Apple Maps is getting a major upgrade soon and you may want to consider it as your go-to map app when navigating the city streets.
For many, Apple’s Map app has been one of those apps people rarely use. If you tap on directions in your mobile browser and Apple’s default maps app opens, most people quickly close it to open up the more user-friendly and reliable Google Maps app. If you’re someone who reorganizes your iOS app icons, you may have taken the Maps ap and put it in a folder called “do not use” on your iPhone’s home screen. Apple Maps never became as popular or as useful as Google Maps. Apple developers took notice and they are rebuilding Maps from the ground up. The new Apple Maps will be included with iOS 12, coming this fall.
The current version of Apple Maps relies on third-party data for its maps, which according to TechCrunch, has been one of the major reasons why the Maps app hasn’t been as successful as other mobile map apps for iOS. Apple is ditching the third-party map data providers and is developing its own methods for data gathering for Maps. Eddie Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, says the company is building all of the map data on its own “from the ground up.” By having control of its own map data, it will make Apple Maps work faster since it will no longer rely on a third-party to make corrections, traffic data and updates.
The new Apple Maps app will be able to send users information about traffic and recommend shortcuts to your destination more accurately.
Ryan Jones, PM founder of Flighty App posted a screenshot to Twitter showing a comparison between the old Maps app and the New Maps app for iOS 12 which shows more detail of greenspaces in the new app. Note: The new Apple Maps app is available to developers for beta testing.
New features for Apple Maps for iOS12
Apple Maps will have improved graphics and ground cover and include foliage pools, pedestrian pathways and more. Maps will also include an improved high-resolution satellite view with 3D reconstructions of street signs and other objects on the road.
According to TechCrunch, Apple Maps will work smarter. Maps will have a tool that corrects addresses and provides users with more detail about the “last 50 feet” of your journey and be able to direct users to the building entrance.
Another important feature of the new Apple Maps app is that it will provide users with more relevant search results. While having smoother graphics and enhanced satellite views are great and all, if a maps app cannot provide accurate search results from the beginning, there’s no sense in using it.
Apple Maps vs. Google Maps
Many people have become used to the Google Maps interface and it has become the go-to map we all use when planning a road trip or navigating the city street. Google Maps appears to work seamlessly with almost every app we use to pull up direction. The new features promised in Apple Maps for iOS 12 are promising and the app appears it’s taking a huge step in the right direction with improved graphics and accurate data. Only time will tell if Apple Maps can get to a point where it becomes more intuitive and useful than the current maps app from Google.
