The Rivian App Turns Software Into an Experience

EVEN WHEN YOU'RE RELAXING ON YOUR COUCH, THIS SOFTWARE MAKES OWNING AN R1T OR R1S A GREAT EXPERIENCE.

- Jonny Lieberman

What makes an app so special? It's easy to take the low road and say car apps on your phone are superfluous, have nothing to do with driving, and hey, get the hell off our lawn. Take a few minutes to mess around with most automotive apps, and you'd be justified to think that. As a rule, automaker apps just don't do very much and don't look very good. The Rivian app, on the other hand, looks and feels like it was designed by someone with a passion for programming. More important, it's packed with functionality that makes the Rivian experience even better. That's why it wins our new big prize, a 2025 MotorTrend Best Tech award in the Auto-maker App category.

Begin with one of our criteria: usefulness. Rivian's app is supremely accessible, as Rivian took advantage of widgets, something no other automaker aside from Tesla bothers with. Right from your phone's lock screen, you can see the battery's state of charge (SOC). Tapping the widget will take you right to the app. Or instead of tapping, you can swipe right to the lock screen's widget page, where you can add one of four Rivian button groupings with various degrees of functionality. Rivian lets you do a lot—lock and unlock the doors, pop the frunk, turn on the HVAC, and vent the windows—without ever unlocking your phone. And once your phone is unlocked, you can have the exact same widget functionality right there on your home screen.