How to use Apple Maps to get directions, find local businesses, and more

As the native navigation app on your iPhone, Apple Maps provides a feature-rich experience built right into iOS. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the various features that let you get directions, explore new places, find nearby businesses, and create personalized guides.

The navigation app of choice for most people may be Google Maps, but Apple Maps is a complete and intuitive tool that can do much more than simple navigation. So let’s embark on a guided tour with Apple Maps, and appleinsider — as your trusted companion.

get directions

To get started, launch the Apple Maps app from your home screen or the “Extras” folder. Then, grant location permissions, if prompted, to ensure accurate guidance and suggestions.

How to get directions in Apple Maps

1. Open apple maps on your iPhone.
2. Tap on the look for bar at the bottom of the screen
3. Enter the name or address of your destination.
4. Select your desired location from the search results.
5. On the information card for the selected location, tap the blue button (which usually has a car icon).
6. Tap one of the three routes suggested by Apple Maps.
7. touch the green Go and follow the step-by-step instructions to reach your destination.

before touching Goyou can use the blue button (usually labeled “Drive”) to choose your preferred means of transportation, such as driving, walking, or public transportation. There is also an adjacent button to set departure/arrival by date and time and another button to specify items to avoid, such as highway tolls.

Find a location or business

You can also explore new places or find specific businesses. That is how:

1. Tap on the search bar at the bottom of the screen to activate the search function.
2. Enter the name of the location or business you want to find.
3. Touch a result to see its information card and explore more.
4. Swipe up to reveal more details, like opening hours.

Change map view

Apple Maps offers different modes that allow you to customize your viewing experience based on your preferences and needs. This is how you can change the map layer on your iPhone:

1. Search for a location or navigate to a specific area on the map.
2. Tap the icon at the top right, which could appear as a map, car, train, or globe. This will open the location information panel.
3. Tap the layer you want to switch to.

• “Explore” provides a standard view with roads, landmarks, and other essential map elements.
• “Driving” focuses on road information and traffic details.
• “Transit” displays details of public transportation, such as bus stops, airports, and train stations.
• “Satellite” provides a satellite imagery view that shows real-world aerial images of the location.

Once you select a map layer, the view will automatically update to reflect your choice, and the button icon in the upper right corner will change to represent the new view: a map to “Explore”, a car to “Drive” a train for “Transit” and a globe for “Satellite”. You can explore the area with the new map layer and observe the changes in the visual representation.

Explore with 3D view

With Apple Maps, you can switch to a 3D landscape view. This feature provides a realistic map representation, allowing you to visualize landmarks, buildings, and terrain. Here’s how to explore with 3D view in Apple Maps:

1. First, switch to Satellite view.
2. Tap on the 3D button at the top right.
3. Similar to a two-finger zoom, you can move your fingers to rotate the view or simultaneously slide your fingers to pan.
4. To exit 3D view, tap the same button, now labeled “2D,” at the top right.

Look around

With the “Look Around” feature in Apple Maps, you can take a virtual tour of cities and explore them from the perspective of the street. This interactive feature provides a 360 degree panoramic view, allowing you to experience the environment as if you were physically there. This is how you can use the Look Around function:

1. Search for a location or place a pin on the map in an area you want to explore.
2. Tap on the binoculars icon In the bottom right. The Look Around view will display a street level image.
3. Swipe left, right, up or down to navigate the streets and explore the area from different angles.
4. You can also touch specific points of interest to get more information or access related actions.
5. you can touch the double arrow at the top right to toggle full screen, allowing you to view the map simultaneously.

Add or remove favorites

Save your favorite places for quick and easy access when you need them. Follow these steps to add favorites:

1. When viewing a location or business, tap the information card at the bottom of the screen.
2. Look for the labeled heart icon Add to favorites and touch it.
3. The place will be added to your favourites, making it easily accessible from the dedicated Favorites tab.
4. To remove a favourite, swipe up from the place info card, then tap Further next to the “Favorites” section.

Value companies

Sharing your business experiences and opinions can help other users make informed decisions. Here’s how you can review businesses in Apple Maps:

1. After selecting a company, swipe up on the information card to access more details.
2. Locate the rate this place option and tap on the thumbs up either thumbs down button.
3. If you want, you can also add a photo of the place here.

Please note that the rating option is not available for all locations.

report a problem

If you notice something is missing or incorrect about a place in Apple Maps, you can report the problem to the developers. To do this:

1. From the venue info card, swipe up
2. Locate the report a problem option at the bottom and tap on it.
3. You will be presented with several options, such as the location or opening hours being incorrect. Tap the relevant issue and fill in the details.

Create custom guides

You can create custom guides to select your perfect trip with Apple Maps. Here’s how to get started:

1. Find a location you want to add to your guide.
2. Tap on the add button (symbolized by a “+”) on the information card.
3. Select new guide and give it a unique name and, if desired, a description.
4. Continue adding more locations to your guide using the same process.

Save guides from professional sources

Apple Maps provides curated guides from professional sources, offering expert recommendations for your exploration. Here’s how to save these guides:

1. Open the Apple Maps app and go to the Explore tab located at the bottom of the screen.
2. Browse the available guides or select a specific category to narrow down your options.
3. Touch a guide to view its details, and then touch Continue to save it for future reference.

As you can see, Apple Maps offers many value-added features that make it more useful. Mastering it allows you to move easily, discover new places and create trips tailored to your preferences.