Apple Maps Finally Lets You Download Maps for Offline Use on iOS 17

[BGPL]

HUGE update. Legit almost got lost in the backwoods last summer. My friend had to bust out his old Garmin NUVI. It was like 2005 all over again.

 

[Razorpit]

Cool. We have all had access to offline maps on the iPhone for quite a while. X app doesn’t matter - does it, when talking about Y app? My point is that it’s not a new iPhone feature, merely a feature of a certain app. Being high and mighty doesn’t really work in this case.

Pointing out the obvious is not “high and mighty”. I like AppleMaps, I use AppleMaps, but lets not kid ourselves, this should have happened YEARS ago.

 

[CapitalIdea]

Offline maps is literally the only reason I kept google maps on my phone as a backup. Now it looks like I can finally free up that space as I use Apple Maps pretty much exclusively when I travel.

 

[ThatGuyInLa]

I may miss something but isn't Google Maps just more reliable and better than Apple Maps ? New features are welcomed and competition is a good thing, but why using Apple Maps? Is there a relevant feature only on this app ?

Rural areas with no service and mountains that can even make gps tricky, are why offline maps are so precious. Ya know for folks that actually go out and do stuff. So, yes, Google Maps has been a better option. Many other devices have been as well.

 

[HazeAndHahmahneez]

folks, do you think the Apple Watch announced topographical info. stuff will be added to iPhone maps? or iPhone in general? trying to get a very close hiking friend into the Apple Walled in Garden, but they claim they can't give up Samsung phone because of topographical maps etc

 

[cdsapplefan]

This will be great for people who do gig work like Uber Eats and DoorDash who need GPS navigation most of the time 🚗 🍟 🍕 🍔

 

[jole]

In Garmin Explore app, I can download offline routable topo maps a country or a state at the time. I always carry all of US and a handful of most visited other countries with me. This is far superior to needing to remember and download a small area at a time. Furthermore, all of that is also available on Garmin watches.

Apple, please match what the competition have had for many years.

 

[bruno7]

Try this. You can easily download the whole countries.
Then you have outdoor map, winter map, hiking, biking, driving directions, route recording...

Pretty good app! 👍🏻

‎Mapy.com: maps & navigation

‎PLAN YOUR ROUTE - hiking and cycling trails - cross-country skiing and ski-alpine trails - unique “travel tips” feature plans a trip through the most interesting places in the area - route elevation profile - 5-day weather, temperature, wind and precipitation forecasts for any location on...

apps.apple.com

 

[ignatius345]

I may miss something but isn't Google Maps just more reliable and better than Apple Maps ?

No. Not really. I think each has their strengths, but Apple Maps is a very strong product in a lot of geographic areas -- and it's improving at a good rate. Apple Maps is a lot better with driving directions, in my opinion. Good lane guidance, much more natural Siri voice, and more sensible instructions. (Instead of "In 1000 feet, turn right", for instance, it will say "at the next light, turn right".)

As I mentioned above, detailed POI information is still a win for Google. And there are obviously areas of coverage that one map or the other will have in more detail.

New features are welcomed and competition is a good thing, but why using Apple Maps? Is there a relevant feature only on this app ?

Deep integraton with the Apple OSes for one. Not handing all your location data over to Google, for another.

 

[Aerisdies]

Damn! Finally! No more "brick-mode" on Apple Maps if you don't have mobile data reception, etc!

 

[_Spinn_]

Finally! I’ve been hoping for this for years. Offline maps is one of the features I missed from my old Windows Phone.