Musk Confirms That Tesla Will Add Apple Watch Support in Future Update

By Not a Tesla App Staff
Tesla App on Apple Watch concept by Naher94
Tesla App on Apple Watch concept by Naher94
Naher94/Reddit

Tesla is finally getting ready to release support for the Apple Watch and presumably Android wear devices. It’s anyone’s guess if development for smartwatches has been in the works or if the Tesla team found out at the same time as the rest of us. Despite this request being made several times before, Elon Musk recently responded to the request with a simple “Sure.” Although the response is short, Musk has a good record of delivering on items he has said “sure” or “okay” to on X/Twitter. A few examples are agreeing to add WiFi garage door support, a glovebox PIN feature, disabling mirror auto-dimming, and many others. When Musk responds to these requests, in all likelihood, they’re already on Tesla’s product roadmap.

The days of living in fear of your phone running out of juice and not having your key card may be numbered. X user @dani_elle831 described that exact situation: “well it finally happened. my phone died & I got locked out of my tesla thankfully the massage place let me use their phone & hubby unlocked it from his phone not sure why the car can’t be unlocked using an Apple Watch or other smart watch. any chance this could be incorporated @elonmusk?”

Phone Key Support on Watch?

One of the big advantages Apple Watch and Android Wear support could bring is the ability to use your watch as a vehicle key. From the context of the post on X, it’s not clear whether this will be included, as the post simply talks about unlocking the vehicle when you don’t have a working phone on you. It could mean having full-fledge key support on your watch, or simply being able to unlock and start the vehicle over the internet like you can already do through the app when you’re outside of Bluetooth range.

There’s no doubt that having ‘phone key’ support would be the best option, as it would work seamlessly and not require an internet connection, although it’s not clear what Tesla’s intentions are. Tesla has not added support for Apple’s CarKey and is unlikely to add it at this point. However, Tesla could add phone key support in the same method they already support on iPhones and Android devices.

Phone key leverages Bluetooth to unlock the vehicle when it’s nearby, and Tesla recently added ultra-wideband support, which brings even more precision to phone key. However, ultra-wideband is only available on newer devices, such as the iPhone 11 and later, some Samsung Galaxy 21 devices and later, as well as select other models. It also required a new Model 3, Cybertruck, or a newer Model S or X, with these sensors built in. Unfortunately, the previous generation Model 3 and the current Model Y do not include ultra-wideband support.

It is interesting to note that the Apple Watch has had ultra-wideband support since the Series 6, including the new Ultra models. Hopefully, we’ll be in for a treat and will see full phone key support through Bluetooth and Ultra-wideband, but either way, it seems like we’ll at long last be able to unlock the vehicle from our smartwatches in some form.

From Widgets to Watch Support

Tesla added lock screen widgets to the iPhone back in 2022
Tesla added lock screen widgets to the iPhone back in 2022
Not a Tesla App

Tesla rolled out lock screen widget support on iPhones in app update 4.14, and we’re likely going to see these same lock screen widgets supported on the Apple Watch and possibly on Android Wear devices. Tesla has two lock screen widgets that display relevant vehicle information. The larger one displays the range left on the vehicle, the name of the vehicle and a progress bar showing the charge level. If you have more than one Tesla, you’ll need to choose which vehicle is displayed in the widget, however, you can have multiple instances of the same widget. There is also a smaller widget that is half the size and simply displays the vehicle’s state of charge. Both of these would adapt well to ‘complications’ on the Apple Watch..

Smartwatch Support Expectation

Another concept of a Tesla app on the Apple Watch by @niccruzpatane
Another concept of a Tesla app on the Apple Watch by @niccruzpatane
@niccruzpatane

We don’t know what Tesla is developing and it could be anything from a full-fledged Tesla app for smartwatches that allows you to access most commands available in the Tesla app such as charging, unlocking, starting the climate, setting charge level (as shown in the concept above), and even include full phone key support. However, it could also be a slimmed-down app that introduces watch widgets and allows you to access the most important commands and information about the vehicle, such as seeing the vehicle’s range, unlocking it, and starting a charge. Smartwatch support has been a long time coming, and even if Tesla releases the latter, it will be a great addition.

Other Manufacturers

Tesla's development of smartwatch apps is a welcome step, but surprisingly a step behind the competition, which is unlike Tesla in terms of software. Companies like Porsche, BMW, Dodge, Toyota, and Ford have already introduced support for smartwatches. These apps offer a range of features such as remote engine start and stop, door lock and unlock, car finder, vehicle status, and parking meter assistance.

Timing is Everything

Tesla's consideration of a smartwatch app comes at an intriguing time, closely following Apple's announcement to cancel its electric vehicle project, which would’ve competed directly with Tesla. It’s likely a coincidence, and it could have more to do with the recent addition of ultra-wideband, as this new tech provides significant improvements in energy usage and precision. We should find out more soon, so stay tuned.

