JR East released Suica App v2 early December 18 Tokyo time. In addition to a refreshed UI design the iOS update adds iPhone X support and longer Mobile Suica account passwords. The Suica backend system has also been updated to support Suica use for online purchases. JR East released a new Suica PDF Guide covering the new changes.
The new v2 home screen replaces the old green purchase/manage bar at the bottom with a green recharge menu bar and direct menu icons below for Green Seat reservations, transaction history and ticket purchase/manage Suica.
The only new submenu in ticket purchase/manage Suica is online transaction history. The Add Suica menu card screens have also been updated to provide more information on Unregistered Suica, My Suica and Suica Commuter Pass options.
A new net shopping with Suica page lists sites that support online purchase with Suica. Major sites include Amazon, Yahoo Shopping and Rakuten.
English language support is still missing in this version. As said before English language support for Suica App is not localizing an app UI, it involves localizing the entire JR East online ecosystem.
If I had to guess I would say that English language will come in April 2019 with the launch of JR East’s version of smartEX, Touch and Go Shinkansen Suica v2 that will cover all JR East Shinkansen lines, and of course Suica with the ¥20,000 daily limit removed. All in time for the Tokyo Olympics.
You must be logged in to post a comment.