@sripriya.nellore @ryan care to respond to this? It as 13 upvotes as of now.
2 Likes
This is something that we are looking into - we have identified a few causes for it and are actively working on it, you should start to see an improvement in your experience.
1 Like
Can we expect upgrade option for 450+ to 450X for Extra mileage? Since we all know 450+ Is 450X.
3 Likes
That’s a good question! No, we designed the experience so that these notifications can only be read when the vehicle is stationary, like at a signal.
3 Likes
We made Ather Connect free around 2 years ago in order to mature the product, as well as bring it to a minimum cost structure. We have made good strides on both aspects though there is always more we can do. Ather Connect, like any product is not charged just because there is recurring cost; it is charged because it is of value. On that, agree with you that the experience needs to be good for the product to be useful. We also understand that most vehicles don’t have these features and thus, not all users have a need for these features. That’s why it is charged as an optional subscription.
On the other questions:
- WiFi is far more unstable than mobile network connection- the experience would take a massive hit and a ton of work needs to be done on it. Using WiFi as a fall-back would make more sense than replacing it with the more reliable 4G connectivity. There is a more detailed answer to this in another post that I would encourage you to go through. There are also certain restrictions on what we can or can’t use with maps. All the features available to consumers on the mobile app maps is not available to businesses. Open street maps means building our own maps- while it can always be explored, nobody beats Google today in terms of the data coverage that they have.
- Software updates are being provided. If your question is specific to Gen 1 450, most are on 2G which makes OTA nearly impossible. There was an option to upgrade to 3G, but most customers chose to go for a model upgrade itself which we offered. Even mobile companies are unable to support phones on 2G.
- App requires permissions strictly for the features that are implemented as defined by the platform- Android or iOS. We don’t ask for permissions for any other data if there isn’t a feature that needs it. Having said that, we are looking into feasibility of building a flow where permissions are asked only when a feature is being used (e.g. on bluetooth pairing).
- Feedback on bluetooth is noted and the teams have been working on it to continuously improve it. One difference to note between a Rs. 1000 smart band is that they connect to mobile devices which are certified. Our dashboard is on Android opensource and not certified by Google (as Google hasn’t designed Android for 2W)- so that makes it different from a tech implementation compared to pairing with a mobile phone. We have to build all the libraries ourselves that is otherwise offered by the mobile platforms.
Overall, we have our work cut out for us. These are good questions and I am glad you asked them.
8 Likes
How about enabling speakers for Google maps navigation audio, music playback, calls and voice assistant?
5 Likes
Giving 2G as a reason is not fair, if Ather really intends to send feature updates they can push OTA and people with 3G dongle can install using OTA and others will get it updated in service centers
8 Likes
We’re taking break now to grab some food and enjoy this lovely afternoon weather in Bangalore. Keep the questions coming and we’ll try to respond to them later this evening or tomorrow.
Have a pleasant Sunday folks!
3 Likes
I’m glad to see responses to so many questions in such a transparent manner! Kudos to you guys and hope to see these AMAs once every 6 months or so!
One thing I’ve missed is a dark theme in the app! I wish a simple implementation could be added 
Love how Ather manages the scooter in a quiet way without announcing “low battery” or “motor heated”, instead opting to gradually reduce power in a linear way which is barely noticeable.
I hope things like Wings of Power does not obfuscate information like Wh/km efficiency that us EV enthusiasts like to nerd about 
Also on similar lines, would be nice to see regen stats too (the amount of Wh spent vs recovered in a ride). Hope Advanced Regen makes that possible 
I think this was meant as a indicator to see where your scooter is parked – akin to the feature in cars where the hazards and alarm goes off to show where you’ve parked it in a crowded lot.
With the increased popularity of Athers and them looking so identical to each other, it would be nice to remotely press a button and have the hazards flash and headlights turn on, to search for your 450 easily.
7 Likes
I mentioned this long ago but no one heard 
how can someone think of using gray fonts on dark gray background
5 Likes
Noted.
Can you answer the questions about Wi-Fi and using phone’s navigation too? Considering how hit or miss the maps and navigation on the scooter is, I don’t think Ather Connect is currently worth paying for.
3 Likes
Please bring the monthly status and charging pattern In the app, instead of emailing
6 Likes
Closing this thread off for questions. Our team will finish answering the questions shortly. Thanks to everyone for participating!
7 Likes
Answering the few pending questions from yesterday as well.
100% agree. We’re looking to make the mobile app into a one stop space to manage your scooter, manage your ownership and have fun with the scooter. Booking and tracking service was one step towards that. Monthly stats and charging data will show up in the app and the monthly email will soon be discontinued.
15 Likes
Noted on the feedback. This has been raised on the feature request thread in the past as well. We’ll consider how a feature like this can be implemented.
9 Likes
Honestly speaking, we don’t see a lot of real world use cases for providing speakers on a 2W. It’s more of a vanity feature than something with practical applications that can improve your overall ride. You might impress a few people at a signal and have a fun dance party with your friends, but that’s about it.
13 Likes
Not something we are working on.
3 Likes
No plans as of now. Will look into it.
3 Likes
