Apple Maps is a mapping service developed and maintained by Apple. It is available as the default Maps app on iOS, macOS, and watchOS, and it is used to power Find My functionality across all platforms, including the web.
Apple Maps was originally released in 2012 as a replacement for Google Maps, which had previously been the default mapping service on Apple products. At launch, Apple Maps was heavily criticized for inaccuracies and errors, leading Tim Cook to apologize and promise to improve the service.
Since then, Apple has made significant improvements to Apple Maps, building in new features and correcting lingering errors. Real-time traffic information and navigation options for pedestrians were added to Maps in 2013, which is also the same year Maps was extended to OS X. In 2015, Maps was updated with "Nearby," a feature that offers up local points of interest and transit directions in a handful of cities.
In early 2020, Apple completed a complete overhaul of its maps in the United States, featuring significantly greater detail including updated building massing, parks, sports field, pools, and more. A new Look Around feature in select cities is similar to Google's Street View, and the updated maps will be rolling out to more countries going forward.
Apple Maps
By MacRumors Staff
Apple Maps How Tos
Apple Maps May Be Logging Places You Visit – How to Disable
In iOS 26, Apple Maps has a feature called Visited Places that when enabled automatically logs where you've been, with the aim of making it easier to revisit your favorite spots or to share locations with friends.
While it can be useful for tracking your travels, you might prefer to keep your location history private. Here's how to disable the feature and clear your history.
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iOS 26: Turn Off Preferred Routes in Apple Maps
In iOS 26, Apple Maps quietly learns your daily driving patterns to help you beat traffic, but you might not want it tracking your regular routes. Here's how to disable the feature.
Using on-device Apple intelligence, Maps learns the routes you prefer to use to get to locations you visit frequently, such as work, home, and school. The app tracks when you typically visit these places and...
iOS 18: Use New Library and Notes Features in Apple Maps
Apple Maps in iOS 18 introduces two helpful new features: a centralized Library for saved content and the ability to add personal notes to locations. Here's how to take advantage of these new tools.
Using the New Library
Apple's iOS 18 update brings significant improvements to the Maps app, and streamlines the process of saving and organizing your favorite locations. Building on the...
iOS 18: Using the New 'Search Here' Feature in Apple Maps
In iOS 18, Apple Maps has gained a new "Search here" button that makes it much easier to find what you're looking for in areas that aren't your current location or when you're exploring any new place on the map.
In earlier versions of iOS, if you search nearby for, say, gas stations or restaurants in Apple Maps, and then drag the map to another location with your finger, it will usually (but ...
How to Use Apple Maps on the Web
Apple has introduced Apple Maps for the web, currently available in a public beta. This new feature brings the convenience and functionality of the Apple Maps app to web browsers, enabling users to access directions and location information without needing to open the standalone app or even have an Apple device.
With Apple Maps on the web, you can get driving and walking directions, explore ...
iOS 17: How to Download Offline Maps in Apple Maps
In iOS 17, Apple has added the ability to download Maps for use offline, providing access to turn-by-turn directions and information for a chosen area even if you do not have a cellular or Wi-Fi connection. Keep reading to learn how it's done.
Apple Maps is catching up with Google Maps in iOS 17 by finally letting iPhone users download maps for offline use. Thanks to the new feature, you...
iOS 16: How to Use Multi-Stop Routing in Maps
In iOS 16, Apple Maps has received an update that brings multi-stop routing to the navigation app. Keep reading to learn how to use it.
With iOS 16, the Maps app allows you to plan a route that has multiple stops instead of just a single destination. While Google Maps has had this feature for some time, this is the first version of Apple's Maps app to include support for it.
When entering ...
How to Get a List of Directions in Apple Maps
After several years of iterations and improvements, Apple Maps has become a solid app and a viable Google Maps alternative for getting GPS-based directions to navigate journeys by car, public transport, bicycle, and on foot.
Depending on the journey though, you may want to print off a list of turn-by-turn directions to refer to instead of relying on your iPhone and draining the battery. Or...
iOS 15: How to Find Fun Things to Do With the Dedicated Apple Maps Guide Section
In iOS 15, has brought several major improvements to the Maps app, with better driving directions, improved transit directions, and more immersive AR-based walking directions.
In addition, Apple has added a dedicated Guides Home that houses editorially curated guides with tips on what to do in a city where you live or where you're visiting.
To explore Apple's guides at any time in the...
iOS 15: How to Find Transit Stations Near You in Apple Maps
In iOS 15, Apple's Maps app benefits from a range of new features and improvements, including the ability get real-time information on the nearby transit options available to you.
