What’s new in Maps

Explore the world in glorious 3D or use augmented reality to help find your way

Maps’ headline new features take advantage of the latest hardware, and so are only available to those iPhones that have an A12 Bionic chip or better. However, if you have an iPhone that’s capable of using them, the 3D interactive features look terrific. There’s a 3D globe that you can spin and zoom in and out of, plus you can explore deserts, forests, oceans, mountain ranges and more. To use it, just choose satellite view and use two fingers to zoom out of the area you’re currently viewing until you see the Earth as a globe, then use one finger to spin it. The new city experiences allow you to explore some cities like San Francisco, Paris, and London in 3D. You can fly over and around landmarks and see them in detail in both daytime and night modes.

Road routes

Driving instructions, available on all supported devices, have been beefed up too. There’s more detail given for filter lanes, cycle, bus and taxi lanes, central reservations, and crossings. When you’re in driving mode and approach a complicated junction, the screen switches to a 3D view at road level to enable you to see exactly where you need to go.

Top of the new features, though, are the immersive walking directions. These use augmented reality (AR) and so need an A12 Bionic chip or better. Here’s how it works: hold up your iPhone so that the streets and buildings around you are in view on the screen. The walking directions are then shown overlaid on the live camera view on the iPhone screen.

There are improved public transport features, too, which have been designed in conjunction with the new city experiences. Key bus routes are highlighted, and it’s now easier to see your route while you’re travelling, and interact with it onscreen with one hand – something that could be important when you’re getting on and off buses or trains. Maps will also notify you when you are approaching your stop. If you travel frequently, you can pin your favourite train lines so they show up first when they are nearby. And you can now quickly access departures that are close to your location.

Search has been beefed up, so, for example, you can now filter restaurants by the style of food they offer, or elect to see only establishments that are currently open.

Finally, the curated guides that were introduced in iOS 14 have been improved and made easier to find and use.

In Maps, you can spin a 3D globe and zoom in on deserts, forests, rivers and cities.

City experiences have been enhanced meaning you can now see even more detail of the likes of London and New York City.