Beginner's Guide to Using Apple Maps on Your iPhone

Although Google Maps is your current go-to when you need a navigation app, it might not stay that way for long. Apple Maps is well on its way to rivaling some of the best navigation maps out there, and it has tons of cool features for you to explore.

Since its release in 2012, Apple Maps has only grown in popularity. But if you don’t know how to use Apple Maps yet, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a handy guide to help you learn everything you need to get started with Apple Maps on your iPhone.

Browse Apple Maps through different views

Before we start using its many features, let’s first take a look at the different ways you can view Apple Maps. There are currently four maps available: Explore, Conduct, Public transportand Satellite. To browse them, tap the icon in the top right above the location button (it shows a default map) and select your map.

Explore is your default map that shows you a detailed overview of towns, shops, restaurants, and everything else available.

Conduct It will show you road and street details along with essential road signs.

Public transport It will show you all available public transport lines and public transport services, along with their routes. You can tap on it for more information about a specific public transport.

Satellite gives us a fantastic satellite view of everything from above. The details of this view are uncanny and you can spend hours exploring it.

Another interesting visualization feature introduced by Apple is the 3D view for certain cities. You can press the 2D icon in the upper right corner to switch to a 3D view. For some cities like New York and London, press the binoculars Bottom left to navigate through a beautiful 3D experience of the city.

To find out if you can use this feature in Apple Maps, check Apple Feature Availability Page to see if your city is one of the supported ones.

How to get directions to a location and add stops

Now that you’ve mastered the different maps available, let’s move on to using Apple Maps. First we will see how we can get directions from one place to another to reach it easily. Here are the steps to follow if you want to get directions to a location from your current location:

1. Make sure your current location is open on the map. You can press the location icon in the upper right corner to see your exact location.
2. Tap the place you want to visit or type it in the search bar.
3. Hurry Directions to switch to browse mode.
4. If you want to change your current location or destination, you can do so here. And to switch to another movement mode, press Reader or the arrow next to it, and you can choose between Walking, Public transportand Cycle.

You can also add stops to the route you have created. Apple Maps will show you the easiest and fastest route so you can get to multiple destinations. Here’s how to add stops:

1. After your press Directionshurry Add a stop at the bottom of the list of locations.
2. Type where you want to go and tap it. It will appear on your place card.

During your trip, you can help other drivers by report accidents, hazards and speed checks in Apple Maps.

Share your location with your friends

Congratulations, you have reached your destination using Apple Maps. Want to call your friends and family? You can quickly share your location with just a few clicks and they’ll be there in no time. If you want to share your current location, here’s a quick way to do it that you probably didn’t know about:

1. Long press the Maps app from your home screen, Application Libraryor Spotlight search results.
2. Faucet Send my location to send your current location.

If you want to send a location while using the app, follow these steps:

1. Tap the location you want to send. It can be your current location or you can search for one in the search bar.
2. press the To share at the top of the location card and choose your sharing method.

Did you like a place? Add it to your favorites

You can bookmark a location to easily return to and visit it later. Adding places to favorites is also useful if you frequently visit certain points of interest and often need quick directions. Follow these steps to add a location to your favorites list:

1. Tap on a location and swipe up on its location card.
2. Scroll down and select Add to favorites basically. It will now be added to Favorites just above your default placeholder.

Create a guide and explore new places

Guides on Apple Maps must be one of your favorite features, as they serve as your virtual tour guide when visiting a place. It recommends new places you can visit in the area you searched for, lets you add them to your guide, and lets you share them with your friends.

You can even save your daily travel route and discover all the restaurants and shops you come across on your way. To create and edit a guide in Apple MapsFollow these steps:

1. open Apple Cards and swipe up to have your place card fill the screen.
2. Faucet New Guide under MyGuides.
3. Type the title of your guide and press To create.

You can add multiple locations to your guide and check them off when you visit a given place.

Pin a location in Apple Maps

To mark your current location, you can long press the Maps app on your home screen and select mark my position. It’s that simple.

To pin another location on your Apple Maps, here are the steps:

1. Find the place you want to pin. Pinch out to zoom for more precision.
2. Long press an unlabeled area near the desired location. A pin will automatically appear and a location map will appear.
3. Faucet Move on your place card. Drag the pin and adjust it depending on where you want to mark.

Get the most out of Apple Cards

The more you use Apple Maps, the more you’ll discover it’s a gold mine of handy features.

Exploring places in 3D view right in your palms, checking out cool places, creating your own guide before you travel, marking locations and adding favorites paint the surface of what Apple Maps has to offer.

And while you love using Apple Maps on your iPhone or iPad, don’t forget that you can use this great app on your Mac too.