This transit information can be found for major bus routes and rail lines in cities with updated maps. Transit riders can see all of the departures listed near them, including any existing delays on services, and...
iOS 15: How to Get AR Walking Directions in Maps
In iOS 15, Apple's Maps app benefits from a range of new features and improvements, including the ability to use augmented reality walking directions in big cities.
In a nod to Google Maps, the new AR mode can map walking directions onto the real world by using your iPhone's rear camera, making it easier to see where you need to go in built-up areas and reducing the need to look down at your ...
iOS 15: How to Find User Settings in Maps
In iOS 15, Apple has added a user account area in the Maps app that corrals several custom areas like direction mode, toll and highway avoidance options, transit options, and more.
To access it, simply tap the circular icon to the immediately to the right of the search bar. You should see your initials within the circle, indicating it's your account.
A new menu card will pop up with...
iOS 15: How to Filter Search Results in Maps
In iOS 15, Apple has worked to improve the search results in its Maps app, and has added the ability to filter results by options like what specific cuisine you're looking for, whether a restaurant is open or offers takeout, and more.
In the following steps, we've demonstrated how it works by looking for restaurants that serve a particular type of cuisine, but you can filter other...
iOS 15: How to Use the Interactive Maps Globe
In iOS 15, Apple has enhanced the Maps app to include a new globe view that allows you to spin the world around and zoom into different regions on Earth.
In previous versions of iOS, zooming out maximally in Maps would present you with a flat world map, but the new globe view gives you a three-dimensional view of Earth from space that's a lot more fun to navigate.
It's easier, too –...
iOS 15: How to Set Leaving and Arrival Times for Driving Directions in Apple Maps
Apple Maps received several notable improvements in iOS 15, including new details in cities, an interactive globe, and enhanced driving directions. It also gained a feature that has long been available in rival map apps – the ability to set leaving and arrival times for driving directions.
This is a feature that's long been available for Google Maps, and one that's really useful if you...
iOS 14.5: How to Report Speed Checks, Traffic Accidents, and Other Hazards in Apple Maps
In iOS 14.5 and later, Apple has added a Waze-like feature to its native Maps app that lets you report accidents, hazards, and speed checks along your route when getting directions. Keep reading to learn how it works.
Driving on public roads can throw up all sorts of hazards, but if you're given prior warning then you can be better prepared to deal with them. Apple recognizes this, which is...
How to Clear Your Location History in Apple Maps
When you search a location in Apple Maps on iOS and Mac, the app conveniently remembers your search in case you want to return to it at a later time.
However whether for housekeeping or privacy reasons, you can quickly and easily remove your Maps search history at any time. Keep reading to learn how its done.
Delete Apple Maps History on iPhone and iPad
Launch Apple's Maps app on your...
iOS 14: How to Use Guides in Apple Maps
In iOS 14, Apple's Maps app got a handful of new features and refinements, one of which is the ability to explore places with the help of Guides.
Guides provide recommendations for the best places to visit in a city, offering up suggestions on places to eat, shop, and explore. Some of Apple's partners for these Guides include Lonely Planet, the Washington Post, AllTrails, The Infatuation, and ...
iOS 14: How to Get Cycling Directions in Apple Maps
Google Maps has featured detailed cycling directions for almost a decade now, and with the arrival of iOS 14, Apple Maps is finally introducing its own.
The steps below show you how to make use of the new cycling directions in Apple's Maps app. If you have an Apple Watch running watchOS 7 or later, you can receive the directions you select right on your wrist, for easy at-a-glance navigation.
...
How to Ask Siri to Share Your ETA When Navigating With Apple Maps
In iOS 14, Apple has greatly expanded the number of direct answers Siri can give you. The majority of these answers are thanks to enhanced web-based information, but some of it is also down to Siri's tighter integration with other Apple apps.
For example, the Apple Maps app lets you share your estimated time of arrival when you're following turn-based driving directions, and now you can ask ...
How to Share Your Estimated Time of Arrival in Apple Maps
In the latest version of Apple Maps that comes with iOS 13, Apple has added a Share ETA feature that lets you share your estimated time of arrival at a location with a friend or family member, allowing them to follow your progress in real-time for the duration of the trip.
The following steps explain how to use the Share ETA feature in Apple Maps on iPhone and iPad. Note that Apple nixed the...
How to Create a Collection in Apple Maps
In iOS 13, Apple added a Collections feature to its Maps app on iPhone and iPad that lets you search for and aggregate lists of different locations, such as restaurants you're thinking of eating out at, sightseeing locations for when you're on vacation, or other places you want to visit.
Collection lists can also be shared, so you can create lists of places for friends and family that will...
