Apple Maps' EV routing is finally coming to the Ford Mustang Mach-E

Ford Mustang Mach-E owners will soon have another option for route planning: Apple Maps' long-awaited EV routing (via 9to5Mac). It's understandable if the feature doesn't ring a bell - Apple announced it at WWDC 2020 that it would come to BMW and Ford cars with iOS 14, but it's mostly been silent about it. According to the Apple Maps site, the feature measures "your charge level, elevation and charging stops compatible with your route."

A page posted on Ford's website, but now appears to have been removed (you can view an archived version here) says that Mach-E owners are either a 2022 model year vehicle or a '21 model. With some versions will be able to use route planning. Using CarPlay (though it does mention that it expects to have this for all Mach-E drivers by the end of the year). After enabling it, Ford says the screen will show how much battery is left in the car when you arrive at your destination.

It is possible that the Mach-E may be the first vehicle to receive this feature, which would mean that there was a long wait between the announcement and the rollout. Scouring the Internet, I couldn't find concrete reports that the feature had made its way to any BMW model—i3 owners were pretty sure they wouldn't get it, and i4 buyers were pretty sure they would, though. That car is scheduled to start shipping this month, according to BMW. (I'm sure now that I've said this, I'll hear from many people saying they've been using it for a year.)

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter, and its support article for the feature only stated that it required a "compatible vehicle." I couldn't find a list from Apple on which cars were compatible. Judging by some of the answers to Ford's FAQ for the feature, it seems that getting the car and phone to talk to each other requires some work on the part of the automakers, which could explain why. Why did the rollout take so long?

Apple Maps has had the ability to search for EV charging stations for a while, pull up the ones near you and let you route with gas stations as ICE drivers. While this is good for a quick fill-up, it doesn't help when planning long trips like the routing feature.

Of course, it's worth noting that the Mach-E has a built-in version of this feature, which Ford says has a few extra features like the availability of a charging station, how fast the chargers can juice up your vehicle. , e.t.c. But as my former colleagues Sean O'Kane and reviewers like MKBHD have pointed out, there are still frustrations with Ford's built-in solutions—mainly, often chargers break down entirely or don't work the way they do. They should.

It's debatable whether that's going to solve Ford's problem, but it does mean that rooting solutions -- including Apple's -- come to mind when it comes to charging the Mach-E away from home. Still, it's nice to have options on how you get your routes, especially if you prefer how Apple Maps works compared to Ford's built-in navigation. And, hey, maybe if Apple ever comes out with its rumored car, it might try to bend the charging network into shape. However, that could take some time, as Ford recently hired the man who was reportedly in charge of Apple's automotive efforts.