Comparison

Shinkansen smartEX App vs HQEV

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Shinkansen smartEX App

Easily reserve Shinkansen seats, hotels, and activities. Enjoy discounts for early bookings and flexible changes. Access station and train service information, and use QR tickets or designated IC cards for seamless travel.

Highlights
  • Reserve Shinkansen seats
  • Book hotels and activities
  • Early booking discounts
  • Free reservation changes
  • Select seats from map
  • QR-Ticket and IC card boarding
  • Fingerprint authentication login
Features
Currently charting
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▼With the EX app, you can: - Reserve Shinkansen seats through the app easily - Discount for early booking - Reserve Shinkansen seats up to 1 year in advance - You can make as many changes as you need, free of charge, before getting on the train - Reserve a set of Shinkansen seats and hotel rooms! - Reserve activities, hotels and car rentals! - Select any seat from the seat map (*reserved seats only) - Information on services available in stations and trains - You can log in quickly by using fingerprint authentication. (only for compatible models) ▼ Main features - Membership registration - Purchase ticket/Reserve seats (time designation, train name designation, easy free seat reservation)) - Confirm reservation - Change and refund reservation (reducing the number of persons) - Display purchase history and receipt - Check, change member information - Display QR-Ticket for boarding - Designate or register IC card for boarding - Service status information (Link) ▼ Notes - Membership registration is required to use this app. For registration, personal information is required, such as member name, date of birth, and a valid credit card, etc. - Ticket purchase (reservation) payment will be taken from the credit card registered on the account. -- You need to register or designate IC card for public transportation (*) to travel ticketless with IC card. (*) Kitaca, PASMO, Suica, manaca, TOICA, PiTaPa, ICOCA, Hayakaken, nimoca, SUGOCA - You need the pickup code to pick up tickets from ticket vending machines, etc., at main stations of Tokaido Sanyo Kyushu Shinkansen, such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka, Hiroshima, Hakata, Kumamoto etc. - Please do not use this app to make a seat reservation for Japan Rail Pass. - This service is available only in English. - For more details on this service, please see the website. *The email address below is for inquiries about application specifications. Please note that we cannnot answer inquiries about the service.

About

HQEV

Features
Read full description

Charge your vehicle with HQEV chargers.

Screenshots

Shinkansen smartEX App4 screens
HQEV2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Shinkansen smartEX App at #138 against HQEV's unranked. HQEV's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shinkansen smartEX App ships an update monthly, HQEV every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Shinkansen smartEX App versus HQEV: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShinkansen smartEX AppHQEV
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.7 (606 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews16.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings606 — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#138 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB70 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCentral Japan Railway CompanyKitu Systems

In-app purchases

None

Shinkansen smartEX App

No in-app purchases

None

HQEV

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shinkansen smartEX App free?
Shinkansen smartEX App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HQEV free?
HQEV is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Shinkansen smartEX App or HQEV have ads?
Neither Shinkansen smartEX App nor HQEV shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shinkansen smartEX App or HQEV?
Shinkansen smartEX App ships an update monthly, and HQEV every 6 weeks. Most recently, Shinkansen smartEX App was updated on October 29, 2026 and HQEV on October 12, 2026.

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