Android users can now choose to use Apple Maps to navigate their journeys
Last August, we told you that Apple was reportedly working on a version of the Apple Maps app for Android. That makes sense since Apple Maps is currently limited to Apple devices and leaving out Android users eliminates a large number of potential eyes looking at Apple's navigation app. Also, last summer, Apple started to offer a beta web version of Apple Maps for desktop and tablet browsers such as Safari, Chrome, Edge, and Firefox (beta.maps.apple.com). The software would not run on any Android mobile browser.
But on Friday, Apple removed the beta tag from the web version of Apple Maps (maps.apple.com) but also added support for the mobile browsers on Android which means that the Chrome browser on your Android phone will now allow you to use Apple Maps to get you safely and quickly from point "A" to point "B." However, the bottom line is that most Android users are going to want to stick with Google Maps which is a native app on Android.
For iPhone users, even though Safari will also start to support the web version of Apple Maps, this is basically a non-event since Apple Maps is a native iOS feature and is also available from the App Store in case you deleted the app for some reason. With this news, both iPhone and Android users can now choose between using Google Maps and Apple Maps to help them navigate their journey.
Screenshot of the web version of Apple Maps running on the Chrome Android app. | Image credit-PhoneArena
The web version of Apple Maps recently added the Look Around feature which, similar to Google Maps' Street View shows panoramic 360-degree views of certain locations at street level. But do keep in mind that the web version of Apple Maps doesn't have all of the features that the iOS app offers such as showing buildings rendered in 3D and the transit map. And because the web version of Apple Maps offers no place for the user to sign in to his account, viewing Saved Places and custom Guides is not possible.
Apple will continue to add new features to the web version of Apple Maps and might still be considering an Android version of the Apple Maps app.
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