How to Send Feedback About Errors in Apple Maps
In iOS 13, Apple introduced a redesigned customer feedback process for its Apple Maps app which is designed to make it easier for users to submit corrections for things like incorrect addresses, business locations, or operating hours.
If you find an error or something that needs updating in Apple's maps information, you can now send the correct details in just a few quick taps. The following...
How to Add Places to Your Favorites in Apple Maps
In the latest version of Apple Maps that comes with iOS 13, Apple has added a Favorites feature that lets you search for specific places and then add them to a list. Favorites are meant for places that you visit frequently, and Home and Work are already added by default.
Any place you frequent can be added to the Favorites list, such as a favorite restaurant or coffee shop, or a friend or...
How to Use Look Around in Apple Maps
With iOS 13, Apple introduced several additional features to its Maps app, one of which is called Look Around. This gives you a street-level view of what's around your current location or the location you search for on the map.
If you've ever used Google Street View, you already have a good idea of how Look Around works, but Apple's equivalent feature includes a couple of functions that...
What's New in Maps in iOS 11: Indoor Mapping, Lane Guidance and Speed Limits
The Maps app in iOS 11 is outfitted with several new features that significantly improve the app's functionality. Indoor maps let you find restaurants, bathrooms, and other locations in airports and malls, while other new features like speed limits and lane guidance improve turn-by-turn directions.
Fun fact: In iOS 11, Apple has also updated the Maps icon. The new version is meant to show off...
How to Use Apple Watch to Get Directions
Apple Watch includes a miniature version of Apple Maps, which offers many of the same features as the full iOS version if you know how to access them. Some of what Maps can do is fairly obvious, but there are a few features that require a bit more know-how.
If you are interested in learning the ins and outs of Apple Maps on Watch OS and would like to know some simple tips for getting the most...
Apple Maps Guides
Apple Maps: Complete Guide to iOS 13
Apple introduced updates to many of the built-in iOS apps in iOS 13, and Maps is no exception. The updated version of Maps has a long list of new features that are designed to make the Apple Maps app better able to compete with mapping apps from other companies.
There's a new Look Around street view level feature, a Collections feature for aggregating lists of your favorite places, a...
Apple Maps Articles
Apple Maps Launches F1 Tracks Guide Ahead of 2026 Season
Apple Maps has been updated with a new guide called "2026 Formula 1 Tracks Around the World," ahead of the new season which is being streamed exclusively on Apple TV in the United States.
Spotted by 9to5Mac within the Apple TV Formula 1 Channel, the guide offers an immersive way to explore the circuits, starting with Albert Park in Australia, with more 3D circuit experiences to be added as...
Tesla's CarPlay Plans Delayed by Apple Maps Compatibility Issue
Tesla is still planning to bring Apple's CarPlay to its vehicles, but a compatibility issue between Apple Maps and Tesla's own navigation software has held things up, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says that Tesla found during testing that turn-by-turn directions from its maps app didn't sync up properly with Apple Maps during...
EU Spares Apple Maps and Apple Ads
The European Commission today said it found that Apple Maps and Apple Ads should not be designated as "gateways" under the EU's Digital Markets Act.
In a press release, the European Commission said that Apple Maps and Apple Ads are not big enough individually to qualify as "important gateways between business users and end users," and therefore the platforms will not be subject to stricter...
Apple Quietly Discontinued Flyover City Tours in Apple Maps
Apple Maps no longer offers a Flyover feature that provides users with automated tours of notable landmarks in major cities. The Flyover option appears to have been nixed around when iOS 26 launched, but its removal went largely unnoticed.
Flyover city tours were introduced in 2014 with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, using Flyover imagery to generate an aerial tour. Most cities with Flyover...
EU to Target Apple Maps and Apple Ads Next
The EU has begun looking into whether Apple Maps and Apple Ads should be designated as "gatekeepers" and subject to greater regulation (via Reuters).
The App Store, iOS, and Safari were classified as gatekeepers two years ago, triggering strict requirements in the EU such as support for alternative app marketplaces and third-party payment options. Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), any...
Apple Reportedly Moving Ahead With Ads in Maps App
Apple Maps could feature integrated ads as soon as next year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple's plan to bring more ads to iOS is moving "gaining traction," with the Maps app being next in line. The project will apparently give restaurants and other businesses the option to pay to have their details featured more prominently in...
Apple Maps Cycling Directions Expand to Taiwan and Hong Kong
Apple Maps has expanded the availability of cycling routes in East Asia by adding support for Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Apple first added cycling directions to Apple Maps in iOS 14, providing specific directions for bike riders with bike lanes, bike paths, and bike-friendly routes that highlight steep inclines, stairs, and other obstacles.
Prior to this expansion, cycling...
