You Can Use Apple Maps on the Web, but Will You?
Apple announced Wednesday that Apple Maps is now available online in beta. While the Maps app is available on all Apple devices, you can now access the Apple navigation app on virtually any device with a supported web browser. The question is: will you?
The web app is similar, but stripped down, to the app you’d find on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac: you can search for addresses and businesses, view turn-by-turn directions for your chosen route, tap on places on the map to learn more about them, and View in-app guides specific to where you are. Many features of Apple Maps are currently missing, including Lookaround (Apple’s version of Street View), cycling and transit directions, the ability to plan a route at a specific time, 3D environments, traffic maps and, most importantly, , the ability to sign in to your Apple ID.
As it stands, this version of Apple Maps is by far the most limited and doesn’t even have the simple ability to get directions from one Apple device to another. But Apple notes that it’s in beta, and the more people test it, the more it will likely resemble the full-featured app we’ve all become accustomed to in the future.
Apple Maps has caught up with Google Maps
Apple Maps has certainly come a long way since its infamous release in 2012 . The app that once told drivers to make a sharp right turn right on the Brooklyn Bridge is now perfect for use as a dedicated navigation program. In fact, many, if not most , iPhone owners do just that. The fact that Apple includes Maps as the default navigation app when you set up a new iPhone likely helps this, but there are other reasons why you might like Apple Maps over Google Maps: Perhaps you prefer the aesthetics of Apple Maps to Google Maps, or general user interface selection. . You might like Apple Maps’ integration with iOS, so you can ask Siri for directions, share your ETA via iMessage, or pick up Maps scheduling on other Apple devices.
There are many features, big and small, that can help you integrate with Apple Maps. But functionally, both apps are very similar these days: they both highlight the best routes with the same ETA, suggest public transit routes and bike routes, let you report hazards on your route, etc. What you use really comes down to personal. preferences likely driven by habit (perhaps you’ve always used Google Maps instead of Apple Maps) or exclusive features on one platform.
…but not online
Personally, I don’t think I’ll ever decide to use Apple Maps on the web, even if it looks like the main app. I use it on my iPhone from time to time: I usually switch between Apple Maps and Google Maps (sometimes Waze), just to keep up with any new features among them. But when it comes to using maps online, it’s always Google Maps for two specific reasons: first, Street View. Lookaround is definitely expanding, but Apple simply hasn’t mapped the entire world multiple times like Google has. Street View is both useful and interesting, and is about 50% of the reasons I open a web app.
My second reason concerns user reviews. I just prefer Google reviews over Yelp, which is what Apple Maps adheres to. Look, I know Apple can’t use Google reviews in their app, but Yelp? When will clicking on a review take me to another website or app entirely? No thanks. If I’m looking for a dinner reservation or a destination on my computer, it’s Google Maps.
I imagine many people will use the Maps app in a web browser the same way: If you’re using an iPad, you can of course use Safari or Chrome to open Maps. But you can use Google Maps or the Maps app built into your iPad. The same thing happens if you are using your Mac. But I’d be very curious how many PC users end up using the Apple Maps web app in Chrome or Edge. I can’t imagine it will ever be a large number.
Now, if Apple ends up covering most of the globe with Lookaround and rolls out a review system that can match Google Maps, then we’ll talk. For now, for me, it’s Google Maps on the Internet and everything I feel on my iPhone.