How Good Are Offline Maps in iOS 17?

Apple’s Maps app has a significant new characteristic in iOS 17: offline maps. With offline maps, you possibly can obtain designated areas out of your Maps app onto your iPhone. That means you possibly can entry maps when you do not have a cell sign or if you wish to get monetary savings by not utilizing your information. 

However how effectively do offline maps work? To search out out, I downloaded a map of my hometown and used it to get round for a few days. My spouse and I went to get espresso downtown earlier than strolling to an outside market, we drove again to our dwelling and went again downtown for dinner after an NFL sport ended. I additionally used offline maps to drive to and from my fitness center, in addition to to stroll my canine across the neighborhood.

This is how one can entry offline maps, and what to learn about them.

Find out how to obtain a map to make use of offline

It may be a good suggestion to have a map of an unfamiliar space, like a brand new city or mountain climbing path, in case you do not have Wi-Fi entry or a cell sign. So this is how one can obtain a map to make use of offline.

1. Open the Maps app.
2. Discover the world you wish to obtain a map for and lengthy press on the world. A pin ought to drop in your display screen.
3. Faucet Obtain alongside the underside of your display screen.

A top level view will seem over your map. This define represents the world which you’ll obtain a map for. You possibly can resize this map till you are happy after which faucet Obtain to begin downloading the map. A banner will announce when your map is completed downloading.

This is how one can entry your offline maps settings web page after you’ve got downloaded them.

1. Open the Maps app. 
2. Faucet your profile image within the bottom-right nook of your display screen.
3. Faucet Offline Maps. 

From right here, you possibly can entry settings like including a brand new offline map and a change to set Maps to solely use offline maps. If you happen to toggle the change to solely use offline maps, you will see Utilizing Offline Maps throughout the highest of your map. You possibly can faucet this to get again to the offline maps settings web page, too.

Offline maps will get you there, however anticipate just a few points

Utilizing offline maps was much like utilizing the Maps app when on-line. You open your Maps app, kind in the place you wish to go and hit Go. You can even choose your mode of transportation and whether or not you wish to add any stops alongside the way in which. 

While you’re on the street, offline maps act much like on-line maps. The map follows you and exhibits close by eating places and companies. If you happen to’re driving, offline maps can even present you the pace restrict for the road you are on. Siri will learn off instructions the entire means, telling you when to show and the place your vacation spot is on the road.

Nonetheless, there are just a few variations between offline and on-line maps. The largest difficulty is it will not know precisely whenever you’ll get to your vacation spot. While you search for instructions, offline maps will show an estimated time of arrival, however it will probably’t consider real-time visitors patterns because it’s offline.

Once I used offline maps to seek out my approach to a downtown restaurant after an NFL sport, for instance, offline maps advised me it might take me about quarter-hour to get to my vacation spot. In actuality, it ended up taking me about 40 minutes to combat by visitors and get to dinner. 

That results in my second difficulty with offline maps: If you happen to veer off its path, it takes awhile to recalibrate and discover you once more. When getting by the visitors talked about above, I took just a few impromptu turns down aspect streets and offline maps nonetheless confirmed me the place I turned off the trail for a minute or so.

In any other case, offline maps take issues again to the times of bodily maps. It’s possible you’ll not be capable to predict how a lot visitors will delay your drive, and in case you take a flawed flip it would take you a second to determine find out how to get again, however you will get to your vacation spot… ultimately. Pack some snacks simply in case.

For extra, take a look at my iOS 17 evaluation, the iOS 17 cheat sheet and find out how to obtain the most recent working system.