Apple Maps Suddenly Failing to Treat Highway 407 ETR in Toronto Area as Toll Road [Fixed]
Since at least July 4, Apple Maps has failed to treat the privately-operated Highway 407 ETR in the Toronto, Canada area as a toll road, according to complaints from affected users. This issue is not limited to any particular device or software version, with users experiencing the problem across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and web.
As a result of this issue, local Apple Maps users...
Apple Maps to Feature Custom City Experience for Formula 1 Grand Prix
Apple today announced a new custom city experience and guide for the upcoming Formula 1 TAG Heuer Grand Prix de Monaco 2025.
The new Detailed City Experience includes custom-designed 3D Monégasque landmarks of significant locations, such as Casino de Monte-Carlo, Fairmont Monte Carlo, Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Yacht Club de Monaco, and the F1 Paddock Club. When dark mode is enabled at...
Apple Maps Now Shows Indigenous Lands in Australia and New Zealand
Starting today, the Apple Maps app on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac now displays Indigenous lands in Australia and New Zealand, such as reserves and protected areas.
In a press release, Apple said the mapping updates were informed by Indigenous peoples, cartographers, language holders, and others in each country.
In Australia, Apple said it referenced language data published by the Australian ...
Apple Launches 'Surveyor' App for Apple Maps Data Collection
Apple today launched a new app called Surveyor, which is designed to allow users to collect data like images of street signs and roadside details to improve Apple Maps.
The app is not public facing and appears to be for use with companies that Apple partners with to assign mapping tasks. Downloading the app and opening it up directs users to "Open Partner App" to choose a task. Tapping on...
Apple Maps Might Start Showing Ads
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again.
This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
Apple Maps Cycling Directions Expanded in UK and Ireland
Apple Maps now has expanded coverage for cycling directions in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The expansion, first spotted by a Reddit user, means cyclists can plan a journey on the app from, say, Land's End to John o' Groats, if they're that way inclined.
Cycling directions have been available in the UK and Ireland for a few years, but until now, support didn't cover the whole of the...
Apple Adopting 'Gulf of America' Naming for Apple Maps
Apple is in the process of renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and changes are already being made to the Apple Maps app. When searching in the Maps app for Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico name is shown or the name is blank, but tapping into the area shows the "Gulf of America" wording.
According to Bloomberg, Apple is rolling out the Maps change in the United States today, ...
Apple Maps on the Web Gains 'Look Around' Support
The web version of Apple Maps that Apple first debuted in July has been upgraded with support for Look Around, the feature that is essentially equivalent to Google Street View.
In supported areas, Look Around provides a high-resolution ground level view of restaurants, retail locations, landmarks, streets, and other points of interest. It's a feature that has long been available on iOS...
Apple Maps Cycling Directions Expand to New Zealand
Apple Maps has expanded the availability of cycling routes in the southern hemisphere by adding support for New Zealand.
Apple first added cycling directions to Apple Maps in iOS 14, providing specific directions for bike riders with bike lanes, bike paths, and bike-friendly routes that highlight steep inclines, stairs, and other obstacles.
Prior to this expansion, cycling...
Apple Planning to Expand Maps App's 'Look Around' Feature
Apple Maps is seemingly preparing for a significant expansion of its "Look Around" feature to compete more aggressively with Google's Street View.
Apple's "Look Around" feature offers high-resolution, interactive street-level imagery in the Maps app. To date, its scope has been relatively limited, mainly concentrated in major metropolitan areas and a few select regions worldwide.
A recent...
Apple Maps on Web Now Supports Firefox Browser
Apple updated its Apple Maps on the web feature to add support for the Firefox browser this week. Firefox users on Mac, PC, and iPad can now visit Apple Maps on the web, and the site works as intended.
Prior to yesterday, attempting to visit the Apple Maps website popped up an error message that the Firefox browser was not supported. Apple's support document for its web-based Maps feature...
Apple Maps Real-Time Transit Information Now Available in Tokyo
Real-time transit information in Apple Maps has been expanded to Tokyo, Japan, enabling users to get live details of more than 20 railway, bus, and tram lines throughout the metropolitan area, Apple has announced.
With real-time updates on Apple Maps, users in Tokyo can view detailed schedules, real-time departure and arrival times, and transfers to help plan their journeys. Apple adds...
Apple Maps Rivals AllTrails on iOS 18 With New Hiking Features in U.S.
Just months after naming AllTrails the iPhone App of the Year in 2023, Apple has added new hiking features of its own to the Maps app on iOS 18.
Apple Maps users in the U.S. can browse thousands of hikes across all 63 national parks in the country, filtered by length, elevation, and route type. Users can also create and save their own custom walking and hiking routes, with one-way,...
