The latest iOS 18 update brings a much-anticipated improvement to Apple Maps: a “Search here” button. This long-requested feature simplifies finding locations in any area, not just your current one.
In the past, if you searched for something in Apple Maps, then moved the map around, the app would attempt to follow you and show you results as you scrolled. In iOS 18, that behavior is still present, but the new “Search here” button makes things a lot better.
It also gives you an added level of granularity for fine-tuning the area in which you’re searching. Let’s say you search in Apple Maps for “Wawa,” then move the map to show you Philadelphia. As you move the map and zoom in, you tap the new “Search here” button to easily search for Wawa locations within Philadelphia.
It’s a feature that Google Maps has had for years, and is a long overdue addition to Apple Maps this year.
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
MacDailyNews Take: Finally! But, what we really want is the ability to customize driving routes à la Google Maps on the desktop (iOS 18 so far has only promised custom walking routes).
Please help support MacDailyNews. Click or tap here to support our independent tech blog. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Putting more emphasis on routes vs their ‘curated’ suggestions aka ads, would be nice, too.
I feel like I could sit down with someone from Apple and spend one hour explaining necessary changes, and they could implement them without issue. Some missing features are so simple that their absence defies common sense.
For example, the DOWNLOAD MAP button now occupies the same spot as the previous button for activating a route. This placement is not helpful. How often do normal users need to download maps, warranting such a prominent button position? I’ve accidentally triggered the download map option about eight times so far.
Additionally, in agreement with MDN, how difficult is it to implement a straightforward solution to search for places along a route in the GUI? It shouldn’t require specific phrasing for Siri, the “I love lamp” of AIs.
I’m sure you could explain necessary changes and have someone UNDERSTAND but implementation is something totally different. Apple is like it’s own city-state/government. You can have the most enthusiastic listener in the world but they’d have to battle through hordes of middle-managers and execs who aren’t interested in ideas that they can’t claim credit for.