Choppy Apple Maps web version beta lands for Chrome and Edge on Windows
The team behind mapping applications and navigation at Apple has decided to shake up the endeavor with various undertakings aimed to finally get some return on the significant investment.
First, following into the footsteps of Google, Apple Maps in iOS 18 will show businesses like restaurants in bolder fonts and imagery and make them more visible, just as if they are sponsored, or feature places that paid for being advertised.
Google got into hot water last week for seemingly trying to implement something similar, testing pop-up detours to sponsored places, though it later issued a statement that these are the good ol' promoted pins that "let people see relevant ads for businesses like gas stations, restaurants, and stores along their route," but they don't pop and are only expanding if drivers tap on them.
Apple is now doing one more, and finally bringing its Maps app to the World Wide Web in a beta form for anyone to peruse on a desktop, laptop, or tablet without its operating systems. This move aims to raise the Apple Maps service profile even further and expand the pool of potential users further.
Since the quality controversy of its early days, Apple has invested a lot in bettering the Maps app and navigational software. The mapping service now looks sleek and helpful with various review juggernaut tie-ups, as well as a refreshingly novel interface, at least for those coming from the ubiquity of Google Maps.
The web version of Apple Maps, however, still leaves something to be desired when it comes to zooming fluidity or moving the map around, but the relative choppiness will probably be resolved the more servers Apple adds to its roster. After all, Apple Maps on the web is still in beta, and there will be kinks to be ironed out before it gets a more stable public release.
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