Gauge Thing
Keep the dash. Bring more to the drive.
A round USB-C controller for app-free iPhone music. Add vehicle gauges, navigation and performance timing with the companion.
No subscription required
Modern control, without replacing what already works.
Most upgrades mean pulling the head unit, cutting trim, or sticking a tablet to the dash. Gauge Thing skips all of that. It clips to an air vent, runs on USB-C, and puts the music controls you reach for most on one knob. The companion adds a second layer: vehicle readings, turn guidance and a temporary performance timer on the same round screen.
- 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen
- Round display, 390 × 390 pixels with true blacks
- One knob
- Turn, press, double-press or hold
- Music without an app
- Pair with iPhone over Bluetooth
- More with the companion
- Gauges, navigation, artwork and performance
One knob. Eyes up.
The controls you use most, on a ring you can find by feel. Every input gets a response on screen.
Try it on the device: tap the screen, drag the ring to turn it, press it to pause, or hold it for settings. Double-press to switch between music and vehicle gauges.
What’s playing, at a glance.
Title, artist, time and volume, laid out for a round screen and a quick look. Artwork stays dim behind the text so it reads the same over any background.
- Source appThe app that's playing
- Track titleScrolls when it's too long to fit
- ArtistOn its own line, always readable
- Previous and nextLarge touch targets
- SettingsTap here or hold the knob
- ProgressElapsed and total time
- Volume ringFollows your phone's volume
In reach. In view. Out of the way.
On a vent, it sits close to the wheel and close to your eyeline. True AMOLED blacks sink into a dark dash at night, and four brightness levels cover everything in between.
Live product model over an enhanced, retouched photo of the prototype's interior. The screen is a live demo: tap it or drag the ring. Mount design completed; physical fit and durability testing pending.
An install you can undo.
No trim removal, no adapters behind the dash. Take it out and the car is exactly as it was.
MountImplemented · testing pending
Vent cradle and adjustable clip designed. Physical fit and durability testing are still in development.
Plug in
One USB-C cable to the car's USB port or a 12 V adapter. No wiring into the car.
Pair
Pair the device in iPhone Bluetooth settings and enter the passkey shown on screen. Music controls need no app.
Add the companion
Connect Gauge Thing in the companion for artwork, navigation and performance. For vehicle readings, plug a compatible OBD adapter into the OBD-II port and connect it in the app.
Drive
The screen switches off when your phone disconnects. A press of the knob wakes it.
See the data that matters.
RPM, calculated boost, coolant, intake, road speed and supported oil temperature. The Modern face puts a large reading inside a bright segmented dial. Choose a primary metric and one optional secondary reading.
Requires the iPhone companion and a compatible OBD adapter. Readings depend on the car; unsupported or stale sensors show dashes. Boost is calculated from manifold and barometric pressure. Values here are samples. Native iPhone and vehicle testing are pending. Support beyond BMW is planned, with non-BMW vehicles entering beta at launch.
A timeslip for your next run.
Use the iPhone’s GPS for acceleration, distance and braking estimates. The gauge becomes a temporary timer, then returns to music or vehicle readings.
Nine presets include 0–60 mph, 0–100 km/h, rolling acceleration, the quarter mile and 60–0 mph. Add custom ranges or distances and optional one-foot rollout. Save local timeslips with speed traces, estimated slope, quality warnings and comparable personal bests, then share from the phone.
Every result is a phone GPS estimate; measured accuracy remains unverified. No dedicated GPS receiver or Dragy integration is included. Keep Performance open in the foreground: locking or backgrounding the phone interrupts an unfinished run. Set up while parked and use a closed course.
See the current testing statusMore from the same little screen.
Music works on its own. The iPhone companion brings Gauges, Artwork, Devices, Navigation and Performance together.
No account is required. Device records, OBD history and performance results stay on the phone by default. Album lookup uses public internet catalogs; search and directions use Apple’s service.
The app targets iOS 17 and later. Its native build and real iPhone Bluetooth workflow are still in development; there is no App Store release yet.
- Parked and Drive
- Save and activate profiles with your preferred gauges, units, thresholds and brightness. Drive uses a longer settings hold. Manual brightness disables the automatic schedule.
- Day into night
- Schedule day/night brightness from the companion. Changes apply while the app is awake; the device keeps its last brightness if the phone app is suspended.
- A second reading, a brief alert
- Keep one secondary metric below the primary gauge. Set high thresholds for a brief ring when crossed. Alerts rearm after the reading falls back below the threshold band.
- After the drive
- Real OBD sessions save summaries and sensor timelines locally, with gaps preserved. Performance keeps its own timeslips and speed traces. Demo samples never become recorded trips or runs.
