Apple today held its annual worldwide developer conference (WWDC), where the company previews the next versions of its mobile and desktop operating systems.
With iOS 14, the next version of the smartphone operating system for iPhone coming this fall, users will get a new version of Apple Maps that will support EV routing, reports iPhone in Canada.
“Maps can track your current vehicle charge and factor in things like elevation to automatically add charging stops along the way. Maps knows which type of charger works for your car, making sure to route you to compatible stations,” explains Apple.
Apple Maps in iOS 14 will “help eliminate range anxiety” for those with an electric car. Maps will track your vehicle’s current charge, plus factor in elevation and weather to add charging stops along your route, explained Meg Frost, Director, Product Design for Apple Maps.
Maps will know what type of charger works for your car, making sure to only route you to compatible stations. Apple confirmed it is working with Ford and BMW to support EV routing for their vehicles and “will be adding many more in the future”, without mentioning any names.
Support for Teslas and the latter’s Supercharger network in Apple Maps would naturally make sense, although other third-party apps such as A Better Routeplanner (ABRP) on iOS and Android are popular with owners.
Tesla’s own in-house navigation would be able to plan better charging routes compared to Apple Maps, as the software is plugged into your vehicle’s live statistics. It’s hard to trust Apple Maps, especially with the latter being criticized in the past for its inaccuracies; new improvements did arrive in January for users in the United States and will similarly debut in iOS 14 for users in Canada.
