What to know
- Apple’s highly anticipated (and long delayed) Apple Maps for the web is now available as a public beta.
- With this release, Apple Maps is now in direct competition with Google Maps.
- Although Apple Maps is still lacking in terms of detailed information and usability, expect it to get better over time.
Apple has finally launched Apple Maps on the web. This comes 12 years after the service was launched on the iPhone, and almost two decades after Google Maps. As mentioned by Apple in its announcement, Apple Maps is currently available as a public beta – and it shows.
Apple Maps has a left side pane with three basic functions – Search, Guides, and Directions. A ‘Recent’ section appears below these to quickly access places you’ve already viewed.
The ‘Search’ function includes a few location categories you might want to look up nearby. Below it, the ‘Guides’ function provides ready-made guides and reviews. But since these don’t cater to one’s current location yet, they may not be useful for everyone. Apple will have to personalize this to get people interested in it.
The Directions feature works flawlessly (at least for us) though it may be short of a few tricks. Besides selecting the two points on the map, you can choose the path, schedule the journey, and choose to avoid certain routes.
On the right, you can pick from three map types – Standard, Satellite, and Hybrid – and view your current location. There’s also a Northward pointing compass that, like the map itself, does not rotate. This may be the most important feature that’s currently missing. Apple plans on introducing the 360-degree ‘Look Around’ view in the near future. But being in beta lets Apple off the hook for now.
Although it’s unfair to compare it to the state of Google Maps on the web, the comparisons will inevitably be made, not only because we’re so used to Google Maps that everything will be judged based on what it can or can’t do with respect to G-Maps, but also because Apple Maps is, after all, in direct competition with Google Maps now.
Apple Maps on the web is also limited in its availability. Current available only in English, it’s “compatible with Safari and Chrome on Mac and iPad, as well as Chrome and Edge on Windows PCs“, Apple mentioned in its announcement. “Support for additional languages, browsers, and platforms will be expanded over time.”
The company also noted that all developers, including those using MapKit JS, can link out to Maps on the web to help users get driving directions, place info, and more.
As far as first impressions go, Apple Maps is well on its way to becoming a decent Google Maps alternative. Though far from being the final version, expect Apple to take big strides quickly, add important features, and offer a clutter-free interface that encourages people to switch. We’ll keep an eye on important features being added to Apple Maps on the web in the future.
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