What's New in Maps in iOS 11: Indoor Mapping, Lane Guidance and Speed Limits

[MacRumors]

The Maps app in iOS 11 is outfitted with several new features that significantly improve the app's functionality. Indoor maps let you find restaurants, bathrooms, and other locations in airports and malls, while other new features like speed limits and lane guidance improve turn-by-turn directions.

Fun fact: In iOS 11, Apple has also updated the Maps icon. The new version is meant to show off a corner of Apple Park, Apple's new campus with its now-famous enormous ring-shaped main building.

Indoor Mapping

For the first time, Apple is introducing detailed indoor maps in iOS 11, finally making use of all those mapping companies that it's purchased over the course of the last few years.

iOS 11 includes indoor maps of select malls and airports around the world, displaying full layouts of each location with icons for restaurants, elevators, bathrooms, shops, and other notable indoor landmarks. In airports, you'll see a clear view of the different terminals and gates so you can find your way to your flight.

Right now, indoor mapping is limited to a handful of malls and airports, but Apple says support will be dramatically expanded over time.

Lane Guidance

If you've ever missed a turn because the Maps app didn't let you know what lane to be in, you're going to be happy with the changes made in iOS 11. With a new lane guidance feature, Maps will always let you know what lane you should be in so you'll never miss a sudden turn or an exit.

Lane guidance displays the number of lanes on the road and highlights the lane you're supposed to be in. It is currently available in the United States and China.

Speed Limits

Speed limits, initially launching in the United States and United Kingdom, is a small but highly useful change, and it's one of those features that makes you wonder why it wasn't in the Maps app all along. Speed limits displays the speed limit of the road you're on right on your iPhone's display when you're using turn-by-turn directions.

Light Guidance

For routes that you travel often, there's an option to enable "Light Guidance." Light Guidance, previously available to CarPlay users, cuts down on the directions you receive, since you likely know the route, and instead displays an overview of the trip and alternative routes.

Augmented Reality Flyover

When using the Flyover feature in iOS 11, you can explore cities by tilting and moving your device, mimicking the feel of actually being in the citing you're looking at. You can rotate the iPhone or iPad 360 degrees in the new Flyover mode for a much more immersive experience, and it will even move forward as you walk forward in real life.

Article Link: What's New in Maps in iOS 11: Indoor Mapping, Lane Guidance and Speed Limits

 

[ATC]

It also now has one-finger zoom, borrowed from Google Maps. Now if only they can borrow Google Maps' data : )

 

[DisneyEcho]

How do you turn on Light Guidance in Maps?

 

[nikicampos]

I was always the first to install the updates and lately betas, this year, no beta and not really interested in upgrading to iOS 11, I don't even care about Watch OS4

Really think that Apple is loosing the magic.

 

[wolfshades]

Lane guidance and speed limits are pretty cool additions and you’re right: these should have been there all along. Apple always meant to take on Google with their maps. I’d say with this iteration they’ve made an excellent start.

 

[bchery21]

It also now has one-finger zoom, borrowed from Google Maps. Now if only they can borrow Google Maps' data : )

One finger zoom is a nice, welcomed addition!

 

[fairuz]

Nice. I've been waiting for lane guidance, a feature of Google Maps I've been missing.

 

[Uaaerospace2]

I was always the first to install the updates and lately betas, this year, no beta and not really interested in upgrading to iOS 11, I don't even care about Watch OS4

Really think that Apple is loosing the magic.

Cool story bro. Care to share anything useful to the conversation?

Lane guidance is the one feature of google maps that I really missed. I hated how Google maps app drained my battery but had to use Google maps when I needed that info. Glad it’s in the included maps app now.

 

[nikicampos]

Cool story bro. Care to share anything useful to the conversation?

Lane guidance is the one feature of google maps that I really missed. I hated how Google maps app drained my battery but had to use Google maps when I needed that info. Glad it’s in the included maps app now.

So you are on of those..

 

[Zadigre]

How do you turn on Light Guidance in Maps?

I would like to know too!

 

[ATC]

One finger zoom is a nice, welcomed addition!

Yep, it's an overdue feature. I recall sending numerous feedback feature-requests on this.

They implemented it differently to Google's though. Not necessarily bad, it'll just take time to get used to (for me):

1. Click-then-swipe down zooms out (I think it's more intuitive in Google Maps - it zooms in when you swipe down).
2. In Google Maps, when you one-finger zoom the map remains centred on your location no matter where you gesture. In Apple Maps, it centres the zoom on the gesture location (finger) rather than your GPS location.
edit: correct description is a few posts down.

 

[CaptMarvel]

For some reason I was under the impression speed limits meant it would show you your actual speed

 

[DisneyEcho]

I would like to know too!

I think Light Guidance in Apple Maps is when you tap on the black bar at the top of the map where it says “Tap for Overview”. That’s apparently Light Guidance. Tap the back box at the top of the screen when in Overview mode to return to Turn-by-Turn mode.

 

[petsounds]

Lane Guidance and Speed Limit display have been really useful for me. They work as advertised. I'd say this is probably one of the best updates to Maps so far.

