Those are the main new features, and with the exception of turn-by-turn and flyover, they're available for all iPhone users.
How Turn-By-Turn Navigation Works
Turn-by-turn navigation is the big new feature in Maps, and it's incredibly simple to use. You can do this easily through Siri itself:
Open up Siri (hold the Home button for two seconds) and say: Give me driving directions to [address]. After a few seconds, Siri will set you on your way with turn-by-turn directions. Or you can do it manually:
- Start by making sure your iPhone can find your current location.
- Type in the address you want to go to (or tell Siri) in the search bar.
- Tap the car icon next to the address (or tap the directions button for walking directions, but you won't get turn-by-turn with walking directions unfortunately)
- Tap start, and Siri will start to guide you along the way.
As you'd expect with a turn-by-turn navigation app, Maps will warn you a little before your turn, and then remind you when you need to turn. It operates on the main screen in Maps, in the background, and from the lock screen, so regardless of what you're doing, Maps will work and will always give you the directions you need. It also works fine with music playing in the background, although the Maps app will show on your lock screen instead of the currently playing track.
As far as the navigation itself is concerned, Maps works well and does a reasonable job at rerouting when you make a wrong turn. I was able to fool it a bit in the warehouse districts, but overall it does a good job at getting you from point A to point B.
To make turn-by-turn directions a little more useful, you'll also want to add in some basic contact info for yourself. Head into Settings > Siri > My Info and select yourself from the contact list. When you're in there, make sure your home address and work address are both listed. This way, no matter where you are, you can always ask Siri for directions home. The same goes for anyone on your contact list as long as their address is listed. Just make sure you ask Siri for "driving directions" because it doesn't appear to work otherwise.
Make Up for the Missing Features
The new Maps app is not without its faults. First off, turn-by-turn only works on two of Apple's devices, the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5. Second, it's completely lacking a public transit option directly in the app. Thankfully, both of these problems can be solved with external software.
Get Turn-by-Turn on Older Devices
If you don't have a 4S or iPhone 5, you can't use the turn-by-turn navigation built into Maps. However, it's easy enough to use a third party app. We like Waze because it offers the same essential tools as Apple's Maps, but with better address search, a handy rerouting chime, and advanced features like finding cheap gas, social sharing, and more. For those who simply want the old Maps app back, we'll hopefully see an official Google Maps apps popping up soon as well.
Get Public Transit Directions
Currently, when you tap on the bus icon in Maps, you're shown a blank list of Routing Apps. This is because alongside dropping Google Maps, Apple has also dropped Google Transit. To make up for this, Apple has released a routing API to developers to make all kinds of routing apps, including public transit, bicycling, hiking, and more.
Unfortunately, these apps don't seem to have popped up yet, but once they do they'll be integrated directly into Maps. For now, your only solution is to try and hunt down a transit app for your city. We've had the best luck with CG Transit - Public Transport Trip Planner, but it still only supports around 20 cities through $1.99 in-app purchases.
The move away from Google Maps is a big one, and it'll likely take you a little while to get used to the nuances of Apple's new Maps app. Although it's certainly lacking in a few places, it does the actual mapping part of what it's supposed to do well.
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