Model S Software/Firmware wishlist

[DITB]

I believe what DITB means - while you are on your way, running navigation, the instrument cluster should also show how much (rated) range will be leftover after the destination is reached, based on extrapolation estimates - is pretty much the same as knowing the current "estimated" range left.

Yes, exactly.

Example:

50 miles to destination

70 miles rated range

At the speed I am going (or because of uphill, headwind, driving style or whatever), I am currently using more Wh/mile than the rated range - and will arrive at my destination with 10 miles rated range.

THAT is what I want to see. NOT that I have 70 miles rated range left RIGHT NOW, but rather how much is my rated range estimated to be, once I reach my destination, in this case 10 miles.

As long as that number stays above zero, I should be good to keep going at that rate (unless last part of the route is a steep upslope, which isn't counted into the Nav calculation!)

 

[CliffG]

Yes, exactly.

Example:

50 miles to destination

70 miles rated range

At the speed I am going (or because of uphill, headwind, driving style or whatever), I am currently using more Wh/mile than the rated range - and will arrive at my destination with 10 miles rated range.

THAT is what I want to see. NOT that I have 70 miles rated range left RIGHT NOW, but rather how much is my rated range estimated to be, once I reach my destination, in this case 10 miles.

As long as that number stays above zero, I should be good to keep going at that rate (unless last part of the route is a steep upslope, which isn't counted into the Nav calculation!)

Sounds reasonable. And it gives you an idea of what radius within which to look for destination charging if you don't have something already lined up (or fallback chargers).

 

[RichardL]

This would be very reasonable - it is the calculation I do periodically on a long run to check my progress. Having it as part of a comprehensive upgrade to navigation to include the charging planning would be great (along with shuffle :biggrin: )

 

[sunsworth]

My wish list

Speed activated driving profiles - link steering mode to ride height
<10mph Comfort steering
>10mph Standard
>70mph Sports (+ lower suspension)

Add Homelink to steering wheel controls

Change Energy screen to include more diagnostic information
Battery Temp
Health check
Tire pressures etc.

LOOSE the skeuomorphism! - the world has adopted a flat design, time to push the envelope with something more modern
There is sooo much room for improvement here, we have a massive canvas to work with.

Better functionality around media
search, better use of favorites, get away from the drilling into lists and surface them as tiles or icons (again ties into a UI refresh)

 

[Robert.Boston]

Great first post; welcome to TMC.

LOOSE the skeuomorphism! - the world has adopted a flat design, time to push the envelope with something more modern
There is sooo much room for improvement here, we have a massive canvas to work with.

What in particular are you referring to? I could see losing the analog side of the speedometer, but I'd hate to lose the analog power meter--that's really useful to me in its current form.

 

[iffatall]

... I could see losing the analog side of the speedometer, but I'd hate to lose the analog power meter--that's really useful to me in its current form.

I would not consider the "analog" speedometer and power meter as skeumorphs.

 

[sunsworth]

I have no issue with the console (although custom themes would be nice as a future update), it's the big boy screen with those big goofy AOL style icons and the faux dashboard elements - this is suppose to be a car of the future. I see so much potential for the big screen that currently isn't being taken advantage of.
Maybe it's just me?

My biggest daily gripe though remains pulling into my driveway and having to learn forward to touch the screen to activate the homelink - yes it might be a little bit of exercise but I feel that should activate on the console not the dashboard and should be triggered via a steering wheel button.

 

[bonnie]

Some posts moved to Snippiness. C'mon guys. And knock off the personal insults. That will earn negative reputation.

 

[Bugeater]

Disclaimer, didn't want to go through all the posts to see if this had been suggested before...

I really wish they would allow you to sync your Google Maps account with the Model S nav. Then you could map them ahead of time on Google Maps and they would magically appear on the Model S nav!

Also it would be really nice if you could point at a spot on the Model S nav map and add a personal POI that would sync back to your Google Maps account!

 

[spentan]

TouchID Support for the iOS app and starting the car would be great

 

[andrewket]

TouchID Support for the iOS app and starting the car would be great

+1, but since it would only work for a small subset of users I wouldn't get my hopes up for awhile. Although Elon might not be able to resist the cool factor.

 

[wayner]

+1, but since it would only work for a small subset of users...

Why only a small subset? I am guessing that Apple has well over a 50% market share of folks willing to pay $80k+ for a car. In the US the iPhone has about a 41% market share in general. And since Touch ID has been available for about 15 months I am guessing that most of the Tesla owners with iPhones have phones that are Touch ID enabled.

