A Beginner’s Guide to Using Apple Maps on Your iPhone

While Google Maps may be your current go-to when you need a navigation app, it may not remain that way for long. Apple Maps is well on its way to competing with some of the best navigation maps out there, and it has tons of exciting features you can explore.

Since its release in 2012, Apple Maps has only grown in popularity. But if you don’t know how to use Apple Maps just yet, you’re in 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 you begin using its many features, we’ll first look at the different ways you can view Apple Maps. There are currently four maps available: Explore, Driving, Public Transport, and Satellite. To switch through them, tap the top-right icon above the location button (it shows a map by default) and select your map.

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

Driving will show you details of roads and streets along with essential road signs.

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

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

Another cool viewing feature Apple has introduced is the 3D view for select cities. You can tap the 2D icon in the top right corner to switch to a 3D view. For a handful of cities like New York and London, tap the binoculars at the bottom left to navigate through a beautiful 3D experience of the city.

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To know if you can utilize this feature in Apple Maps, check Apple’s feature availability page to see if your city falls under one of the supported ones.

How to Get Directions to a Location and Add Stops

Now that you’ve got the hang of the different maps available, let’s get down to using Apple Maps. We’ll first look at how we can get directions from one place to another to reach it easily. Here are the steps you will follow if you want directions to a place from your current location:

1. Make sure your current location is open on the map. You can tap the location icon in the top-right corner to see your exact location.
2. Tap on the place you want to visit or type it in the search bar.
3. Press Directions to enter navigation mode.
4. If you want to edit your current location or destination, you can do so here. And to switch to a different mode of travel, tap Drive or the arrow next to it, and you can choose between Walk, Public Transport, and Cycle.

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You can also add stops to the route that you have created. Apple Maps will show you the easiest and most time-efficient route so that you can go to multiple destinations. Here’s how to add stops:

1. After your press Directions, press Add Stop at the bottom of the list of locations.
2. Type in the location you want to go to and tap on it. It will appear on your place card.

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As you travel, you can help out other drivers by reporting accidents, hazards, and speed checks in Apple Maps.

Share Your Location With Your Friends

Congratulations, you’ve reached your destination using Apple Maps. Want to call your friends and family over? You can quickly share your location with just a few taps, 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 of:

1. Long-press on the Maps app from your Home Screen, App Library, or Spotlight search results.
2. Tap Send My Location to send your current location.

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

1. Tap on the location you want to send. This can be your current location, or you can search for one in the search bar.
2. Press the Share icon on top of the place card and choose your method of sharing.

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Loved a Place? Add It to Your Favorites

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

1. Tap on a location and swipe up on its place card.
2. Scroll down and select Add to Favorites at the bottom. It will now be added to Favorites right at the top of your default place card.

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Create a Guide and Explore New Places

Guides on Apple Maps has to be one of your favorite features, as it serves as your very own virtual tour guide when you visit a place. It recommends new places you can visit in the area you’ve looked up, lets you add them to your Guide, and allows you to share them with your friends.

You can even save your daily travel route and find out all the restaurants and shops that you will encounter on your way. To create and edit a Guide in Apple Maps, follow these steps:

1. Open Apple Maps and swipe up so that your place card fills the screen.
2. Tap New Guide under My Guides.
3. Type out the title of your Guide and tap Create.

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You can add multiple locations to your Guide and check them off as you tour a certain 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 Location. It’s as easy as that.

To pin another location on your Apple Maps, here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Search for the place you want to pin. Pinch outwards to zoom in for accuracy.
2. Long-press on an unlabeled area near your desired location. A pin will automatically appear, and a place card will pop up.
3. Tap Move on your place card. Drag the pin and adjust it according to the place you want to mark.

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Make the Most Out of Apple Maps

The more you use Apple Maps, the more you discover that it is a gold mine of convenient features.

Exploring places in 3D view right in your palms, checking out cool spots, creating your own guide before traveling, marking locations, and adding favorites brush the surface of what Apple Maps offers.

And while you enjoy using Apple Maps on your iPhone or iPad, don’t forget that you can also use this excellent app on your Mac.