iPhone 5 For Dummies, 6th Edition

Maps Are Where It’s At

In the first edition of this book, we said that the Maps feature was one of the sleeper hits of our iPhone experience and an app we both use more than we expected because it’s so darn handy. Since then, Maps has become better and more capable with each iOS update. Or at least that was the case until the release of iOS 6, when Apple jettisoned the Google Maps-powered Maps app we’ve known and loved since the first iPhone and replaced it with an Apple-powered Maps app.

Some people abhor the new Maps app; many don’t notice much difference; and a (small) handful like it better. We think it’s pretty good already and will only get better.

If your maps don’t look like the ones you’re about to see, chances are you’re running iOS 5 or earlier. In any case, the new Maps app, like the one it supersedes, can quickly and easily discover exactly where you are; find nearby restaurants and businesses; get turn-by-turn directions for driving or walking from any address to any other address; and see real-time traffic information for many locations.

Unlike the old Maps apps, the Maps app in iOS 6 doesn’t offer information about traveling via public transportation, or at least it didn’t when we wrote this chapter, though it seems likely this feature will be added sometime in the future. On the flip side, the new Maps app delivers significantly improved overall performance, spoken ...