press the "REMOTE S" on the top of the screen) for lesser used features like camping mode.

I don't mind having multiplepages, but keeping the most useful status and controls on one page is what makes this app more convenient than the official one (well that and the Apple Watch support, when my watch ever arrives).

I really like having unlocking, range info, charge controls/status, and climate control right on the startup page. Which controls would you move to a second page?

 

[PatD]

There is already an extra features page (press the "REMOTE S" on the top of the screen) for lesser used features like camping mode.

I don't mind having multiplepages, but keeping the most useful status and controls on one page is what makes this app more convenient than the official one (well that and the Apple Watch support, when my watch ever arrives).

I really like having unlocking, range info, charge controls/status, and climate control right on the startup page. Which controls would you move to a second page?

I haven't even had a chance to download the app yet, so I can't say this feature or that feature. I was merely referring to the multiple times that the author or someone else said "due to the lack of real estate", etc. If there isn't enough real estate, make more. Having a summary page with the most used features is great. Then give the ability to drill in to more features/aspects of those summary items on other pages. Having to go to an advanced menu, for example, to be able to control HVAC individually for driver and passenger seems silly. Make an HVAC dedicated page that has this control, as well as inside and outside temp.

Sunroof control on the home/summary page is great. Want more control over the four options on the summary page? Make a sunroof page. Give the ability to vent and move anywhere between 0-100% open.

Etc.

Like I said, having some of these features is great since the official app doesn't have them. I'm more than happy to change a page or two to get them.

 

[AllenWong]

BTW, Tesla contacted me and they did not ask me to remove the app. They actually want me to work on their current app. Hmm...

Loving the app. More notes:

1. In Celsius, the temp only adjusts in full 1 degree increments, while in the car we can do 0.5 degree changes.

2. I know you documented the car can report very accurate odometer readings, but for the sake of clean interface and true applicability, I'd suggest truncating the odometer reading to 1 decimal place. I doubt it matters to most that they can travel a few centimeters more or less.

1. I wasn't aware of that. I'll add it to the TODO list for version 2.0. Version 1.1 already was submitted to the app store.
2. The accuracy is actually up to a few feet. So it might be useful for someone to check to see if someone moved their car, even if it's a small distance. But I can truncate it to the .1 decimal and hide the more accurate number somewhere else.

- - - Updated - - -

I haven't even had a chance to download the app yet, so I can't say this feature or that feature. I was merely referring to the multiple times that the author or someone else said "due to the lack of real estate", etc. If there isn't enough real estate, make more. Having a summary page with the most used features is great. Then give the ability to drill in to more features/aspects of those summary items on other pages. Having to go to an advanced menu, for example, to be able to control HVAC individually for driver and passenger seems silly. Make an HVAC dedicated page that has this control, as well as inside and outside temp.

Sunroof control on the home/summary page is great. Want more control over the four options on the summary page? Make a sunroof page. Give the ability to vent and move anywhere between 0-100% open.

Etc.

Like I said, having some of these features is great since the official app doesn't have them. I'm more than happy to change a page or two to get them.

I'll keep this in mind when I make the interface overhaul.

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@regoapps Can you speak to how the app keeps / allows the car to go back to sleep? In the official Tesla app as well as Visible Tesla it is very clear when the car is sleeping and being waked up. It is hard to tell from Remote S the current state of the car.

Is the car asleep when you can't read the interior and exterior temperatures? Is that one way to tell? I'll look through the API again to figure out if the car is asleep or not. I didn't know that this was a useful status to know.

 

[R²B]

Feature Request (iPhone, iPad app): Instead of showing a blank world map as the default background when the app is opened, can you automatically ping the location of the car and update the background without making the user ping the location?

 

[AllenWong]

Feature Request (iPhone, iPad app): Instead of showing a blank world map as the default background when the app is opened, can you automatically ping the location of the car and update the background without making the user ping the location?

Already taken care of in version 1.1. Just wait a few days for the update.

 

[PatD]

BTW, Tesla contacted me and they did not ask me to remove the app. They actually want me to work on their current app. Hmm...

That's cool! Very cool! I can't believe in just the few days since you put this out the amount of news and such this has gotten! Congrats and nicely done - it speaks to how well you thought this out, as well as the "need" for a better app (And Tesla obviously hears it - love that they're open to stuff like this!!)

 

[jomo25]

BTW, Tesla contacted me and they did not ask me to remove the app. They actually want me to work on their current app. Hmm...

That is awesome. Very happy to hear they are embracing this. I don't know if joining them is what you sought, but it's nice having the acknowledgement, recognition, and opportunity! I for one, hope you do, as long as they don't shackle you or your abilities.

 

[dweeks]

"The app now attempts to query the Tesla servers every 5.1 seconds instead of every 15 seconds. This makes the app more responsive on both the handheld devices and the Apple Watch."

I have the app, and love it!

Won't pinging the servers more often possibly get the user to be locked out. Didn't Visible Tesla have issues like this?

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Actually, the first iterations of VisibleTesla (VT) did not work for new Model S owners since December 2014 (including myself) because Tesla changed the way their servers work, so we had to way a couple of months until Joe Pasqua (author of VT) created a new version of VT that completely changed the backend interface to Tesla's APIs in order to connect again. There's no telling if or when Tesla might do this again and move to a new API setup (and updated mobile apps), so we're not completely shielded from getting "shutdown". Of course, you could reverse engineer the new APIs and recompile your app again, but in the meantime we'd be down - just like what happened with VT.