 

[green1]

Why only a small subset? I am guessing that Apple has well over a 50% market share of folks willing to pay $80k+ for a car. In the US the iPhone has about a 41% market share in general. And since Touch ID has been available for about 15 months I am guessing that most of the Tesla owners with iPhones have phones that are Touch ID enabled.

Apple has a tiny share of the smartphone market, and although they have some expensive smartphones, they don't make a high end phone at all.
Your 41% is also way out of whack. it's closer to 17% last I looked.

 

[spentan]

Apple has a tiny share of the smartphone market, and although they have some expensive smartphones, they don't make a high end phone at all.
Your 41% is also way out of whack. it's closer to 17% last I looked.

41% is accurate according to Forbes from June this year.

Edit: source:Apple's U.S. iPhone Market Share Holding Steady - Forbes

I'd personally say (as a user of multiple Android and iOS devices), that the iPhone 6 plus is definitely a high end phone)

I've owned a significant amount of Android phones (left Apple after the iPhone 5, Xperia Z, galaxy s4, note 3, nexus 5, HTC m8, galaxy s5, Xperia z2) and now am back on a 6 plus and loving it.

Not here to start a religious iOS vs Android war. The TouchID API shouldn't be too hard to implement though,

 

[Robert.Boston]

According to the latest numbers from comShare, Apples has a 41.7% share of the U.S. smartphone market as of September. Further, the report states that 72 percent of all mobile phones are smartphones, so Apple has a 30% of the overall U.S. mobile phone market.

What I'm not sure about is what % of Apple users have replaced their older phones with an iPhone 6. In the unrepresentative sample of my household, that figure is 0 out of 4.

 

[stevej119]

I'm sure this has been mentioned in the 82 pages of posts on this subject, but what I really miss from my previous car is a backup camera with guides that follow the steering movement. The backup camera with the current software is pretty useless for backing into a garage, carport or a Tesla SC station. We've been told for a couple of years that it's coming and that it's just software. Where is it? I'm pretty sure I've read about damage to SC stations which would likely be prevented if the backup camera showed you where you'll be going as you turn the wheel. Is anyone else with me on this one?

 

[HankLloydRight]

I'm sure this has been mentioned in the 82 pages of posts on this subject, but what I really miss from my previous car is a backup camera with guides that follow the steering movement. The backup camera with the current software is pretty useless for backing into a garage, carport or a Tesla SC station. We've been told for a couple of years that it's coming and that it's just software. Where is it? I'm pretty sure I've read about damage to SC stations which would likely be prevented if the backup camera showed you where you'll be going as you turn the wheel. Is anyone else with me on this one?

Not really. I've been driving for over 30 years without a backup camera, and haven't caused any damage when backing up (and I back in to spaces A LOT). Just because a backup camera *doesn't* have pretty lines is a cause for people to crash into things? How about just good driving?

I've also read on this forum that it's not just software, that the video signaling used is very difficult to inject a graphic overlay.

 

[stevej119]

Not really. I've been driving for over 30 years without a backup camera, and haven't caused any damage when backing up (and I back in to spaces A LOT). Just because a backup camera *doesn't* have pretty lines is a cause for people to crash into things? How about just good driving?

I've also read on this forum that it's not just software, that the video signaling used is very difficult to inject a graphic overlay.

I'm happy to hear you've been driving for over 30 years and haven't caused any damage backing up. You also managed for the first 28 or so of those years without an electric car, but it's pretty nice to have, isn't it? I drove for 34 years without a backup camera and also caused no damage while backing up (aside from maybe scraping a tire against a curb parallel parking). Then I purchased a car two years ago with a backup camera which had guides to show where you would end up as you turn the wheel. Can I back up and not hit anything without those guides? Yes. Is it as convenient? No. If it can't be done, then it can't be done. If it is just software, though, it's high up on my list.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Yes, it's certainly nice to have...I'll give you that.

But anyone that can't back up into a SC spot without causing damage because they don't have pretty lines on the backup camera shouldn't be driving a Model S in the first place.

Or driving at all.

 

[spentan]

Yes, it's certainly nice to have...I'll give you that.

But anyone that can't back up into a SC spot without causing damage because they don't have pretty lines on the backup camera shouldn't be driving a Model S in the first place.

Bit harsh,

But I agree, didn't have Parking sensors on my first two Teslas and never had an issue