Apple is reportedly developing a new Apple Maps feature that could make estimated arrival times more accurate by accounting for how long drivers spend finding parking and walking to their destinations. Code discovered in the iOS 27.3 beta suggests Apple is experimenting with a system that tracks these additional travel times, potentially helping users plan journeys more accurately.
The discovery comes from code researcher pdfu on X, who identified a new internal feature flag called TimeToPark in Apple’s latest iPhone software. The findings were first shared on November 9 and subsequently reported by MacRumors.
How Apple’s Parking-Aware Arrival Estimates Could Work
Currently, Apple Maps calculates estimated arrival times using driving routes and traffic conditions, although the actual journey often takes longer when drivers need to find parking and walk to their final destination.
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The newly discovered TimeToPark system uses Apple’s CoreRoutine framework, which processes background location and motion data to understand travel patterns.
According to the findings, the system could measure:
- Parking time: How long drivers spend near their destination before parking.
- Walking time: The time required to walk from the parked vehicle to the destination.
- Travel patterns: Historical parking and walking durations grouped by weekday and hour.
These measurements are saved for individual trips, potentially allowing Apple Maps to estimate how parking conditions change throughout the day.
For example, someone visiting a busy shopping center could receive an arrival estimate that includes several additional minutes for parking and walking, providing a more realistic indication of when they will reach their destination.
When Will Apple Maps Get This Feature?
The TimeToPark feature remains an internal experiment, and Apple has not announced plans to release it publicly.
According to the code researcher, the functionality currently works only on Apple’s internal software installations, and no existing Maps feature uses the collected information.
The discovery follows Apple’s release of the iOS 27.3 beta on November 3, which introduced several other changes ahead of the expected December public update.
Although parking-aware arrival estimates would make Apple Maps more useful for everyday navigation, there is currently no confirmed release date or indication that the functionality will arrive with iOS 27.3.
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