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Tesla LFP Batteries Can Now Be Warmed up While Supercharging Using Innovative Feature

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Tesla’s been on a roll with Supercharger improvements lately, from the 325kW charging update for the Cybertruck, to 500kW with V4 Superchargers coming next year. While those improvements have been limited to the Cybertruck, Tesla didn’t put all their focus on their new flagship vehicle, but looked at their more affordable vehicles as well.

LFP Battery Heating

Tesla’s Superchargers can now heat LFP Batteries - those that are in the Model 3 and Model Y Rear Wheel Drive variants. This applies to Long Range and Standard Range models, which saw a limited run. This is another update included as part of the 2024 Tesla Holiday Update - which really arrived with a lot of unannounced new features and capabilities.

The change is pretty interesting - Superchargers of the V3 and V4 variety can now pre-heat batteries for Model 3 and Model Y vehicles equipped with LFP battery packs. That means those vehicles are able to get back on the road faster when it's extremely cold. Of course, Tesla still advises you to precondition before you arrive, saving drivers time and money.

Max de Zegher, Tesla’s Director of Charging, also commented on the new feature. Essentially, Tesla is inducing an AC (alternating) ripple current through the battery to warm it up. Keep in mind that Superchargers are DC charging. That means it is possible to get a cold-soaked LFP vehicle on the road 4x faster than before, assuming that it didn’t precondition at all and that it is in the worst-case scenario (below 0ºF).

In essence, Tesla is using some engineering magic to turn the circuits inside the LFP battery into an electric heater - and powering that heater through the Supercharger. An AC ripple current is a small oscillation in the DC charging current that generates heat through electrical resistance, warming up the battery. Those ripples are a byproduct of converting AC to DC and back - so Tesla is using the onboard charger to induce those ripples to warm up the battery. Definitely an innovative technique that’s really only possible with the versatility of the NACS connector.

We’re hoping Tesla can implement this across their full lineup of vehicles, but we’ll have to wait and see how it is trialed across LFP vehicles first and if it is even possible on vehicles with 2170 or 4680 battery packs.

Tesla Included FSD V12.6.1 and V13.2.4 in the Same Update: What Caused This and What It Means

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Tesla launched two FSD updates simultaneously on Saturday night, and what’s most interesting is that they arrived on the same software version. We’ll dig into that a little later, but for now, there’s good news for everyone. For Hardware 3 owners, FSD V12.6.1 is launching to all vehicles, including the Model 3 and Model Y. For AI4 owners, FSD V13.2.4 is launching, starting with the Cybertruck.

FSD V13.2.4

A new V13 build is now rolling out to the Cybertruck and is expected to arrive for the rest of the AI4 fleet soon. However, this build seems to be focused on bug fixes. There are no changes to the release notes for the Cybertruck with this release, and it’s unlikely to feature any changes when it arrives on other vehicles.

While this update focuses on bug fixes, Tesla’s already working on bigger features for FSD V13.3, which we have already confirmed to include improvements to highway following and speed control.

FSD V12.6.1

FSD V12.6.1 builds upon V12.6, which is the latest FSD version for HW3 vehicles. While FSD V12.6 was only released for the redesigned Model S and Model X with HW3, FSD V12.6.1 is adding support for the Model 3 and Model Y.

While this is only a bug-fix release for users coming from FSD V12.6, it includes massive improvements for anyone coming from an older FSD version. Two of the biggest changes are the new end-to-end highway stack that now utilizes FSD V12 for highway driving and a redesigned controller that allows FSD to drive “V13” smooth.

It also adds speed profiles, earlier lane changes, and more. You can read our in-depth look at all the changes in FSD V12.6.

Same Update, Multiple FSD Builds

What’s interesting about this software version is that it “includes" two FSD updates, V12.6.1 for HW3 and V13.2.4 for HW4 vehicles. While this is interesting, it’s less special when you understand what’s happening under the hood.

The vehicle’s firmware and Autopilot firmware are actually completely separate. While a vehicle downloading a firmware update may look like a singular process, it’s actually performing several functions during this period. First, it downloads the vehicle’s firmware. Upon unpacking the update, it’s instructed which Autopilot/FSD firmware should be downloaded.

While the FSD firmware is separate, the vehicle can’t download any FSD update. The FSD version is hard-coded in the vehicle’s firmware that was just downloaded. This helps Tesla keep the infotainment and Autopilot firmware tightly coupled, leading to fewer issues.

What we’re seeing here is that HW3 vehicles are being told to download one FSD version, while HW4 vehicles are being told to download a different version.

While this is the first time Tesla has had two FSD versions tied to the same vehicle software version, the process hasn’t actually changed, and what we’re seeing won’t lead to faster FSD updates or the ability to download FSD separately. What we’re seeing is the direct result of the divergence of HW3 and HW4.

While HW3/4 remained basically on the same FSD version until recently, it is now necessary to deploy different versions for the two platforms. We expect this to be the norm going forward, where HW3 will be on a much different version of FSD than HW4. While each update may not include two different FSD versions going forward, we may see it occasionally, depending on which features Autopilot is dependent on.

Thanks to Greentheonly for helping us understand what happened with this release and for the insight into Tesla’s processes.

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