The Apple Plans application was always compared to its competitor, Google Maps. But with the upcoming update of its native application, this should change in the coming months. Indeed, the Apple brand has invested several billion dollars to be able to compete with Google’s navigation application. Currently deployed in the United States, it should arrive in Europe in a few months. Zoom on its new features and its future positioning against the Google Maps navigation application.
Main novelty, a total overhaul on the design side
As you can see, Apple Plan’s new mapping is a real eye-catcher. As stated by Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet software and services, his teams made the decision to “rebuild the map from scratch”. Much more realistic, the details have been accentuated, particularly in terms of road coverage, buildings, parks, etc… Based on the new map, iOS 13 has given a new design to its mapping service.
But Apple Plans doesn’t stop there. To provide an even more immersive user experience, Apple has developed interactive visualization of the interior of all public buildings. Indeed, this new option aims to “reinvent the way Apple Plans improves people’s lives, from navigating to their place of work or school to planning important holidays,” says Eddy Cue. From locating train station ticket counters, for example, to explore the streets of New York City, to simply using a toilet in a shopping mall, this option could prove to be very useful and optimize the way people get around.
Multimodality, Apple plans new challenge
Because in the age of Mobility as a Service, Apple Plans has understood that in order to stay on the road, it has become essential to offer a wide range of transport services to its users. In addition to this, there is also the explosion on the market of multimodal players. As Citymapper, Transit or Google Maps. Indeed, with last summer’s announcement of the evolution of Alphabet’s service into a multimodal platform, Apple Plans had no choice to line up.
Increasingly accurate data, updated in real time
Another new feature is real-time flight notification. Just like Aviationstack, the free flight tracking API, Apple Plans is now able to inform the user about flight status. Based on the intelligent Siri PDA, all the information about your next flight registered in your calendar, your e-mails or your Wallet, will be directly updated. From the terminal to the location of the boarding gate and delays, Apple Plans has a new mission to optimize the next movements of its users. In addition, thanks to this update, users will now be able to inform their family and friends about the progress of the journey, in real-time. Called “Share ETA” (Estimated Time of Arrival), whether they are travelling by car, bus or plane, a simple notification will be enough to reassure everyone!
