Apple Maps launched in September 2012 as the default mapping app on iPhone, but soon faced widespread criticism for having incomplete data, providing incorrect directions and lacking features over Google Maps. The controversial launch resulted in Apple CEO Tim Cook issuing a rare public apology, while former iOS chief Scott Forstall was ousted from Apple just one month later.

Apple_maps_ios-9
While there is still room for improvement, Apple Maps has gained several new features over the past three years. iOS 9 continues that trend, adding a long overdue Transit routing and new Nearby search mode alongside existing features such as turn-by-turn navigation, real-time traffic information, Flyover photo-realistic 3D views of select metro areas, Siri, local search and iCloud support.

Transit

Transit Apple MapsApple Maps is now a multi-modal mapping app with the addition of public transit routing via bus, subway, light rail, train and ferry. You can view entire stations or individual lines on a map to choose the best possible route.

Apple Maps transit directions are currently available in Baltimore, Berlin, Chicago, London, Mexico City, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington D.C. and several cities in China.

Some extended areas of Connecticut and New Jersey near New York City and Southern Ontario cities near Toronto such as York Region, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton and Waterloo Region also support transit.

Nearby

nearby_heroYou can now search Apple Maps based on categories such as Food, Drinks, Shopping, Travel, Services, Fun, Health and Transport, and within each category you can search deeper for specific places.

If you tap on Food, for example, you can then filter your results based on Popular, Restaurants, Groceries, Fast Food, Cafés, Bakeries and Desserts. A list of locations is displayed with aggregated Yelp data.

Nearby categories such as Food, Fun, Shopping and Travel can also be accessed from the Spotlight Search menu on iOS 9.

Related Forum: iOS 9

Top Rated Comments

oneMadRssn Avatar
128 months ago
I'm kind of surprised Boston isn't included in the Transit feature yet. Our transportation authority has been rolling out fancy new data about all the trains for a while now, and just last year (or the year before, I forgot) they opened up and made publicly available all the data about real-time bus and train locations and timing. This has resulted in many cool apps that take advantage of the data.

Seems like low-hanging fruit for Apple (put intended) to include Boston. Wonder why they decided to skip it for this round.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BSben Avatar
128 months ago
"Nearby" US only, right?
No, used for example, work in the UK, but stopped working here a few days ago.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OriginalMacRat Avatar
128 months ago
always wait for the X.1 release
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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