UPDATED 07:45 EST / FEBRUARY 03 2015

NEWS

New Apple Watch app to control your Tesla Model S

Tesla_AppleWatch_ELEKSlabs_62Apple Watch is on track to launch in April and with the release of the WatchKit SDK in November last year, several developers, including ESPN, Instagram and American Airlines have been hard at work readying their apps for the new wearable from Apple Inc. In January the team behind Pipes, the iOS news app, released an online, interactive Apple Watch demo in which you can test-drive several iOS apps on the watch. Apart from that, very little has been revealed about potential apps for the Apple Watch; until now.

A Ukraine-based software developer, ELEKS Ltd., has created an app that will allow owners of the Tesla Model S to interact with and control their car from their Apple Watch.

The app features six screens, each providing access to a set of controls and functions for the Tesla Model S. on the main screen users can see an overview of the car’s status, including battery level, temperature and range. A pop-up controls menu allows the wearer to open and close the car doors, switch the headlights on or off or make the car beep. One screen is dedicated to the battery status, showing current charge level and expected range left on the current charge. Another screen shows the car’s climate controls, allowing the user to set the temperature in the different zones in the car, prior to getting in. There is also support for vehicle location and showing information via Apple Watch Glances.

Tesla_AppleWatch_ELEKSlabs_4

Right now the app is only a prototype, but ELEKS are confident that the official launch of the Apple Watch and SDK in April will allow them to build out further functionality. On the beta version of the SDK they lack access to certain Apple Watch functions, such as the accelerometer and gyroscope, Bluetooth connectivity and the TapTic Engine, which allows tactile notifications.

“If you look at the opportunities available for smart watch application development, you’ll also see a quite pessimistic picture,” wrote Markiyan Matsekh, product manager of mobility and wearables at ELEKS in a blog post. “Apple does not indulge developers with an abundance of functionality and tools. However, we can hope that the available functions are limited because this is only the first beta version and it will get much better towards the release.”

Watch a preview of the prototype app in action below:

Images via ELEKS

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