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Tesla - Apple Watch support
- Thread starter R²B
- Start date
This is awesome . . . I can't wait to give you my $10. :smile: And thanks for doing this!
Wow, isn't that the stainless steel version with the sapphire face? So how did you break it?
ra-san
Member
Seriously? You didn't say *only* $10, so I'm reading this as an implication $10 is too much. The economics of phone/tablet apps is screwy. When you think about the time it takes to make something that's actually polished and good, the amount you get from a limited market such as Tesla owners is, well, frankly it's a labor of love. There's no way it makes financial sense. Then seeing someone put down the effort kinda stings. I mean, if it were me I'd want the honest opinion, but I'd really hope it was understood the amount of effort involved, and the limited number of people that it's applicable to.
cgiGuy
Active Member
I noticed you moved the phone out of view for a second when you did the remote start feature. Did you have the app automatically pass the password along at that point? If so, how is the app secured from someone else using it? Just wondering if you've added an authentication that checks that it's still on the owner (similar to how ApplePay is supposed to work)?
Thanks
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Agreed. Specialty apps are usually priced much higher than your typical "let's see how many people will buy this for 10 minutes of entertainment" apps. I've paid much more for home automation apps.
I think he's selling himself short if he thinks only a dozen people will buy it. He's underestimating the number of us geeks that drive Teslas. (Although I don't have an iWatch.. and I'm not sure if I will get one.)
Johan
Ex got M3 in the divorce, waiting for EU Model Y!
Regarding the keyless start: it would be super cool if the watch app saved and forwarded the password (if the user allows it) but instead ask for touchID on the iPhone for authentication. Don't know though if this would be possible to program?
JerryNycom
Member
SteveW25561
Member
This looks like a terrific app. Impressed at the range of features. I've been looking for something to justify the apple watch I've already ordered and this makes a pretty great case for it.
If you're able, can you elaborate:
1. What security is there for end users: I presume since it can start the car, you have full access to the car's remote control APIs. You can see why this brings up potential security questions if this is being done by a third party?
2. You give a coy smiley for access to the tesla APIs/remote access protocols. Your app gives better control than Tesla's own apps. Will this result in some sort of cease and desist or some complaint from Tesla?
Don't get me wrong: I'll buy your app as soon as it hits the store. It's very impressive and I hope you have great success with it! I hope you understand why security questions might come up. Good luck!
If you're able, can you elaborate:
1. What security is there for end users: I presume since it can start the car, you have full access to the car's remote control APIs. You can see why this brings up potential security questions if this is being done by a third party?
2. You give a coy smiley for access to the tesla APIs/remote access protocols. Your app gives better control than Tesla's own apps. Will this result in some sort of cease and desist or some complaint from Tesla?
Don't get me wrong: I'll buy your app as soon as it hits the store. It's very impressive and I hope you have great success with it! I hope you understand why security questions might come up. Good luck!
So as I'm reading the last of the posts here, and glance down at my iPhone, I see a notice that my credit card has just been charged for my "Apple Watch 42mm Stainless Steel Case with Black Sport Band!" From "Processing Items" to "Preparing for Shipment!" Looks like May 13 - May 27 will be happening sooner rather than later! Woohoo!
Please, please take my money for this amazing APP! If I bring my lunch to work one day, I think I will be able to afford the $10, or .00009 of what I paid for my car!
Please, please take my money for this amazing APP! If I bring my lunch to work one day, I think I will be able to afford the $10, or .00009 of what I paid for my car!
Rats! My identical one still shows May 13-May27. That, and I ordered exactly two minutes after the store opened for preorders. I even got us at precisely 23:55 PT the previous day in order to be certain I would be as early as it gets. I want my watch!!! I want my Tesla Watch App!!! Am I impatient? Of course not.
The demo looks great and I think that $10 is a very reasonable price to charge for that functionality. I'm a little hesitant to pay that much for an app that may become obsolete at any moment, should Tesla add a WatchKit extension to their own app, or if they somehow disable access to the API being used. But, after I get over that initial hesitation, I am sure I will still buy it!
AllenWong
Member
The Apple Watch App automatically enters the password for you. Apple Watch already has security built-in. If you take off the watch, it locks the device. You have to enter a PIN to enable its usage again (you could turn this feature off, too). Instead of entering the PIN, another option given by Apple is to unlock your own phone (via PIN or TouchID), and your Apple Watch will unlock itself. So if you're wearing the watch, and it's unlocked, it's safe to assume that you are the owner. Unless, you disabled all of these security features. In which case, I'll give you the option to disable the auto-password, and you'd have to do some kind of security test to start the car. I'll add the TouchID as one of the possible options. If not, you'd have to enter your password manually on the phone.
1. With any Tesla 3rd party app that requires that you login, they already have full access to all of the API (including remote control). All any 3rd party app needs is your password. Now the question of whether you can trust me to not send your Tesla password to myself is a different story. I guess the same question can be asked about any of the 3rd party apps. It's based on trust. And I really don't have anything to gain from having your Tesla password. I'm already well-off, so why would I risk prison time by adding car thief to my resume. And trying to steal a Tesla would be dumb in the first place, because the car is constantly monitored by GPS, and you always know its location. But of course, most of you don't know me who I am, so my word is worthless to you. For the skeptics, what I would suggest is to analyze the packets sent from my app. There are many proficient computer experts who know how to do that. You will see that the only communication the app does is directly to the Tesla servers.
2. I gave a coy smiley because the app mimics Tesla's own app's calls. I even mask the User-Agent with Tesla's user-agent. What this means is that their servers can't tell the difference between my app and their app. In other words, they'd have to shut down the functionality of their own apps in order to block my app from working remotely. This wasn't necessary for me to the API working. The API works even if the user-agent is wrong. So Tesla's servers are already pretty lax on security. I remember reading that some other developer accidentally hammered Tesla's API servers and Tesla banned him and told him to stop. And then he apologized and Tesla gave him back access. He said that it sounded like Tesla was okay with him creating a 3rd party app. And the existence of VisibleTesla is further proof of this. Tesla hasn't shut them down, and they've been running their app for a long time now. Same with a bunch of other 3rd party apps.
Now, there's the question of what if there's a C & D order. Here's the nice thing about Apple app store vs Android. Apple doesn't do kill switches. In other words, Apple doesn't remotely delete apps that no longer exist in the app store. So once you buy the app, you get to keep it, even if Tesla makes me remove the app. I will do my best to not infringe on any of Tesla's properties including trademarks and logos, so they'd have to come up with a very good legal reason to remove my app. I honestly don't see a reason why they would want me to remove the app, because I'm doing them a favor. I'm helping them fill the device gap.
Read the explanation above on why it would be hard to disable access to my app. And yes, Tesla could add WatchKit extension to their own app at any time. But my app still provides a few better improvements on their existing app: For example, I'm enable breadcrumb tracking on the GPS (as long as you leave the locations screen on, it will drop a breadcrumb every few seconds, so you know where you or whoever is driving your car has been.) Also now you have full control over your roof and not just vent vs close. And finally, I allow you to auto-fill your password for the remote start, so that you don't have to keep entering it in. And I'll add TouchID, so that you can use that to enter the password if you don't want auto-filled password turned on. If there's anything else you guys want me to add that possible to add and makes sense to add, I'll do my best to add it.
eye.surgeon
Active Member
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