Ather Rizta Z Gets Touchscreen Functionality With New OTA Update – No Hardware Changes Needed

Ather has revealed that the Rizta Z, which did not have touchscreen functionality when it launched last year, has actually always had the required hardware, and it will be enabled with a new software update starting today. Owners will be able to tap their screen to use its various features including navigation and trip planning, checking smartphone notifications, and controlling onboard features. Swipe and pinch gestures are also supported.

“Possibly happening for the first time in the industry, in a massive, massive win for backward compatibility, the same scooter; existing Rizta Z; the same hardware, [gets an] entirely new experience. Via an over-the-air upgrade, we are going to be upgrading all existing Rizta Zs to touch as an experience, overnight”, CEO Tarun Mehta announced on stage.   

A free over-the-air (OTA) update will be rolled out to users, starting with those who attended today’s Ather Community Day event in Bengaluru. Company CEO Tarun Mehta pointed out that with all the new features the company has developed, it would not make sense to keep adding physical buttons. The company also announced voice commands to make controlling its bikes easier and less distracting.

When asked why Ather decided to ship the Rizta Z with inactive hardware in the first place, and if it was always the plan to enable this functionality somewhere down the line because of software costs upfront, Mehta told ACKO Drive: “There was no software cost, otherwise this OTA wouldn’t have happened. What happened is the Rizta launched and we needed to migrate to a new architecture… there was a natural switch in the supply chain, when the touch layer would have been removed. But then earlier this year there were a lot of delays and as data started pouring in on software usage going up, we put a pause to it.” 

He added, “We didn’t want to rush and immediately announce that now there is touch, we wanted to be sure of it. We’d already announced that there was no touch, so we could quietly remove [the hardware] after 2-3 quarters, get the cost savings, and move on. But the usage stats were so stark that they made us rethink. We waited a few more months and decided that this Community Day, we’ll do a transition back to touch. But that [plan] was not always there, it was happenstance.” 

Ather also said it has sold over 1 lakh Rizta scooters. It is available in two variants, the lower-priced Rizta S and the more premium Rizta Z. The Rizta S does not feature the touch-capable hardware, but its 7-inch display is the same size. While both variants have the same engine, body, battery, and range, the Rizta Z features a more powerful onboard processor, 4G Internet connectivity, and double the RAM and storage at 2GB and 16GB respectively.