Version 8.1.2 is specifically aimed at the experience on the Apple Watch, offering better CarPlay integration and making controlling certain features easier.
Magic Earth added support for the Apple Watch in early June, allowing users to run navigation on the smartwatch without the need for an iPhone. The new update released today enhances this experience, focusing specifically on hiking and biking.
The parent company updated the Apple Watch UI to show steepness percentage (if you’re a cyclist, you certainly know how important this is whenever you pick a route), total climbing, charts with elevation and distance, and weather at the destination.
This isn’t the first time Magic Earth has focused on weather data, as the previous update also included improvements on this front, showing the weather forecast for the current location. However, the feature was available on mobile devices, so Magic Earth now expands weather data to the Apple Watch.
As for CarPlay users, Magic Earth running on the Apple Watch now allows users to start and stop a route directly from the smartwatch. If you think it’s more convenient to control navigation from the wrist and not use the infotainment screen (for example, if your car comes with a knob, making it harder to interact with what happens on the screen, it might be more convenient to turn to the Apple Watch for simple tasks).
Magic Earth’s purpose was to sync the Apple Watch app with iPhones and CarPlay so that when you configure navigation on one device, you can control it from other Apple devices. The Apple Watch support is supposed to make everything more straightforward and convenient, so make sure you install this latest version.
Magic Earth is an application whose main objective is to protect users’ privacy without neglecting the essential feature package. The navigation experience includes support for offline maps, real-time traffic, and a guarantee that the parent company won’t collect user information and sell it to third parties.
If automatic app updates are enabled on your device, the latest Magic Earth version should already be running on your iPhone. The CarPlay version should be up-to-date once you install the latest update from the App Store.
Meanwhile, Magic Earth is not the only navigation app available on the Apple Watch, as Google Maps can also run on Apple’s smartwatch. Apple Maps obviously offers similar support, albeit Magic Earth has become one of the top choices for people who don’t want to rely on their smartphones for navigation.