Apple Maps in iOS 26: Smarter, More Helpful, and Just in Time
Apple Maps continues to evolve in iOS 26 with features designed to make your daily routines smoother, your travel history more accessible, and your privacy a priority. Here's a breakdown of everything new in Apple Maps with this update.
Proactive Commute Notifications: Help Before You Even Ask
One of the most impactful new features in iOS 26 is Preferred Routes with proactive commute notifications. Apple Maps now learns your frequent routes, such as your daily drive to work or school, without needing to open the app or start navigation.
If delays, such as traffic jams or incidents, are detected along your usual route, you’ll receive a timely notification and an alternate path suggestion. The intelligence is processed entirely on-device, protecting your privacy while saving you from unexpected holdups.
This update finally solves the problem of ignoring a navigation app for familiar routes; now you get the benefits of live traffic awareness without lifting a finger.
Visited Places: A Private Journal of Where You've Been
iOS 26 introduces Visited Places, a feature that logs the places you go so you can revisit them later, digitally or in person. The feature is opt-in and protected by end-to-end encryption, meaning not even Apple can see your data.
You can find this under:
Apple Maps → Profile → Places → Visited Places
The log includes:
- A categorized breakdown by city
- The ability to save, share, rate, and add notes
- Manual correction options if the detected location isn’t quite right
Though still in beta and currently US only, Visited Places is proving useful for travelers and locals alike, offering a seamless way to recall restaurants, shops, or landmarks you may want to return to.
Saved Places and Guides: Build a Travel Companion
Beyond just remembering where you’ve been, Apple Maps also makes it easier to save the places you love. With Saved Places, you can store locations you frequently visit or want to return to, organizing them into custom guides for easy access.
Whether it's your favorite café or a park you want to revisit, Apple Maps makes it simple to build your travel library.
Enhanced Incident Reporting
Reporting incidents in Apple Maps has also improved in iOS 26. You can now report more types of road events, such as accidents, hazards, or speed checks, helping improve route accuracy for you and other drivers.
Designed to Work Quietly and Brilliantly in the Background
What ties all these features together is their quiet efficiency. Whether it’s learning your routes, remembering where you’ve been, or alerting you to problems ahead, Apple Maps in iOS 26 is designed to work without demanding your attention.
By leveraging on-device intelligence, deep iPhone integration, and strong privacy protections, Apple Maps has taken a meaningful step forward, becoming not just a navigation tool but a true travel companion.
iOS 26 is available now in developer beta, with a public beta expected soon.
Let us know: Which Apple Maps feature are you most excited to try?