Remember The Car
Remember The Car is a native iOS application built with SwiftUI, designed to solve a simple but common problem: remembering where you parked your car. The app allows users to save their car’s parked position with a single tap, take a photo of the parking spot for visual reference, and set a timer with a push notification reminder. The full source code is available on GitHub.
This project was developed when SwiftUI was first launched by Apple, serving as both a practical utility and an exploration of Apple’s then-new declarative UI framework. It provided an excellent opportunity to evaluate SwiftUI’s capabilities for building real, functional applications from the very beginning of the framework’s lifecycle.
Key Features
- One-tap location saving — quickly pin the car’s parked position on a map using the device’s GPS
- Photo capture — snap a photo of the parking spot, level indicator, or nearby landmarks to aid visual recall
- Walking directions — get turn-by-turn walking directions back to the saved location via Apple Maps integration
- Parking timer — set a countdown timer with a local push notification to alert when parking time is about to expire
- Notes — add a text note with additional details like parking level, row number, or ticket information
- Persistent storage — all saved data persists locally using UserDefaults, ensuring information survives app restarts
Technical Implementation
The app leverages several native iOS frameworks and APIs. MapKit provides the mapping and location services that power the core parking location feature. The Camera and Photo Picker APIs enable users to capture and attach images. Local Notifications handle the parking timer alerts, delivering reminders even when the app is not in the foreground. All data is persisted locally using UserDefaults, keeping the app self-contained with no server dependency.
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Why another car parking app?
The motivation behind this project was the frustration of existing parking apps being overly complicated for such a straightforward task. Most available apps at the time were bloated with unnecessary features, advertisements, or required account creation. Remember The Car was designed with a singular focus on speed and simplicity — the user should be able to save their parking location in under two seconds, and retrieve walking directions back to their car just as quickly.
User Experience Considerations
Every design decision prioritised minimising the number of taps required to complete core tasks. The app opens directly to the map view with the save button prominently displayed, eliminating unnecessary navigation. The interface is intentionally minimal, avoiding settings screens or configuration options that would slow down the primary use case. Optional features like photos, notes, and timers are available but never required, respecting the user’s time and intent.