Apple Maps

184 'Apple Maps' stories July 2013 - July 2018

See All Stories

When the iPhone first launched, it was preloaded with Google Maps. In 2012, Apple replaced it with its own mapping application known as Apple Maps. It launched in beta in the iOS 6 beta, and was released to the public that fall.

After its launched, it was clear that it was no on the same level of quality as Google Maps. The poor launch led to a public apology from Tim Cook and ultimately led to the firing of Scott Forstall.

Apple Maps Features

Over the years, Apple has continued to adds features to Apple Maps. iOS 11 brought lane guidance and a speed limit widget on the navigation, and indoor location mapping.

Apple has also added proactive location suggestions (time to get home when you are leaving work, etc), integration with public transit, Yelp integration, and integration with ride sharing services like Lyft and Uber.

With iOS 12, Apple has proclaimed they are rebuilding Maps from the ground up.

Maps is being rebuilt from the ground up to better reflect the world around you. The new underlying map uses Apple data and features enhanced geographic context like pedestrian paths and parks, more detailed building outlines and parking lots, better road network coverage, and more. You’ll also be able to get where you’re going with improved routes, whether you’re on the road or on foot. The new Maps is now available in Northern California and is coming soon to the rest of the United States.

While the general consensus is that Google Maps offers more accurate data and navigation, Apple Maps is widely considered to be the most used mapping application in the world since it’s built into every iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Apple Maps

Apple expands Apple Maps Traffic data to six new countries

Chance Miller Jul 12 2018 - 6:04 pm PT

Apple today has updated its Feature Availability webpage to reflect that real-time traffic information is now available in six new countries around the globe. The move marks Apple’s continued expansion of select region-based features…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Maps is being rebooted, but Google Maps has a huge adoption lead

Michael Potuck Jul 10 2018 - 9:11 am PT

A new report out today on navigation app trends sheds some light on how far Google Maps could be ahead of Apple Maps and other services. Included are the top reasons why almost 70% of users are sticking with Google Maps.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Comment: I understand why Apple wanted its own maps, but it fails the laser focus test

Ben Lovejoy Jul 5 2018 - 5:36 am PT

A Counterpoint blog post today questions whether the planned ‘massive overhaul’ of Apple Maps is too little, too late.

This brings me to my key point — that map making, map data collection and keeping maps up-to-date, is an expensive and unending task […]

Apple will have to pour in hundreds of millions of dollars every year to collect, parse and integrate maps, transit and traffic data. Further, having Apple Maps cars equipped with expensive LiDAR, 360 cameras gear and drive hundreds of thousands of miles globally will still take Apple years to perfect the maps at a global scale […]

In summary, it could be a little too late for Apple to build maps content from the ground-up.

For a company which boasts of saying no a thousand times for every time it says yes, Apple Maps always seemed like a strange project to green-light, but I think there were a couple of reasons for it …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Maps

Five features Apple Maps should copy from Waze and Google Maps

Bradley Chambers Jun 24 2018 - 6:00 am PT

I love Apple Maps. No, it didn’t launch well back in iOS 6, but it’s turned out to be an impressive app. I like the overall design, Siri support, and Apple Watch support. My family also makes a lot of dinner reservations through Yelp and OpenTable, so being able to launch it with a single tap is something I find myself often doing.

Like any app, it’s not perfect, and there are things I’d like to see it borrow from some competitors. After traveling a few times this summer, I’ve discovered five things I’d like Apple to add to Apple Maps in the future.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Maps

Apple rolls out transit support in Apple Maps to Buffalo, New York

Chance Miller Jun 20 2018 - 2:29 pm PT

Apple today has continued its rollout of transit support in Apple Maps. The company has now started to roll the feature out in Buffalo, New York…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Maps

Apple Maps has been down for hours, users unable to search for places or get directions [U]

Benjamin Mayo Jun 15 2018 - 7:54 am PT

Apple Maps has been down for many hours today, causing mayhem for customers seemingly worldwide. Whilst Apple’s system status reports no issues, users across Twitter and Apple Support forums are finding that is currently impossible to search for locations or get directions. The map tiles appear to be loading normally, but points of interest and critical functions of the app are simply not working.

