iPhone users can now download offline Apple Maps. Here’s how to use and manage offline maps in Apple Maps.
The new iPhone 15 series of Apple’s smartphones ships with the iOS 17 operating system, which itself is packed with new features. Among those is the ability to finally download Apple Maps for offline viewing when you don’t have an internet connection.
Offline maps is something Google Maps has had for years and it’s one of the reasons Google Maps is generally better than Apple Maps for more advanced map users. But now with iOS 17, Apple has helped level the playing field.
The great thing about downloadable Apple Maps is that they are available on any iPhone that can run iOS 17 or later – not just the iPhone 15 series. We’ve already shown you how to download offline maps in Apple Maps on iPhone, but how do you use them and manage them? Read on…
Offline Maps: How To Use Offline Maps In Apple Maps
Using offline maps in Apple Maps is relatively easy once you’ve downloaded the offline maps. You can download offline maps in Apple Maps by following these instructions.
Once you’ve downloaded offline maps in Apple Maps, you can begin using them. Here’s how:
- Open the Apple Maps app.
- As long as you have already downloaded the offline map for the area you are in, you can just begin using it as normal. Pan, pinch, and zoom around to your heart’s content.
Pretty easy, right? You may also notice a few other things when using a downloaded offline map in Apple Maps. For example, the map may feel more fluid and have better motion. This is because Apple Maps doesn’t have to recall imagery from the server since the map is already downloaded.
Others have said they feel searches are faster when searching in an area with downloaded maps.
Offline Maps: Keeping Downloaded Offline Maps In Apple Maps Uo To Date
When you download an offline Apple Map it downloads the most recent version of that map. However, maps change over time and if the downloaded version of the map is older and you don’t have a current internet connection, you will be viewing an outdated version of the map.
That’s why Apple makes it pretty easy to keep downloaded Apple Maps up to date. Here’s how:
- Open the Apple Maps app.
- Tap on your Apple ID profile photo. It’s a round picture next to the Apple Maps search bar.
- In the pop-up menu, tap Offline Maps.
- Under the Setting section on the Offline Maps page, make sure Automatic Updates is toggle ON (green).
- Also if you want updated offline maps as soon as they are available, under the Download setting make sure “Wi-Fi + Cellular” is selected. This means map updates will download even over 4G and 5G connections. Of course, this will use some of your mobile data allowance. If you don’t want to use cellular download, simply select “Wi-Fi Only”.
Offline Maps: Deleting Downloaded Offline Maps In Apple Maps
Downloadable offline maps are a killer feature of Apple Maps. However, every time you download an offline map in Apple Maps, you take up storage space on your iPhone. How much storage space a downloaded map takes up depends upon how large or an area you download for offline viewing.
If you download a ton of offline maps, you can take up a lot of space. This is why Apple also lets you manage downloaded offline maps and lets you delete ones you don’t need anymore. Here’s how:
- Open the Apple Maps app.
- Tap on your Apple ID profile photo. It’s a round picture next to the Apple Maps search bar.
- In the pop-up menu, tap Offline Maps.
- Under the Setting section on the Offline Maps page, toggle the Optimize Storage switch to ON (green). This will enable the iPhone to automatically delete any offline maps you haven’t used in a while.
Alternatively, you can manually delete only the offline maps you choose. Here’s how:
- Open the Apple Maps app.
- Tap on your Apple ID profile photo. It’s a round picture next to the Apple Maps search bar.
- In the pop-up menu, tap Offline Maps.
- On the Offline Maps page, swipe left on the offline map download you want to delete.
- Tap the delete button.
And that’s it!