- Artwork from your phone
- Crop a photo, adjust its dimming and send it over Bluetooth. Automatic album artwork finds exact catalog matches without streaming credentials; missing or ambiguous matches use Graphite.
- Wireless firmware installation
- Install a trusted staged update from Devices over encrypted Bluetooth, with progress and confirmation after restart. USB updates are also supported.
Built to be owned.
No subscription required.
Buy the gauge.
Keep the possibilities.
Music controls, live vehicle readings, navigation and performance timing. Use Gauge Thing and its companion without a monthly or annual plan. Your next drive doesn’t need another subscription.
Make it match the interior.
Four built-in artworks, your own photo, or automatic album covers. Crop and send photos from the companion over Bluetooth, or use the device’s Wi-Fi setup page without internet.
Automatic album artwork uses the companion and internet catalogs, with Graphite when no exact match is found. It needs no streaming-account login. Locked-phone updates are best effort.
Seven accents, adjustable dimming and four on-device brightness levels. Companion profiles also support scheduled day/night brightness while the app is awake.
Seven accent colors
- Green
- Teal
- Blue
- Purple
- Orange
- Pink
- White
Made to disappear into the dash.
A round face, a ring you can feel, and one cable. The 3D model on this page shows the working prototype; the production enclosure is still being finalized and the mount awaits physical testing.
- Rotary ring
- Turns around the screen and presses in. Easy to find by feel.
- 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen
- Round display, 390 × 390 pixels. Pixels switch fully off for black, so there's no grey glow at night.
- USB-C power
- One cable powers the working prototype, without wiring into the stereo.
- Vent mountImplemented · testing pending
- Cradle and adjustable clip designed. Physical retention, heat and durability checks remain in development.
Built around the car, not over it.
Reversible
Nothing is cut, drilled or rewired. The factory interior stays factory.
Physical first
A ring you can find without looking. The screen is there for a glance, not a stare.
Calm after dark
True blacks, dimmed artwork and adjustable brightness. It shows what you need and then stays quiet.
Keep the car. Check the connection.
Music stays with your existing stereo. Companion features add their own phone, adapter and testing requirements.
More vehicles are on the roadmap. Confirmed brands and models are still to be determined. Support for non-BMW vehicles is planned to enter beta at launch, with testers helping us find and fix errors.
- Does it replace my stereo?
- Gauge Thing controls your iPhone's media. Audio still plays through your existing stereo, Bluetooth, AUX or other audio connection. The companion can separately read vehicle data through an OBD adapter.
- What needs to be connected?
- USB-C powers Gauge Thing. Music pairs with iPhone over Bluetooth, without stereo wiring. Vehicle gauges additionally need a compatible OBD adapter plugged into the car's OBD-II port and connected in the companion.
- Do I need an app?
- Music controls and Now Playing work without an app. The companion is required for vehicle gauges, navigation, automatic album covers, profiles, history, performance timing and Bluetooth firmware updates. Built-in artwork and Wi-Fi photo setup work on the device.
- Which music apps work?
- The current firmware uses iPhone's Apple Media Service for metadata and transport, plus Bluetooth media controls for volume. Player support and available metadata vary. The project is designed for music and podcast players such as Apple Music and Spotify; a complete tested compatibility list is still pending.
- Which phones are supported?
- The current implementation is for iPhone. The companion targets iOS 17 and later, but an Apple SDK build and real iPhone validation remain pending. Android support is not implemented in this version.
- Will vehicles other than BMW be supported?
- Support beyond BMW is planned. Development currently focuses on a 2011 BMW 335xi; other vehicles have not been tested yet. The list of confirmed supported brands and models is still to be determined. At launch, support for non-BMW vehicles is planned to enter beta, with compatibility confirmed as testing progresses.
- How will vehicle beta testers report errors?
- Once the vehicle beta opens, testers will be asked to email us about connection errors, missing readings or incorrect values. Include the vehicle make, model and year, OBD adapter, what happened and how to reproduce it. Reports will help us fix issues and confirm compatibility.
- Will every vehicle reading work in my car?
- Only supported standard OBD-II readings are shown. Available readings depend on the vehicle and adapter. Oil temperature may be unavailable, and boost requires fresh manifold and barometric pressure. The app reads data without coding the ECU or clearing faults.
- Does it mirror Apple Maps?
- Navigation starts inside Gauge Thing's companion using MapKit. It does not receive a journey started in the Apple Maps app. Live map detail depends on coverage and a speed-limit feed is not included.
- Will companion features keep working with the phone locked?