Update: Apple has now confirmed the issue on its support site, noting that ‘all users are affected’ by maps navigation and search issues.

Update 2: As of 1:20 pm ET, service has been restored.

Expand
Expanding
Close

watchOS 5: How to customize Apple Maps navigation alerts

Peter Cao Jun 8 2018 - 4:51 pm PT

In pervious versions of watchOS, Apple Maps navigation alerts were all in or all out, with no middle ground. Now, in watchOS 5, Apple is giving users more options to allow alerts based on the type of navigation the user is doing.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Maps now available to embed into websites with MapKit JS

Benjamin Mayo Jun 6 2018 - 10:34 am PT

The Apple Maps app didn’t get any major changes in iOS 12, but the MapKit team announced at WWDC that they are officially launching MapKit as a web framework for others to use. Google Maps is incredibly popular as an embedded map for other web services, and now Apple is trying to take a slice of that pie. MapKit JS is the same map component that Apple uses in many of its web properties, including Find My iPhone on iCloud.com, and the WWDC 2018 site.

The Apple MapKit JS library is launching in beta this week. It mirrors the MapKit API available to native iOS apps, with Apple Maps iconic cartography and data sources.

Expand
Expanding
Close

iPhone: How to toggle tolls or highways in Apple Maps

Peter Cao May 21 2018 - 12:01 am PT

Apple Maps has the convenience of being the default mapping solution on all of your Apple products, whether it be iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch. But one thing that may be overlooked are some quality of life options that may make your driving experience slightly better.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Five reasons to prefer Apple Maps over Google Maps

Bradley Chambers May 20 2018 - 5:00 am PT

Is Apple Maps better than Google Maps?

Has there ever been an app that has caused so much of an uproar in the Apple community as Apple Maps? It was released in the fall of 2012 with iOS 6, and it was not received well to say the least. It was so poorly received that Tim Cook even wrote a letter apologizing for the poor launch of Apple Maps which contributed o the firing of Scott Forstall:

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

Now that we are almost six years into Apple Maps, I am of the opinion that Apple was right, certainly in a post Facebook privacy scandal world, to replace Google Maps with their in-house mapping product. In fact, Google Maps isn’t on my iPhone, and here are five reasons I prefer Apple Maps over Google Maps.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple confirms use of drones to improve Apple Maps, says privacy remains a priority

Chance Miller May 9 2018 - 3:28 pm PT

Earlier today, a report explained that Apple was among a handful of companies who had applied for government permission to test drone usage beyond current FAA limits. Now, Apple has officially commented on these plans…

Expand
Expanding
Close

iPhone: How to change navigation volume in Apple Maps

Peter Cao May 8 2018 - 12:00 am PT

While it could be debated whether or not Apple Maps is better than its competitors, it’s an easy to use app that is built into every iOS device. When navigating and playing music with Apple Maps, it can be infuriating if the navigation volume is too quiet and your music over takes, or vice versa.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Maps adds new indoor maps for three major international airports

Benjamin Mayo Apr 26 2018 - 2:19 am PT

Indoor mapping lets Apple Maps users explore the internal layout of buildings across multiple floors, with precise location positioning to help you find your way around places like airports and shopping malls.

