11 Must-Know Apple Maps Features For Daily Commuters

If you want to get around a city in a car or get directions so you can walk to your favorite restaurant, Apple Maps has you covered. But these are not the only situations where you are likely to need some navigational help. After all, how many times have you been in a shopping mall or airport and not had any idea about where you have to go?

While most satellite navigation platforms only work when you are outside, Apple Maps has a feature that allows users to get detailed information about where they are and where they are going when inside certain locations. To activate this feature, you can either zoom in on a building and click Inside Map or use the same button when searching for the location. Once you are in the inside view, you can search for specific locations like a store, restroom, or airport gate. Users can switch to different levels if an area has multiple floors and tell Apple Maps to display only certain types of locations.

Very few journeys involve going directly to one place and then returning home. If you are going out of the house, you'll probably be visiting multiple locations along the way. There's a good chance that many of these areas won't even be that close together either and it might be difficult to navigate between them. Many people simply set their satellite navigation system for the first place they want to visit and then update it each time they reach their destination.

With Apple Maps, you don't have to keep restarting the journey; instead, you can program several stops. This means once you've reached a destination, it will automatically bring up the directions for the next location you are going to. That makes it far easier to plan ahead and see how long your entire journey will take. Of course, it also has the added benefit of being much more efficient, so you can set everything up before you start, and not have to worry about messing with your iPhone or console while out and about.

Sometimes, you don't just want to necessarily follow the fastest route when navigating to your destination. Perhaps you know that a certain direction will have heavy traffic that Apple Maps has not accounted for, or maybe you just prefer to avoid particular types of roads. There's also the possibility that the quickest way to get to a location might involve going through tolls, something that many people prefer to avoid so they don't have to pay to get to where they are going.

If that's the case for you, then Apple Maps has you covered. To make sure that Apple Maps doesn't take you on a journey that doesn't involve a highway or a toll, you can select an option when choosing your route immediately after inputting your destination. Right below the Directions list there will be several options that you can select. Under the Avoid tab, users can decide what type of roads they want to avoid traveling on. After that, Apple Maps should calculate a new journey for you that takes these parameters into account.

Sometimes locations that you are visiting don't have information on Apple Maps. Maybe you are going to a field or park that doesn't have a name, or you are visiting a new location that hasn't updated its details yet. There's even a chance you are going to a private residence that isn't particularly easy to find with a standard address. In these situations, you can use Apple Maps to drop and share pins, which can be incredibly helpful for finding a location and getting directions.

Once you've dropped a pin, you can edit its name, move it around, or add other helpful information. You can share pins with other users, allowing you to precisely guide them to specific areas. These pins can then be found in the My Guides section in Apple Maps, so you can quickly see and edit them without being near the location.

When Apple launched iOS 15 for iPhone and other devices, Apple Maps got an overhaul that introduced a 3D street view, which included far more detail than a traditional map service. While it only works in a select few cities, the selection includes some of the busiest and most populated in the world — places like London, New York, and San Francisco. Anyone who regularly commutes in these cities now has access to this view in Apple Maps, which should make finding locations easier than ever before.

That's because it includes far more information than Apple Maps and its rivals usually do, including details about elevation, building shape and size, as well as the exact layout of roads and streets. It also provides data on bus and taxi lanes, so you know what to avoid. When walking, you can also take a photograph of a landmark or building and your can iPhone scan the image and tell you exactly where you are. This new and improved view even makes it more convenient to cycle to work, by telling you if there are stairs on your route and making them clear to see so you can avoid them.

A lot of things can disrupt your daily commute and make traveling less convenient. Among those are traffic and weather problems, two factors that you don't have direct control over. If there's an accident up ahead or adverse weather conditions that start quickly, you could get caught up in traffic jams and significant delays. That could mean being late to work or an important appointment.

Apple Maps can provide a variety of traffic and weather information to help avoid big delays. It will show colored indicators on roads to give you a general idea about congestion while in Driving or Satellite view. Incident markers will also let you know if there are accidents or road closures, with incident reports available to offer more details.

Apple Maps can also offer specific weather information in most regions. These can range from updates about rain and other adverse conditions to information about pollen and pollution levels. The app offers hourly updates for those who want to avoid areas with low air quality or excessive levels of pollen.