David Smith built a fully custom SwiftUI map rendering engine for Pedometer++ on watchOS, shipping a finished design in version 8 after six years of iteration.
Key Takeaways
Avoided MapKit due to forced dark mode, limited animation/overlay control, and sparse topographic coverage in remote areas like Scottish trails.
Built a tile-based SwiftUI map engine from scratch since watchOS only supports SwiftUI, enabling offline use and widget compatibility.
Commissioned cartographer Andy Allen to create a custom basemap optimized for Liquid Glass layering, contrast, and dark mode legibility at arm’s length.
Final design uses a vertical stack with map as top page and metrics overlaid top-left; tap-to-enter “browse mode” resolves swipe conflict.
Server-rendered maps were the first prototype approach, validating the concept but blocking offline use and real-time navigation.
Hacker News Comment Review
Commenters note Apple’s own Maps and Watch Ultra still lack serious hiking/topography features like GPX import, making third-party work like this fill a real gap.
No substantive technical debate in comments; discussion is limited to praise for polish and frustration at Apple’s first-party gaps.