I'm one of those who lost Visible Tesla access when I was moved (apparently) to the new servers.

I -can- get in to my MS using Rego's Remote S appm which is great. I have no clue why I still have no VT access.

 

[dsm363]

I'm one of those who lost Visible Tesla access when I was moved (apparently) to the new servers.

I -can- get in to my MS using Rego's Remote S appm which is great. I have no clue why I still have no VT access.

Do you have the latest version? I had same issue but theater version fixed it with VisibleTesla.

 

[dweeks]

I have Mac version 50.07. I just tried it for the first time in ten days just a moment ago, and cannot log in.

Is there a newer Mac version?

 

[dsm363]

I have Mac version 50.07. I just tried it for the first time in ten days just a moment ago, and cannot log in.

Is there a newer Mac version?

I think that is latest version. I had same issue with old version after I changed my password. Try resetting you MyTesla password maybe but probably won't help.

Remote S works fine though. No issues logging in.

 

[dweeks]

"Try resetting you MyTesla password maybe but probably won't help."

Tried that a bunch 'o' times. No help.

I REALLY miss VT.

 

[bws]

The app only communicates with the Tesla servers directly. None of your login information is sent to me. I have no interest in people's login information, and I welcome anyone to sniff the packets sent by the app. This is also easy to do if you have a wifi router that logs the IP addresses that your devices uses. You'll see that the IP addresses it contacts are only Tesla's IP addresses. Your password is stored in the app for the Apple Watch Start Car feature and/or Touch ID feature. If you don't want the app to store any passwords, just don't turn them on. The only reason why I have to store the password is because to start the car, Tesla's API requires the password. Since the Apple Watch doesn't need a password and the Touch ID doesn't have a password input, the app needs the password to send to Tesla's servers. However, nobody has access to that password except for the app, since apps are sandboxed and inaccessible by other apps.

Are you saving the password in the clear in a preference file? Are you encrypting it? Or can someone on a jailbroken phone read the password directly in preferences?

Did you consider using Apple's Keychain Services to support using a password that is saved and encrypted by apple?
https://developer.apple.com/library...ServConcepts/01introduction/introduction.html

 

[AllenWong]

"The app now attempts to query the Tesla servers every 5.1 seconds instead of every 15 seconds. This makes the app more responsive on both the handheld devices and the Apple Watch."

I have the app, and love it!

Won't pinging the servers more often possibly get the user to be locked out. Didn't Visible Tesla have issues like this?

- - - Updated - - -




I'm one of those who lost Visible Tesla access when I was moved (apparently) to the new servers.

I -can- get in to my MS using Rego's Remote S appm which is great. I have no clue why I still have no VT access.

I think every 5.1 seconds is still okay (at least it was okay while I was using the app). I originally had it at 15 seconds to be super safe, which is what you guys have. I'll be testing 5.1 seconds for the next few days. If my account isn't locked out, I'll keep it the way it is. If not, I'll revoke the update and change the update interval to something else. The location/speed/heading section of the app is actually querying the server every 5 seconds in version 1.0, and I ran the breadcrumb function for an hour all the way from Orlando to Tampa. Didn't have any issues.

 

[eye.surgeon]

I'm liking mine, and looking forward to the km/miles bug fix.

Personally I think an update every 10 seconds or so is more than adequate. We don't want to break any servers.

Interestingly, your app connects much quicker than the native Tesla app. Sometimes I get the spinning wheel for 10-30 seconds on the native app, which makes it annoying when I am trying to turn the AC on while walking in the parking lot. Yours is much faster. I wonder why.

 

[Johan]

Interestingly, your app connects much quicker than the native Tesla app. Sometimes I get the spinning wheel for 10-30 seconds on the native app, which makes it annoying when I am trying to turn the AC on while walking in the parking lot. Yours is much faster. I wonder why.

I noticed this too, and it seems to be the same regardsless of if I'm on Wifi or 3G/4G/LTE. Must be some kind of delay in how the native app handles the API?

 

[AllenWong]

I'm liking mine, and looking forward to the km/miles bug fix.

Personally I think an update every 10 seconds or so is more than adequate. We don't want to break any servers.

Interestingly, your app connects much quicker than the native Tesla app. Sometimes I get the spinning wheel for 10-30 seconds on the native app, which makes it annoying when I am trying to turn the AC on while walking in the parking lot. Yours is much faster. I wonder why.

That's actually why I use my own app more than the official one. I got tired of waiting for that spinning wheel. I just want to send the commands right away, and my app allows me to do that.

 

[DITB]

Good job! Just heard of it in a Tesla Facebook group and downloaded it instantly.

I like the one-page overview - although dense you can see it all, without click-and-wait annoyance. Like screens with many pages, little information on each, and you have to wait until page x of y pages to cycle.

I don't have an Apple watch and don't intend to, so I hope the app keeps working as it should.

One feature I'd really like: Set a certain maximum temperature / minimum charge: Ie if SOC is > 70 OR the car is plugged in => then start the AC if the temperature gets above or below a certain limit (to prevent deep freezing or over-cooking)

Not sure this could run 24/7, especially if phone is not online (asking for too much, I know)