Apple has today expanded its list of indoor mapping locations with a few new airports; iPhone and iPad can now explore Sydney International, Edinburgh and Hamad Internationl (Doha, Qatar) …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Maps

Apple Maps now includes bike sharing data for more than 175 cities

Michael Potuck Mar 12 2018 - 9:37 am PT

Apple has added the ability to find bike sharing stations in its Maps app much more easily as it has integrated new data in over 175 cities. The update comes as Apple has struck a deal with data company Ito World.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Maps

Apple Maps expands transit directions and lane guidance in several locations

Peter Cao Feb 28 2018 - 1:12 pm PT

Apple has today made some improvements to both transit directions and lane guidance in Apple Maps. The company has been making a rapid push to get both of these features out the door and has been looking to expand them in as many cities as possible.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Maps

In-depth analysis compares quality of Apple’s mapping data against Google’s, highlights challenges Apple faces to compete

Michael Steeber Dec 20 2017 - 7:12 am PT

Since its introduction in 2012, Apple Maps has carried the burden of much scrutiny and criticism for the quality and coverage of its mapping data. While Apple’s data has steadily improved since day one, a new comparison shows just how much more work it will take to surpass Google Maps.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Maps

Here are all of the airports and malls that support indoor maps in iOS 11

Chance Miller Dec 13 2017 - 6:51 pm PT

iOS 11 introduced a new indoor mapping feature that offers walking directions through a variety of different airports and malls. Apple has been slowly rolling out support for additional buildings, but changes and additions have been hard to track…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Feature Request: Siri could use help learning to pronounce city names

Zac Hall Nov 13 2017 - 1:58 pm PT

Siri is steadily getting better with new features and improvements, but one place where the voice assistant could still learn a thing or two is how it pronounces city names. Siri tries its best to pronounce the names of cities based on their spelling, but this often leads to a comically bad mispronunciation that makes Siri sound like a complete out-of-towner.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Maps

Apple Maps now offers public transit directions for Ireland

Ben Lovejoy Oct 16 2017 - 5:25 am PT

In the latest update to Apple Maps, public transit directions have been added for Ireland. Steve Troughton-Smith wryly commented that the update had arrived just in time for the weather to shut down public transport in the country …

Expand
Expanding
Close

CarPlay in iOS 11: Lane guidance, interface tweaks, and more

Zac Hall Jun 23 2017 - 8:28 am PT

When iOS 11 for iPhone ships later this fall, CarPlay users will gain new features like lane guidance in Apple Maps, new route recommendations, and other new features. Below we’ll take a look at some of the new changes coming to CarPlay in iOS 11.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Jibestream says it will support indoor Apple Maps, Branding Brand adopts ARKit for retail clients

Zac Hall Jun 20 2017 - 2:04 pm PT

Two companies have announced plans to adopt new Apple technologies coming this fall with iOS 11. Jibestream says it will work with clients to provide indoor mapping data to Apple Maps which is new to iOS 11, and Branding Brand says it plans to use ARKit to build augmented reality experiences for retail apps.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Maps

Apple reportedly rolling out ‘Mechanical Turk’-esque program to improve Apple Maps data

Benjamin Mayo Jun 2 2017 - 5:17 am PT

Apple is advancing its data accuracy efforts with Apple Maps, according to a new report from iGeneration. The report details a new website app program where freelancers can sign up and get paid a small fee each time they correct/verify a Point-of-Interest or placemark in Apple Maps.

Similar to a Mechanical Turk system, people in the program can get paid about 54 cents per task, with a maximum of 600 tasks per week …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Maps 3D images of Apple Park show buildings, walkways & fountain

Ben Lovejoy May 29 2017 - 5:34 am PT

Apple Maps now shows 3D images of the Apple Park campus, with detailed representations of buildings, walkways and other landscape features. The detail extends as far as the sun-shade slats and solar panels on the main building.

The app added 3D satellite imagery back in March, though this was rather out of date. At that time, the map view was still rather sparse, something Apple has now fixed, though another issue remains unresolved …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Maps

Apple expands Maps imagery collection to Connecticut, new areas of New York & Arizona

Chance Miller May 7 2017 - 7:50 am PT

For the past two years, Apple has been using vehicles around the United States and other countries to collect data for Apple Maps. Now, the company has further expanded those efforts, deploying a fleet of vans in Connecticut for the first time…

Expand
Expanding
Close