Tesla has teased several new features coming soon by way of an annual holiday update to its mobile app for iOS and Android, including a native Apple Watch app.
The upcoming watchOS app will bring phone key functionality from the mobile Tesla app. Tesla owners have been able to lock and unlock their car using the mobile app before industry players agreed on the Digital Car Keys standard. An iPhone or Android phone running the Tesla app acts as your primary key for establishing a Bluetooth connection with your vehicle.
When the official watchOS app launches, you will be able to lock and unlock your Tesla using just your Apple Watch. This will be a nice fallback option for those times when you leave your iPhone behind. The app will also support other features, including viewing your Tesla’s current battery charge, using climate control to warm up your EV, and opening the frunk.
Some folks use unofficial apps like Watch for Tesla to lock and unlock their EV from the wrist. With the official app, however, Tesla owners will no longer need to use third-party software. The mobile Tesla app is available on Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store.
The Apple Watch app will arrive alongside Tesla’s holiday update next week and will be installed automatically on the watch when the companion mobile app is updated. Tesla has not said whether owners of Wear OS smartwatches might get a similar app down the road.
Tesla’s annual holiday update includes a few other new features. For example, you can access dashcam and Sentry Mode recordings remotely from within the mobile app, save crash footage to your phone, and share it with insurance or law enforcement.
Another one will help reduce range anxiety by letting you set a preferred battery charge level for when you arrive at your destination, which will cause your charging stops to update.
There are navigation improvements, too, like searching along a route with estimated detour times, being alerted audibly and visually when in reverse and a pedestrian or vehicle crossing behind you has been detected, and checking the weather at your destination.
Support for SiriusXM is coming to Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck, while the existing TuneIn Radio feature “is now much better” in Tesla’s holiday update. Cybertruck owners will get a Santa Mode, which turns the onscreen 3D vehicle into a Tesla Bot riding in a sleigh, and the ability to add wraps and custom plates to the 3D model.
Tesla owners have been able to use automation in Apple’s Shortcuts app to access their EV controls and climate, including through Siri voice commands.
