iOS 14.5 just stole Waze’s best features for Apple Maps

iOS 14.five just stole Waze's best features for Apple Maps

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

If y'all routinely rely on Apple tree Maps to help you lot reach your destination, you may be excited to learn it's introducing a series of features that seem similar they've been inspired by Google's Wave, including the power to warning other Maps users to accidents, hazards, and other route weather.

These features are coming as part of iOS 14.v, currently available in beta form for both developers and regular users who participate in Apple tree'south beta software program. The beefed-upward Maps app looks to be Apple'due south way of meliorate competing with Google Maps and Waze, which take long been the navigation options of choice even for iOS users.

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In Maps, you can type in an accost and cull a road to get directions, every bit earlier. One time you tap Get, you'll be alerted to potential hazards along the way, whether they're accidents or speeds traps. Previously, Maps only displayed potential traffic slowdowns.

In add-on, when yous swipe upwards in Apple Maps to become additional details on a route, there's now a Report button. Tapping it lets y'all pick what kind of roadblocks may exist in the way, and you'll drop a tag on your location for others to see.

Given that you lot'll likely be driving when you wish to report any accidents or other bug on the road, you as well tin interact hands-free with Siri. Proverb "Hey Siri, there'south an blow" volition send an automatic report to Apple Maps. If other users do the same, an icon will announced on the map there. You tin can use this feature via CarPlay besides, MacRumors reports.

While these crowdsourcing abilities are quite useful additions to Apple Maps' repertoire of options, just Waze — the app that had these features in the beginning place — still has more than to offer. If you happen to come across an blow on your own, you lot can set your own markers in Waze to warn others, with alerts for police, crashes, hazards, road closures, and more.

Waze can also show you the routes it believes are the fastest ways to navigate to a detail location, taking accidents, traffic, and construction zones into account. You can bandy between routes Waze has prepared for you.

This is likely but the beginning when it comes to additional options for Apple Maps, every bit these new features are but available for US beta testers and developers at present. If they work well and receive positive reception from users, it's likely Apple will deploy similar, more than full-featured tools in the future to a wider audience.

Brittany Vincent has been roofing video games and tech for over 13 years for publications including Tom's Guide, MTV, Rolling Stone, CNN, Popular Scientific discipline, Playboy, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, and more. She's also appeared as a panelist at video game conventions like PAX Eastward and PAX West and has coordinated social media for companies similar CNET. When she's non writing or gaming, she's looking for the next great visual novel in the vein of Saya no Uta. Y'all tin can follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake.