Intro

You've been waiting for this a long time, and now we can finally reveal it! Our redesign update is ready to be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play Store now. In this blog post we'll let you know what's changed and what surprises are in store. Let's get started!

First of all, we'd like to give you an overview of the visual change. And to do this we've prepared a new video.

Please note that the video is in German, and unfortunately only English subtitles are available. Here you can get a glimpse of what this new update looks like!

But it's not only the visual design that has changed. Under the hood, this update rebuilds the app in a necessary and meaningful way, future-proofing calimoto and laying the technical foundation for additional features currently in development.

In order to avoid throwing you into the deep end, we'd like to go into more detail about the new structure of the app, so that you can start planning your rides right away.

One important thing to mention at the start: No existing functions have been removed. Everything contained by the app before this update is, of course, still here.

What's new?

The biggest change is that there are now 3 main menu items to choose from, instead of 5.

PICTURE: View of old and new app

Ride functions are now found directly under the "Maps" menu item:

• Map planning
• Round trip planning
• Recording tours
  

This way, no matter how you prefer to plan, you can start your next ride right away. You no longer have to choose between planning on the map and planning via the planning menu. This is now all possible in one more-convenient view.

IMAGE: View planning in the map (old app) + planning in the planning menu (old app) = View new app

We also now have the menu item "Tours":

Here you have your collection of rides ("My rides") and ride recommendations from calimoto users, directly at a glance. The recommendations have been divided into two main categories, so you can decide if you want to search for tours nearby or further away. Of course, you can also start your own search from the top right of the screen and at the bottom of the page, if you don't find anything suitable at first glance.

IMAGE: "Discover tours" view and search function view

Under the menu item "Me" you will find your user account, your garage, and other calimoto services and settings.

Conclusion

But now we've told you enough! Try it out for yourself and download the update now.

Do you use calimoto on an iPhone? If so, before updating, check that your iPhone has been updated to iOS 15. This Apple iOS update is necessary before you can download the new calimoto app from the App Store.

PS: Don't want to miss out on anything else? Then sign up for our newsletter or subscribe to our YouTube channel. And stay up to date on what's cooking at calimoto!

Some of you might be asking yourselves "Is all this necessary?" Or, "Why did they bother doing this? I would have preferred Feature A or Enhancement B instead of this update!” These are legitimate questions and we want to answer them! It is particularly important to us that you understand the background to our decisions and can therefore better understand update 7.0. Please find a letter from calimoto's founding team written directly to the users below:

"Dear calimoto users,

First of all, we would like to thank everyone who has given us constructive feedback (both positive and negative) on the app. You are our driving force for the further development of calimoto and without you we'd never be where we are now.

With version 7.0 we've reached what is probably the biggest milestone since calimoto was created. Both Android and iOS apps have been completely revised and placed on a new, future-proof codebase. The entire operating concept has been completely overhauled, adapted to modern systems (e.g. from other apps such as Apple Maps) and prepared for future planned functions. All of this was absolutely necessary so that we will be able to continue to develop calimoto and deliver a high quality product in the years to come.

In 2015, we started developing a first prototype, publishing the app for the first time in 2016. That was 7 years ago - in the field of software development, that's an age! calimoto's code base had become more and more outdated over the years. New versions of both iOS and Android are released every year, some of them with far-reaching changes. Sometimes there are new design specifications, other times certain frameworks are no longer recognized, or new interfaces are provided for developers.

But why this is so relevant? Code and programming have an expiration date and parts of the calimoto app were simply outdated. We were no longer able to implement or meaningfully integrate new functions and options, or at times they would have involved a great deal of effort that would have been disproportionate to the problems they were intended to solve.

That's why we decided to completely revise both apps and adapt them to the current state of app development, thereby making them future-proof for years to come.

For this reason, certain requests and functions that we would, of course, like to continue developing had to be pushed back for the time being. Sometimes, we simply couldn't implement functions like the CarPlay integration on the app's old foundation (we tried, and we had an internal prototype, but the result didn't meet our requirements for quality and user experience).

But now we are able to tackle new functions on this new basis, and with renewed energy in order to provide you with a better result than you ever could have expected from the old app.

Therefore, we ask each of you: Give calimoto's new design a chance! We are of course already working on fixing obvious teething problems (e.g. landscape format) as quickly as possible, and we take all feedback very seriously. But you will notice that the new app has many advantages, our curve algorithm still finds the most beautiful routes for you, and we will continue to work on making calimoto the best motorcycle app in the future. Also, this year there will be many new functions based on your wishes. We are already working on being able to integrate unpaved roads into the routing if desired and will also offer CarPlay integration. But now we can finally implement these features at our own standards of quality.

Finally, thanks again to everyone who has supported us so far! Only through you are we able to further develop and grow calimoto. Remain as great a community as ever! 🙂

-Your calimoto founding team"

We hope we are able to alleviate your concerns and give you an understanding of our motivations. All that remains for us to say is: Have a successful 2022 motorcycle season, and we wish you safe journeys full of adventure!