The heady days where TomTom was the go-to device for navigation might now seem like the distant past, but the company has just announced an updated smartphone-based system that could put it back in the driving seat.

There have been various versions of phone-based apps from TomTom, meaning that you don't need separate hardware, but the big move is that it will now integrate with Apple CarPlay

That means that TomTom Go Navigation will run on your car's display - assuming you have Apple CarPlay support - bringing a premium navigation solution to your car once you plug in your phone. 

It will also run as a standalone app on your phone if you're not connected to a compatible car.

TomTom Go Navigation gives you offline mapping, so you download the maps rather than pulling in that data once you're on the road. That might potentially save you data costs, but there is realtime data coming in too to give you things like traffic. 

While many will use Google Maps or Waze - both compatible with Apple CarPlay too - which are both free, TomTom Go Navigation has a lot to offer. The mapping is very good, and will be updated in the background, while the traffic services that TomTom offer have always been amongst the best. 

There are other elements too, such as the arrangement of the visuals on the display and things like junction guidance that makes driving with TomTom a little easier than some of the free systems.

There's a catch of course and that's the price. After the 30-day free trial, you'll be asked to pay £8.99 for 6 months, £4.99 for 3 months or £1.99 for a month. Your subscription will automatically renew, but it can be cancelled, so we guess you can buy TomTom when you are facing a lot of driving and cancel it when you no longer need it. You can download the new app from the Apple App Store.

There's even some good news for Android - it will be getting Android Auto support at some point in the future.