Apple Maps Steps Out Of Its Walled Garden And Onto Android
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Summary
- Apple Maps is now accessible on Android, but not via the Google Play Store.
- Apple Maps on Android currently offers basic features like searching places and directions, lacking login and public transport info.
- Apple plans to add more features to Apple Maps on Android over time, suggesting improved functionality on Android phones in the future.
While Apple may not be the quickest in adopting new features, especially the ones you see on Android first, the Cupertino tech firm doesn’t shy away from taking its popular apps and services to competitors’ platforms. Continuing the trend, Apple has just brought another of its popular services to Android: Apple Maps.
There is a twist, though. Apple Maps for Android isn’t available as an app on the Google Play Store. Instead, Apple has made it possible for Android users to go to maps.apple.com from their browsers on their phone to access the navigation service. This isn’t too surprising since Apple Maps has been available as a beta in desktop and tablet browsers for almost a year, so this was always just a matter of time.
Apple Maps on your Android browser has limited capability
We tested Apple Maps on Firefox and Microsoft Edge, and while it works, this isn’t the same Apple Maps Apple users enjoy on iPhones in terms of functionality. For example, you can’t log in to Apple Maps using your Apple Account, which, in turn, means you can’t access all those saved places. It doesn’t provide detailed information about public transport within a region or city, either. For now, the level of functionality of Apple Maps on Android seems pretty basic, allowing users to search for places and get directions, and helping them find important places nearby, such as petrol pumps.
So, if you’ve been waiting to give Apple Maps a shot without switching phones, this is the right time if you don’t mind compromising on certain features. However, don’t be surprised if you see the beta tag upon opening Apple Maps on your phone browser. We saw the beta label while testing it on both phone browsers and desktop browsers, but folks over at 9to5Mac claim that it’s out of beta. This might indicate that Apple is rolling out the change in a phased manner.
Coming back to its functionalities, Apple promised last year that it’d introduce additional features to Apple Maps on the web over time and introduce its navigation service to more platforms. That’s a solid reason to believe that most of what’s missing, if not all, in Apple Maps on Android will be fixed in the future. Time will tell if it manages to get anywhere close to some of the best map services like Google Maps and Waze on Android.
