Maps & Navigation
Apple Maps
Apple's navigation app with multi-stop routing, offline maps, transit, cycling and Look Around.
Get the app
Opens the official store page
- Developer
- Apple Inc.
- Score
- 2.2
- Downloads
- 10K+ ratings
- Age
- Rated 4+
- Version
- 5.12
- Price
- Free
Screenshots
About this app
Navigation for driving, walking, cycling and transit is the core of Apple Maps, with a strong emphasis on keeping location data private. Routes can include up to 15 stops and sync from Mac to iPhone. Lane guidance, real-time traffic incidents, speed limits and speed-camera alerts come along for the drive. Maps can be downloaded for offline use on iPhone or Apple Watch, including turn-by-turn directions and place details. Cycling directions show elevation, walking directions can be viewed in AR over the live camera, and custom walking routes can be saved. Topographic maps with contour lines and trails cover selected parks. For finding places there's natural-language search, publisher-curated Guides, Look Around street-level imagery, a 3D globe, indoor maps for airports and malls, reservations and menus inside the app, and a Places Library for saved spots and notes. CarPlay support includes one-tap favourites and ETA sharing. Recent additions are Local Lists and an Enhanced Flyover city view.
Apple Maps: the full guide
What the app is
Driving, walking, cycling and transit directions sit at the centre of Apple's mapping app, and Apple makes a point of location privacy. Routes can hold up to 15 stops and pass from a Mac to an iPhone. Driving brings lane guidance, live incident reports, speed limits and camera warnings, and offline maps on iPhone or Apple Watch keep turn-by-turn directions working.
Away from the car it covers cycling elevation, AR walking directions over the live camera, saved custom walks, and topographic maps for selected parks. For finding places there are Guides, Look Around street imagery, a 3D globe, indoor maps of malls and airports, reservations and a Places Library.
How it works day to day
Most days it's the commute: a transit time check in the morning, a drive home with lane guidance and a speed-camera alert on the ring road. At weekends the multi-stop routing plans a day of errands, and a walking route through an unfamiliar neighbourhood can be followed with the camera held up and arrows overlaid on the street.
Before a trip you'd download a city for offline use, save a few spots to the Places Library with notes, and browse a Guide for restaurants. CarPlay takes over in the car with one-tap favourites and ETA sharing.
Why people look for it
Many people arrive at this listing simply because it's the default on their iPhone and they want to know what's been added, with the 15-stop routing and offline maps being the features most often asked about. Privacy is the other draw for those uneasy with Google. The 2.2 rating across ten thousand reviews is strikingly low and worth taking seriously.
Look and feel
The five screenshots presumably show the map itself, Look Around imagery, the 3D globe and a CarPlay or cycling view. Apple's mapping has a clean, cartographic style with restrained colour and a strong emphasis on legibility, which is how it differs visually from the busier competitors in Maps & Navigation. Expect the design language of the rest of iOS rather than anything separate.
Updates and upkeep
Version 5.12 and Apple Inc. as developer settle the maintenance question; the listing even mentions recent additions in Local Lists and the Enhanced Flyover view. What the data doesn't settle is why the rating sits at 2.2 across ten thousand reviews when the feature list is this long. The listing gives no explanation. App Store only, naturally.
