Supercharger Routing App for iOS, Beta testers wanted

[James K]

Hello everyone! Over the last couple of months, I’ve been working on an iOS app for Tesla navigation routing with superchargers, not unlike the routing feature inside Tesla vehicles. For those unfamiliar, it is similar to most navigation apps where you input start and destination locations, and the app will calculate the most optimal route, while taking superchargers into account to make sure you have enough charge to get to your destination. It is intended to be an informational app to see your upcoming routes, not a navigation app for use while driving. The app is called Replug and I have plans to release it to the App Store in the coming months. It is currently ready for a public beta and I’d appreciate anyone’s help in testing it.

Replug uses Apple Maps, so it works everywhere Apple Maps has data. In the future I will explore switching to Google Maps. There are also a few routing parameters for your charge, namely departure, arrival and min/mx charge levels. I recently took a few road trips and personally I find it very useful for planning them, especially when tweaking the charge parameters and seeing how my route changes.

Whether you are a current or future owner, if you are interested in trying out the beta, it is conducted via Apple’s Testflight app, which means I only need your email address: you can fill out this form or DM me your email. Please send any feedback via the Feedback button in the app, or DM me anywhere online. Thank you so much and I hope some of you find this useful.

Video and some screenshots:

NYC to Toronto with 2 chargers

Charge level options

Route search

 

[AMPd]

What benefits does this have over evtripplanner or Teslas own navigation?

 

[James K]

What benefits does this have over evtripplanner or Teslas own navigation?

The goal with this was to be a native app for iOS, so it can be used on your phone.

 

[CliffG]

So, this is free-standing, with no required token or registration for our cars, and no credentials required. Yes?

 

[James K]

So, this is free-standing, with no required token or registration for our cars, and no credentials required. Yes?

Yes, there is no linkage to your car. This is purely an app on your phone that accesses Apple Maps.

 

[CliffG]

Yes, there is no linkage to your car. This is purely an app on your phone that accesses Apple Maps.

cool. thanks.

 

[ShannonOh]

Awesome. I found this thread because I was seaeching for threads about “charge at destination.”

I have a couple road trips planned where there will be no destination charging available other than possibly 110. In some cases I may not need to drive around after I’ve reached the destination; I’m turning right around and coming back. In other cases I want to be able to drive around town for 30-50 miles, before heading back home.

I think this deserves a feature request. I would like to be able to tell the in-car nav how much charge I need at my destination, and/or a setting that says “route me through superchargers and make sure I can return.”

Sounds like your app is a nice potential stop-gap until it goes native in the car. The other routers are not easy to use on the phone; UI matters a lot!

Signing up for the public beta. Thanks again!

 

[SalisburySam]

@Jamesk, if I understand your app, this is for standalone iOS-based trip planning with embedded supercharger/other locations using the iOS native Apple Maps. If that’s correct, I’m not sure I need it. For example, will there be a way to get a created trip plan transferred into the car itself without having to re-enter everything anyway? How would your app be better than say, EV Trip Planner or A Better Route Planner, or Tesla’s own Go Anywhere? Also, Apple Maps retains a weak reputation in mapping due to errors, lack of current information, and other traits although it is getting better.

Maybe the bottom line question is: why would I as an iPhone and Apple ecosystem user find your app compelling over existing alternatives?

 

[youlikeadajuice]

@Jamesk, if I understand your app, this is for standalone iOS-based trip planning with embedded supercharger/other locations using the iOS native Apple Maps. If that’s correct, I’m not sure I need it. For example, will there be a way to get a created trip plan transferred into the car itself without having to re-enter everything anyway? How would your app be better than say, EV Trip Planner or A Better Route Planner, or Tesla’s own Go Anywhere? Also, Apple Maps retains a weak reputation in mapping due to errors, lack of current information, and other traits although it is getting better.

Maybe the bottom line question is: why would I as an iPhone and Apple ecosystem user find your app compelling over existing alternatives?

