David Smith shipped Pedometer++ 8.0 at the end of April, and the headline is mapping on the Apple Watch.

Smith has been chipping away at watchOS maps for six years. And now we get detailed maps on the wrist. Dark mode. Offline support. An Expedition Mode that throttles the watch to extend battery life when you are way out in the backcountry without a way to charge.

The use case is hiking and trail navigation. If you are off the grid and want to confirm you are still on the right trail without pulling out your phone, the watch is the right form factor. Pedometer++ 8 is what makes that practical.

I am not a serious hiker. I have never wanted maps on my watch. But Smith’s post about the six-year journey makes me want them anyway. Enthusiasm is contagious.

There is also a bigger story here. One developer, one app, six years of incremental work toward a specific goal. Most software does not get that treatment anymore. Pedometer++ 8 is what it looks like when an indie developer keeps building, and it is worth supporting.