Apple’s WWDC keynote yesterday had several notable moments, including iOS 16, two new laptops and the M2 chip. But buried in all the excitement was the latest batch of updates to Apple Maps, including multi-stop routing, cross-device continuity (Apple’s jam), and deeper Siri integrations. 

Starting with multistop routing, you can now plan a trip with up to 15 stops. You can do so in Apple Maps on any Apple device, then send directions to your iPhone. You can then add directions when en route via Siri. In fairness, Google has offered multi-stop directions and “send to phone” functionality for a while. 

Another notable feature is that Apple will let you plan trips around things like fares and toll roads. That includes calculating the total trip cost and offering re-routing options. Related to that, Apple Wallet users can now add transit cards directly to the payment methods in their personal digital wallets.

Apple is also rolling out 11 more cities where you can use all its latest (previously announced) map features. As we’ve examined, those features include cycling routes and Look Around (Street View competitor). The new countries include France, Switzerland, New Zealand, Belgium, Israel, and Monaco.

Mapping Mashup, Part III: Apple

Future-Proofing

Also on Apple Maps’ list of updates are developer tools. For example, MapKit lets developers build custom maps. And it now includes more details for landmarks, roads and more. This helps companies like Bird build custom maps that help their customers locate scooters with greater detail. 

Perhaps more importantly, Apple is bringing the aforementioned Look Around feature to MapKit. This will help companies like Zillow build custom maps that offer users the option to switch to street-level views. This is obviously a valuable feature when browsing new neighborhoods and house shopping. 

Notably, these moves have implications beyond surface-level mapping features. Apple continues to build more robust 3D mapping capabilities as a future-proofing move. As we’ve examined, having more dimensional mapping data such as 3D point clouds, can enable things like AR-guided navigation. 

In fact, Apple has already launched such a feature. Like Google’s Live View taps into Street View imagery, Apple’s mobile AR navigation feature taps into its comparative Look Around street-level mapping imagery. These are just the first few steps, and plant the seeds for more AR action to come. 

Apple Jumps on the 3D-Navigation Train

Battleground

Backing up, one of the fundamental sub-topics of the broader local commerce picture is mapping. Intertwined in local search and SEO, it’s central to the consumer shopping flow and, correspondingly, the local business marketing mix. And it continues to evolve rapidly with all the above competitive drivers. 

One recent example is Google’s updates announced at its I/O conference. Highlights include updates to Live View AR navigation, the new “multisearch near me,” and immersive 3D maps in several cities. In light of all the above, these moves from Google help it hold a lead in this key competitive battleground.

Fueling that competitive drive and investment from Mountain View are moves from Apple and others to catch up. Among other challengers, Snap continues to invest in mapping with competitive differentiation in a social layer that adds meaning, context, and use cases. We’ll keep watching all of the above…