Does anyone know how the Indoor Maps are working from a technical perspective? GPS is not at all great inside buildings, especially ones like shopping malls and airports. Are there Bluetooth beacons placed in these hand-picked buildings to make up for the lack of GPS accuracy?

 

[bchery21]

Yep, it's an overdue feature. I recall sending numerous feedback feature-requests on this.

They implemented it differently to Google's though. Not necessarily bad, it'll just take time to get used to (for me):

1. Click-then-swipe down zooms out (I think it's more intuitive in Google Maps - it zooms in when you swipe down).
2. In Google Maps, when you one-finger zoom the map remains centred on your location no matter where you gesture. In Apple Maps, it centres the zoom on the gesture location (finger) rather than your GPS location.

Oh, good to know.

So you're saying, regarding your second point, if you start off at, say, a bridge and then you scroll a few miles away and find another bridge and then you perform the one-finger zoom in Maps it'll zoom in on the second bridge you just found instead of going back to your GPS location (Google)? That sounds like that would be better. It zooms in where you're interested in.

 

[KanosWRX]

Still uses Apple Maps data unfortunately . Times are always off, traffic data never right.. can they just give up already and use Google Maps data??? I swear Google Maps must be the first app people install on an iPhone when they get it.

 

[ATC]

Oh, good to know.

So you're saying, regarding your second point, if you start off at, say, a bridge and then you scroll a few miles away and find another bridge and then you perform the one-finger zoom in Maps it'll zoom in on the second bridge you just found instead of going back to your GPS location (Google)? That sounds like that would be better. It zooms in where you're interested in.

Sorry I think I explained it wrong in my last post.

With Google Maps, the map remains at the same reference point no matter where you zoom-gesture (earlier I incorrectly said it would remain entered on your GPS location).

With Apple Maps, when you zoom-gesture the map moves and re-centres on your finger.

I'm gonna withhold judgement on which way is better but, as a long time Google Maps user, it'll take me some time to learn the new behaviour.

 

[cbaca51]

That lane guidance will really be helpful

 

[Mtmspa]

I was always the first to install the updates and lately betas, this year, no beta and not really interested in upgrading to iOS 11, I don't even care about Watch OS4

Really think that Apple is loosing the magic.

Nope. All the upgrades are great. Especially the watch.
[doublepost=1505870667][/doublepost]

Still uses Apple Maps data unfortunately . Times are always off, traffic data never right.. can they just give up already and use Google Maps data??? I swear Google Maps must be the first app people install on an iPhone when they get it.

Never installed any google apps. Apple maps works great for me.

 

[ecowood]

Speed and lane guidance does not appear to be active in Australia just yet

 

[Uaaerospace2]

Nope. All the upgrades are great. Especially the watch.
[doublepost=1505870667][/doublepost]

Never installed any google apps. Apple maps works great for me.

You should give them a try. Like I said above, their maps app has been ahead of apples so far. We’ll see how the new version is. Both are useful though

 

[Robert.Walter]

Lane guidance is a real plus. We made extensive use of such functionality in the TomTom iOS mapping app when in the UK about 4 years ago. Also very useful was the alarm function for exceeding the speed limit. this feature paid for the 100$ app several times over by preventing speeding tickets.

Given that Apple uses data from TomTom, it should have been possible for Apple Maps to both show speed limits and alarm the user in the event of exceeding the limit. I can only guess it was withheld by TomTom so that its products had a USP, or not purchased by Apple due to high licensing costs or perceived liability issues.

If we are to become dependent on CarPlay, we need real-time speed alarms.

 

[iGeek2014]

Apple Maps use data from TomTom don't they?

If that's the case I'm surprised that a. Apple didn't include these features from iOS 6 onwards and b. why more countries don't have lane guidance/speed limits?

 

[one more]

For some reason I was under the impression speed limits meant it would show you your actual speed

This is what Waze does, with the speed limit ring turning red if your current speed is over.
[doublepost=1505886163][/doublepost]

Speed and lane guidance does not appear to be active in Australia just yet

No worries, mate, these welcome additions are currently limited to the US (has both features), China (has lane guidance) and the UK (has speed limits). The rest of the world is not as important to Apple, apparently, so we can continue using Waze, Google Maps, etc.

 

[campyguy]

It also now has one-finger zoom, borrowed from Google Maps.

Apple "borrowed" this from Google? Take off, eh? Trying to start a kerfuffle? Check out "Fat Thumb", courtesy of U of Calgary, developed on iOS - beauty, that. I'd say that Google "borrowed" it first from those hosers…
[doublepost=1505888305][/doublepost]

Apple Maps use data from TomTom don't they?

Yes, and dozens of other companies/agencies. Within 25 miles of where I am now I can identify data from two DOTs, 7 counties, at least 20 cities, two pseudo-agencies, and the Corps of Engineers - all of them I can count as my present and former clients. And, Mapbox. That's just eyeballing the Maps apps. TomTom/Tele Atlas is just another data aggregator which packages and resells data…