Petty 8.0 is out now. The headlining feature is that, for the first time, Petty now has fuel prices beyond Australia. That's right — it now has UK prices!
The UK Government has recently introduced a mandatory fuel price reporting scheme, much like various Australian states have done for the last little while, and so it seemed like a sensible next step for Petty.
That means all the great features people love in Petty — fuel price trends, widgets, a CarPlay app just to name a few — are now available to drivers across the UK as well. The data source is brand new, and Petty appears to be one of the first apps to integrate with it. I'd like to think that Petty's native design, lack of intrusive ads, and deep integrations with iOS will make it a popular choice.
I tossed up what the version number should be for this one. For Petty's existing Australian audience it's really more of a 7.8. There are some nice improvements — Shortcuts have been fixed and you can add them again, data loading is faster, there are more brands available to filter by, and the app now tells you when prices aren't available at a particular station and why that might be the case — but the UK expansion is the headline. For people across the UK who haven't been able to use the app before, the bigger version bump makes sense, as it really is a new app.
You wouldn't think it, but a fair bit of work has gone in behind the scenes to get the app to a point where it can support multiple regions. I hope some of the foundations laid recently will show in the speed with which I can now start working through the list of improvements and new features that will benefit people both in Australia and the UK.
Of course, exactly what information is most relevant to motorists differs between countries, and right now Petty has been designed with Australian motorists in mind. Everything from whether price cycles and trends are important, to what the fuel types are named and how they're abbreviated, is different.
If you're in the UK, I'd love for you to check it out and send through your thoughts. Tell me what you like, and what you'd change. There's a Contact button inside the app — that's the best way to reach me.
If you use Petty, thank you, and stay tuned for some nice updates later this year.