Apple Maps in iOS 26: Track Your Location History and Get Smarter Route Alerts

[nt5672]

The phone connects to CarPlay automatically and I leave the map running for traffic and for passive and active reports of issues. Not letting people do what they prefer and assuming they’re just dumb for making a different choice than me is alien to me, but there you go.

It is not about "just making a different choice" it is about knowing your surroundings, recognizing traffic patterns, and knowing alternative routes, etc. All are skills that can be mastered or not.

Read up a little on AI and computer shortcuts, most people that use AI and computer shortcuts are in fact getting dumber. The message "Use it or lose it" apples to your brain in the same way as it applies to using your muscles.

 

[cornycopier]

I think we need crowd-sourcing—so many times I’ve come across a closed freeway junction that added a lot of time to my drive, which could have been easily avoided by a couple people simply reporting it (not to mention the people after me I could have helped by reporting it). But we do need to be able to report these incidents via Siri.

Admittedly, it's not as robust as others in the space but has crowd sourcing NOT been a thing for quite some time? I've been reporting speech checks and hazards hands-free via Siri for at least the last few years. There's no need to press a button. Just tell Siri: Siri, report a speech check/hazard. Done. As worthless as Siri often is, they've been pretty reliable at getting the data reported when the data is actually reported by someone.

Again, it pales in comparison to Google/Waze but it's there. I'd love to see the reporting options greatly expanded. The nature of the hazard is always good to know. I love when Waze tells me there's an object on the road or a vehicle on the shoulder ahead. "Hazard reported ahead" is way too vague. Do I need to move over? Should I be looking out for a chunk of someone's quarter panel? How about black ice or weather ahead? There's so much they could do with all of the data they have in separate apps. It's a shame they haven't made it much of a priority. But hey! We DO get the highly prioritized new emoji for messages pretty regularly! 😐 Anyway, I digress.

I think there are two reasons it appears that Maps lacks crowd sourcing:

1) There isn't much of a crowd. Most people that are serious about their daily commutes are already using Google/Waze religiously. That's not going to change until 2 happens.

2) Apple needs to GREATLY improve their map game and reporting options.

Number 1 doesn't happen without number 2 happening, which won't happen until number 1 happens. ♾️

 

[Kar98]

It is not about "just making a different choice" it is about knowing your surroundings, recognizing traffic patterns, and knowing alternative routes, etc. All are skills that can be mastered or not.

Read up a little on AI and computer shortcuts, most people that use AI and computer shortcuts are in fact getting dumber. The message "Use it or lose it" apples to your brain in the same way as it applies to using your muscles.

People are getting dumber whether I have Apple Maps running on my car screen or not. Case in point, your post.

 

[bobbyjack]

Each time I see someone open Apple Maps, I know they’ll click around before finally finding what they need.

The issue is that Apple Maps is essentially a copy of Google Maps and just as unintuitive. I wondered how Steve Jobs could have considered this user-friendly, and of course I just read Apple Maps launched a year after his death. Between this and apps like Apple Books and Podcasts, I wish that instead of “revolutionizing” iOS’s UI by making the background opaque and the foreground unreadable, they’d focus on creating quality apps again. One can dream.

 

[Boeingfan]

If you are a commuter the why are you using Apple Maps. Surly you can remember the route.

You’d have to ask all the commuters!

 

[Boeingfan]

Apple Maps has been doing this as long as I can remember. When there's an incident (or just traffic) up further along my route it pops up a dialog and asks if I want navigation to switch to an alternate.

This is what I thought.

 

[Boeingfan]

I think we need crowd-sourcing—so many times I’ve come across a closed freeway junction that added a lot of time to my drive, which could have been easily avoided by a couple people simply reporting it (not to mention the people after me I could have helped by reporting it). But we do need to be able to report these incidents via Siri. Edit- I didn’t know you can use Siri to report. So there you go, it’s perfectly safe to report incidents.

Siri can’t figure out how to unlock an iPhone let alone accurately report an incident 😁

 

[subjonas]

Admittedly, it's not as robust as others in the space but has crowd sourcing NOT been a thing for quite some time?

