That community involvement means you can check ratings and reviews for charging stations, as well as get real-time updates on their current status. When it comes to making sure you’re never short when it comes to battery charge, the app will guide you straight to the most convenient charging bay close to your planned route or wherever you are now.
ChargePoint
The ChargePoint app for Android and iOS offers access to the more than 160,000 charging points managed by ChargePoint itself, as well as stations from all the other major networks as well. There’s no step-by-step navigation here, but you can easily find charging options that are nearby, as well as get updates about how many charging points are free.
You can even get the app to ping you when a particular charging point becomes available. If you do use actual ChargePoint chargers, you get extra features such as the ability to start the charging process with a tap of your phone, and detailed readings of your EV’s charging activity and how much it costs.
Your Car’s App (Probably)
Most EVs (and many gas-powered cars) come with branded apps from the manufacturer, at this point. The in-app dashboard often has tools to direct you toward compatible charging points when you need them, and you’ll get regular updates about how much battery life you have left and how far it’s likely to take you. You might find you can rely entirely on that app alone to get where you’re going without running out of juice, and if so, that’s great!
In the case of EVs from Ford, for example, you can use the FordPass app for Android or iOS: Just pick View Chargers from the home screen and then select the relevant filters. You can run a similar search via the dashboard on your car by going to the Navigation screen, then tapping on Where To? and picking Chargers from the options that appear on the display.