I'm probably an outlier, but I have a 2013 Model S with no navigation or route planning. I opted not to get the "tech package" at the time since the only feature I wanted out of it was navigation, and $4000 for navigation seemed steep for something my phone could already do. Since I'm already using my phone for navigation when I need it, an IOS based route planner is logical for me. I'm looking forward to testing this out.

 

[James K]

Awesome. I found this thread because I was seaeching for threads about “charge at destination.”

I have a couple road trips planned where there will be no destination charging available other than possibly 110. In some cases I may not need to drive around after I’ve reached the destination; I’m turning right around and coming back. In other cases I want to be able to drive around town for 30-50 miles, before heading back home.

I think this deserves a feature request. I would like to be able to tell the in-car nav how much charge I need at my destination, and/or a setting that says “route me through superchargers and make sure I can return.”

Sounds like your app is a nice potential stop-gap until it goes native in the car. The other routers are not easy to use on the phone; UI matters a lot!

Signing up for the public beta. Thanks again!

Yeah I'd love to have that feature in the car nav as well! Glad you like the UI, I'm just going for something native to iOS, something usable from the phone instead of having to be on a computer.

@Jamesk, if I understand your app, this is for standalone iOS-based trip planning with embedded supercharger/other locations using the iOS native Apple Maps. If that’s correct, I’m not sure I need it. For example, will there be a way to get a created trip plan transferred into the car itself without having to re-enter everything anyway? How would your app be better than say, EV Trip Planner or A Better Route Planner, or Tesla’s own Go Anywhere? Also, Apple Maps retains a weak reputation in mapping due to errors, lack of current information, and other traits although it is getting better.

Maybe the bottom line question is: why would I as an iPhone and Apple ecosystem user find your app compelling over existing alternatives?

Great question, the most compelling reason is just a routing app you can use on a phone. The other planners you mentioned were a huge source of inspiration for me, and I often relied on them to plan routes before starting on a road trip. Those planners are more mature and probably have better data and models, but sometimes its just more convenient to be able to do some routing from my phone. And frankly, it is as an iPhone and Apple ecosystem user, that Replug offers an experience native to iOS .

There is no direct way to have a trip transferred into the car, as far as I'm aware. However, there are some tricks, like adding the destination address as a contact into your phone's Contacts Book, or as an event on your Calendar (S and X only, no calendar sync for 3 yet). That will sync to the car, from which you can tap the address to start navigation. This is a feature I'm going to be adding in the future to Replug.

 

[SalisburySam]

Yeah I'd love to have that feature in the car nav as well! Glad you like the UI, I'm just going for something native to iOS, something usable from the phone instead of having to be on a computer.




Great question, the most compelling reason is just a routing app you can use on a phone. The other planners you mentioned were a huge source of inspiration for me, and I often relied on them to plan routes before starting on a road trip. Those planners are more mature and probably have better data and models, but sometimes its just more convenient to be able to do some routing from my phone. And frankly, it is as an iPhone and Apple ecosystem user, that Replug offers an experience native to iOS .

There is no direct way to have a trip transferred into the car, as far as I'm aware. However, there are some tricks, like adding the destination address as a contact into your phone's Contacts Book, or as an event on your Calendar (S and X only, no calendar sync for 3 yet). That will sync to the car, from which you can tap the address to start navigation. This is a feature I'm going to be adding in the future to Replug.

OK, willing to give it a shot. I completed the form to enroll in the beta. Best of luck with Replug!

 

[Steveb48]

Hi James,

Just setup the app. As we have different size battery packs, we need a way to enter our max range. Looks like you're working on that.
One thing the in car app doesn't do is set way points. For example, I'm in San Jose and I want to go to Disneyland. It routes me down I5 but what if I want to take the coast route? That would be a great feature for your app. I normally use EVTrippin. You should also display at least time of charge for charging stops.

thanks,
Steve

 

[David99]

I'd love to help test it. But I will warn you, I'm blunt with feedback. LOL I have 177k miles on my Model S and do a lot of road trips and have learned a lot.
Estimating the correct energy consumption is the basis of it all. If that isn't as good as the established tools (EVTripplanner or AbetterRoutePlanner, Tesla's navi) the whole concept falls apart.
Charge speed varies a lot between different batteries and depends on the age of the car. You really need to account for that. My car charges 20-25% slower than when it was new. Makes quite a difference when calculating charge times.
While having a native app is good, that alone isn't enough to convince me. Accurate and flexible planning is more important so I'm fine using a web tool on my phone or tablet to plan if it gives me the best plan. So maybe think of a few features that make your app stand out.