It has. The person I was replying to seemed to be implying that people should not report any incidents / crowdsourcing in maps should not be a thing, either because it’s not necessary or unsafe or both, so I was replying that it is necessary and could be safe.

I've been reporting speech checks and hazards hands-free via Siri for at least the last few years. There's no need to press a button. Just tell Siri: Siri, report a speech check/hazard. Done. As worthless as Siri often is, they've been pretty reliable at getting the data reported when the data is actually reported by someone.

Didn’t realize one can use Siri to report! And the article didn’t mention it either. But that’s great! I’ll be doing that from now on.

I agree there should be ability to report more types of incidents, but maybe only via Siri. Too many buttons to choose from would get dangerous.

 

[Grayburn]

Maps is totally useless in the UK there is full houses estates and business parks which don’t even exist in there when you look at satellite view it shows just fields. Totally outdated

UK based here and I’ve never come across a problem like what you explained with it myself.

 

[subjonas]

Siri can’t figure out how to unlock an iPhone let alone accurately report an incident 😁

Does reporting via Siri not work well? Haven’t tried it yet myself but Siri seems to work fine for all the other things I use it for. Of course, I don’t try to use it like ChatGPT or anything too complex.

You want Siri to be able to unlock your phone? Like from a distance? Why? Being able to unlock by voice command, especially from a distance, would be a security hazard. I’ve never heard of anyone wanting this. Can any other voice assistants unlock other phones?

 

[Max Webb]

UK based here and I’ve never come across a problem like what you explained with it myself.

According to the Maps site Apple is updating the Uk between June and October 2025. However there is still a lot of locations missed from their list.

 

[NewOldStock]

When all else fails Rand Mcnally Road atlas.
When the GPS and battery and internet dies thank me later...lol
Keep one in the vehicle just in case.
https://randpublishing.com

 

[Boeingfan]

Does reporting via Siri not work well? Haven’t tried it yet myself but Siri seems to work fine for all the other things I use it for. Of course, I don’t try to use it like ChatGPT or anything too complex.

You want Siri to be able to unlock your phone? Like from a distance? Why? Being able to unlock by voice command, especially from a distance, would be a security hazard. I’ve never heard of anyone wanting this. Can any other voice assistants unlock other phones?

I’ve asked Siri many times to get directions to a place whilst I’m driving and that’s her response, often.

 

[subjonas]

I’ve asked Siri many times to get directions to a place whilst I’m driving and that’s her response, often.

Do you mean she responds “you’ll have to unlock your iPhone first?”
You should only get that response if you’re asking her to access your personal information. For example, if you ask her to give you directions to your parents’ house, you will need to unlock. But if you ask directions to the local grocery store, then she will give you directions without unlocking.
Obviously this is for privacy/security reasons so no one else can get your private info via Siri.

 

[cjsuk]

Good, I'll be opting out.

I remember a co-worker with an Android phone "discovering" this and how excited he was about it. I found it creepy back then and still today, don't want this.
Glad it's an option.

I discovered this by accident too. It turned out to be useful for getting me out of a parking ticket in Iceland.

But of course Google's implementation means they have the data. I'd hope Apple's does not. YMMV of course.

 

[BornAgainMac]

Apple is going to add too many options to the reporting feature and people are going to stop using it or start using it incorrectly. In my opinion, the options should just be 1) speed check; 2) accident/hazard; and 3) road work.

I wonder if there is a way to just tell Siri the option you want. Hopefully Apple will have a commercial to demo that as that would really get more people to use it to make this feature more useful.

 

[jwdsail]

I really hope that the Preferred Routes feature can learn that even though I have "Avoid Interstates/Toll Roads" selected that on one specific route, taking a 5 mile jump on this one Interstate is a lot easier than going though the next town at 35 MPH for half an hour...

Or, that no, I really want to stay on the same US highway going east, until I get the the next US highway going north, even if it adds 30-40 minutes, because all the shortcuts it's suggesting are littered with wheel cracking pot holes. BTDT.

Or, if it's remembering locations and routes, how about just go the same way I've been going every time for the last 5 years? (there's a by-pass that isn't properly marked where if it's late/dark is easy to miss.. sneaks up on you.. only reason I use Maps on that route at all)

Hears hoping?