Apple Maps tracks Porsche Taycan energy use, shows charging stations
Drivers of the Porsche Taycan no longer have to use the EV’s Charging Planner that’s part of its built-in navigation system. They can also now use Apple Maps, via their iPhone.
With the CarPlay-based option, Apple Maps gains access to the Taycan’s real-time battery performance and state of charge, so that it can plot out your trip and adjust accordingly in real time. Specifically, the Maps app taps into battery information, energy consumption, and your vehicle model, but it doesn’t share data with Porsche.
The Apple Maps route planner will use energy consumption models specific to the Taycan, updating your estimated energy use along the way and including details like elevation changes and estimated speed, suggesting a charging stop in the route when needed.
That’s essentially what Porsche’s existing Charging Planner, included with the Taycan’s navigation system, already does.
2020 Porsche Taycan
But there’s one difference. The Apple Maps method uses info from the car but can’t influence its battery behavior. So while the Charging Planner activates battery preconditioning as you approach a charging station—to offer the fastest charge rate possible—that isn’t an advantage available to those who use the Apple app to plot their way on trips.
That said, as City Dwellers has observed in the past, it might not make much of a difference, depending on the trip. While preconditioning the Taycan for a 350-kw DC fast charger means significant time saved—especially in chillier weather—the advantages of conditioning the battery for a 150-kw DC fast charger are negligible.
All Taycan models are compatible with the routing, but 2021 and earlier Taycans will need a software update administered at the dealership.
To use the feature you must be running iOS 16.4 or later, and you’ll need the My Porsche app on your iPhone. And if you have multiple vehicles, they’re selectable in the app.
2023 Porsche Taycan
BMW first adopted Apple CarPlay-based charger routing in the BMW i4. GM has taken a very different tack, though; it recently said it has no plans to support Apple CarPlay, and it’s instead aiming for an experience that will carry over to branded apps with “one-click” charging.
Google has offered electric-car charging locations in its Maps app since 2018, although it hasn’t been integrated as part of route planning or very useful for filtering stations by charge rate. EV-savvy route planners have found specialized apps such as Chargeway or A Better Routeplanner best for this.
Earlier this year Google claimed the addition of charge-routing functionality similar to this for the Polestar 2, Cadillac Lyriq, GMC Hummer EV, and Volvo XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge models.