- Music works independently of the companion. Companion OBD polling and album updates are best effort under iOS; force-quitting stops them. Navigation uses background location but still needs locked-phone testing. Performance requires its screen open in the foreground and interrupts unfinished runs when locked or backgrounded.
- Is it available to buy or download?
- Gauge Thing remains a pre-launch prototype. Price, release date and weight are unconfirmed. The companion is development source, with no App Store release yet.
Specifications
Current prototype and firmware specifications. Implemented features await native or physical testing. Weight and release availability remain unconfirmed.
- Display
- Round AMOLED touchscreen, 390 × 390 pixels
- Display size
- 1.2 inches
- Control
- Rotary knob: turn, press, double-press for Music/Vehicle and hold for Settings
- Connection
- Bluetooth Low Energy. Music controls work without an app
- Phone platform
- iPhone; companion targets iOS 17 and later. Native validation pendingImplemented · testing pending
- Media
- Track, artist, source app, elapsed and total time, play state, phone volume
- Media control
- Play, pause, next, previous, volume
- Artwork
- Four Blender backgrounds and Wi-Fi photo setup
- Companion photo upload
- Crop and send a photo over Bluetooth; keep the app open until savedImplemented · testing pending
- Album artwork
- Automatic catalog covers through the companion; internet requiredImplemented · testing pending
- Appearance
- Seven accent colors, four brightness levels, adjustable artwork dimming
- Power
- USB-C
- Power saving
- Screen sleeps when your phone disconnects. Press the knob to wake
- Mounting
- Vent cradle and adjustable clip designed; physical fit and durability testing pendingImplemented · testing pending
- Vehicle data
- RPM, calculated boost, coolant, intake, road speed and supported oil temperature. Companion + compatible OBD adapter requiredImplemented · testing pending
- Gauge display
- Modern segmented dial; one primary and one optional secondary reading, selectable units and brief threshold alertsImplemented · testing pending
- Navigation
- Companion-owned MapKit routes, adaptive turn prompts and perspective map previewsImplemented · testing pending
- Performance
- Phone GPS estimates for acceleration, distance and braking tests; temporary gauge timerImplemented · testing pending
- Profiles
- Parked and Drive; manual or scheduled day/night brightnessImplemented · testing pending
- Trip history
- Local OBD summaries and sensor timelines; separate GPS performance timeslipsImplemented · testing pending
- Firmware updates
- Encrypted companion Bluetooth installation; USB updates retainedImplemented · testing pending
- Dimensions
- 43.5 mm wide × 27.5 mm high
- Weight
- To be confirmed
Where the prototype stands.
The feature set has moved forward. Release readiness still needs testing on the phone, in the car and with the final hardware.
- Working prototype
- Protocol and host-renderer checks cover the implemented screens.
- Implemented, testing pending
- Companion gauges, album artwork, navigation, profiles, trip timelines, wireless updates and GPS timing have source implementations. Apple SDK compilation, physical iPhone integration, background behavior and GPS accuracy validation remain outstanding.
- Hardware and launch
- The device measures 43.5 mm wide × 27.5 mm high. USB-C power is present on the prototype. The mount design is complete, with physical fit, retention, heat and durability tests still in development. Weight, price, release date and app availability are unconfirmed.
Privacy and data.
The waitlist collects your email address for Gauge Thing launch updates. Device screens on this website use sample data.
- Your waitlist email
- When you join, your email and the form you used are sent to Formspree, which stores the submission and forwards a notification to gaugething@gmail.com. Formspree also processes technical information for delivery and spam prevention. We use sign-ups for Gauge Thing updates. To stop updates or request deletion, email gaugething@gmail.com. See Formspree’s privacy policy for its processing details.
- Website visits
- We use Vercel Web Analytics on the public site to measure visits and traffic sources. It collects aggregate information such as pages viewed, referring sites, browser, device type and approximate location, without using tracking cookies. Waitlist email addresses are not sent to analytics. See Vercel’s analytics privacy information.
- On your phone
- The companion stores device records, connection logs, OBD history and performance timeslips locally by default. No account is required. Demo samples are not sent to hardware or saved as real drives.
- When services are used
- Enabling automatic album artwork sends album and artist names to MusicBrainz and retrieves covers from Cover Art Archive. Navigation uses Apple’s search and directions services. Route and location state are held in memory and cleared when a trip ends; performance history does not store route coordinates.
- Before the device release
- The companion and hardware are still in development. Their release privacy information will be reviewed as the app’s final behavior is confirmed. Contact gaugething@gmail.com with questions about the site or prototype.
Gauge Thing
Modern controls for the car you already want to keep.
Pre-launch. Updates only when there’s something worth showing.