 

[James K]

Just setup the app. As we have different size battery packs, we need a way to enter our max range. Looks like you're working on that.
One thing the in car app doesn't do is set way points. For example, I'm in San Jose and I want to go to Disneyland. It routes me down I5 but what if I want to take the coast route? That would be a great feature for your app. I normally use EVTrippin. You should also display at least time of charge for charging stops.

Yeah most of those niceties are going to come later. For now I'm still tweaking the routing algorithm.

I'd love to help test it. But I will warn you, I'm blunt with feedback. LOL I have 177k miles on my Model S and do a lot of road trips and have learned a lot.
Estimating the correct energy consumption is the basis of it all. If that isn't as good as the established tools (EVTripplanner or AbetterRoutePlanner, Tesla's navi) the whole concept falls apart.
Charge speed varies a lot between different batteries and depends on the age of the car. You really need to account for that. My car charges 20-25% slower than when it was new. Makes quite a difference when calculating charge times.
While having a native app is good, that alone isn't enough to convince me. Accurate and flexible planning is more important so I'm fine using a web tool on my phone or tablet to plan if it gives me the best plan. So maybe think of a few features that make your app stand out.

Sounds good, all kinds of feedback are appreciated. To be honest tho, this app is still very new compared to those, and there's still parts of the routing algorithm I'm still building out and tweaking, so it's definitely not as accurate as those established ones yet.


Side note, Apple recently added a new way to add Testflight beta testers with a direct link. So anybody looking to test can now use this link instead of waiting for me to add your email from that form: Join the Replug beta

 

[TonyT]

There is no direct way to have a trip transferred into the car, as far as I'm aware. However, there are some tricks, like adding the destination address as a contact into your phone's Contacts Book, or as an event on your Calendar (S and X only, no calendar sync for 3 yet). That will sync to the car, from which you can tap the address to start navigation. This is a feature I'm going to be adding in the future to Replug.

I'm not sure I understand this... In google maps or Apple maps on my phone I can share the location to my car and I just tap navigate on the car gps to start the route. Now I dont think there's a way to do it directly from google maps on PC to car...

 

[James K]

I'm not sure I understand this... In google maps or Apple maps on my phone I can share the location to my car and I just tap navigate on the car gps to start the route. Now I dont think there's a way to do it directly from google maps on PC to car...

Yeah that is correct, you can do that now. At the time of my comment in September, that feature was not available yet in any Teslas as far as I was aware. Now it's a native share option, and in the current version of the Replug beta, you can share the route from Replug to your car now.

 

[Cycle11111]

I will give it a whirl

 

[TonyT]

Yeah that is correct, you can do that now. At the time of my comment in September, that feature was not available yet in any Teslas as far as I was aware. Now it's a native share option, and in the current version of the Replug beta, you can share the route from Replug to your car now.

Oh I see. I'm new to ownership and Tesla driving. So it's always worked for me

A couple quick comments
Missing some models, S85, S60 (lots of CPO 60's being sold with super charging and may want to buy your app in the future.)
Routing was strange until I chose my car, however I could not get the strange routes again after trying to select different range vehicles.

Will comment more as I play with it.

Thanks!

 

[James K]

Sometimes I'm still seeing new entries to the Beta sign-up form, so heads up, the app (Replug) has left beta and has been available on the App Store for a bit now: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/replug/id1279136790

 

[Cycle11111]

I think this is quite interesting but by vehicle you need to be able to adjust the range - example I drive an M3 P3D- and it does not have 325miles range and was maxed at 310 miles new but has about 2% battery degradation after 21K miles of driving. Net net I need to be able to adjust the range setting. Also does this route planner accommodate elevation changes on your route - my guess is no?