Show HN: Nissan's Leaf App Doesn't Have a Home Screen Widget So I Made My Own

Summary

Nissan’s App#Nissan’s official NissanConnect® EV & Services iPhone app:lets you manage the unique features of your LEAF like charging the battery, adjusting climate controls and checking the battery status, all from your mobile deviceHere is a screenshot of what it looks like for my car:The app is…fine. Here is one representative review from the Apple App Store:My main issue with the app is that it lacks a home screen widget I could use to quickly check my car’s battery status, unlike apps for other electric car brands like Rivian, Ford, and Lucid.Third-Party Apps#Meanwhile, others have developed their own Nissan LEAF apps with a custom user interface and additional features (some with a home screen widget!):Unfortunately, I understand that none of these apps are still available to use where I live in North America. 😞The developer of “My Leaf” shared his frustration in a blog post, explaining how Nissan’s deliberate changes to their North American API forced him to discontinue support for users in the region:I simply won’t support it any longer because of Nissan of North America’s persistant work on blocking third party clients. I continued to try and support the API during the last 12 months. Playing cat and mouse with Nissan. I simply don’t have the time and honestly the drive to continue when I know Nissan are consistently trying to break third party clients on purpose. It’s a sad and foolishness reality indeed.Project Goals#Nevertheless, I decided to take on the challenge of developing an iPhone home screen widget that could show me the battery charge status of my Nissan LEAF car.I added one more constraint to the project: no spending money. I believe Nissan’s app should already provide a home screen widget, so it didn’t seem fair to have to spend any money on this project. However, using tools/devices I already had access to was fair game.Notably, that ruled out using something like Sidecar which appears to provide a home screen widget. I think it looks ve...