Apple Maps on the web is now available in beta for Chrome, Edge
Apple has announced that Apple Maps is now available for web browsers. This will allow users to access the service on multiple platforms.
While it is nowhere nearly as good as Google Maps, Apple's navigation app has evolved into an impressive experience over the past few years. Head to https://beta.maps.apple.com/to get started. You don't need to sign in to your Apple account to use the website.
Use the options on the sidebar to search for a location. The map displays important places like Hospitals, Train Stations, Stores, Gas Stations, Pharmacies, Restaurants, etc. Interacting with a card on the map provides additional information such as hours, ratings, photos and reviews. The reviews are sourced from other services like Yelp, Zomato, etc. You can click on the phone number button on a card to call the place, or visit the website to learn more about it. Click on the Directions tab on the sidebar to get driving and walking directions from location A to B. It does not provide turn-by-turn guidance. And yes, you can zoom in using the mouse scroll-wheel, this is something that Apple Maps app on macOS does not support.
The announcement on the Cupertino company's website says that the web version of Apple Maps will help discover places using the Guides section, which highlights noteworthy places around you that you can visit. That is a pretty good start for a beta version. So, the only thing that users will miss on the web version is voice-guided navigation. But the Cupertino company says additional features, such as Look Around, will be available in the coming months. Developers can link to Maps on the web, to help provide driving directions and other details. These features are also available via the MapKit JS framework.
How to access Apple Maps on Firefox
Apple Maps is compatible with Safari and Google Chrome on Mac and iPad. The navigation service also supports Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge on Windows PCs. Disappointingly, Apple Maps on the doesn't work with Firefox at the moment. An issue has already been filed on the WebCompat GitHub, so a proper solution could arrive in the future.
But, if you really need to access Apple Maps on Firefox right now, just install an add-on like User-Agent Switcher and Manager. Use the extension to set the browser agent to Chrome (or Safari), and it works like a charm. Or just use DuckDuckGo's Maps, which is powered by Apple Maps. Unsurprisingly, Apple Maps does not work with Android devices, even if you use a Chromium based browser. Then again, you can't even open it on Safari on iOS.
Apple Maps on the web is only available in English, but a support page says that it will be available for other languages soon. As for alternatives, you can access OpenStreetMap on any web browser. If you want similar privacy-friendly navigation apps for your phone, you can take a look at Organic Maps (iOS/Android), OSMand (iOS/Android/Web), or HERE WeGo (iOS/Android). All three apps offer turn-by-turn navigation, and offline maps that you can download, which can be helpful when you are not connected to the internet.
Do you use Apple Maps? Which is your favorite navigation service?
I still prefer Maps.ME and Gmaps. Thanks for the article! :]
HERE Maps is also available on the Web and not only via the app: https://wego.here.com/
I use HERE sometimes when I compare Apple Maps and Google Maps, the quality of the imagery can differ between the three and also the time when it was taken, older vs. recent. But if you look for a street view image then afaik its hard to find anything better than Google Street View.
I am going to try out HERE WeGo you mentioned in a few days. Hopefully, it will be better than the Transit app.
> How to access Apple Maps on Firefox
Recommend https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/chrome-mask/, the author is an Engineer at Mozilla, it gives you a switch for spoofing the User Agent, and shims some JavaScript attributes.
Indeed Firefox not supported at this time. Changing the browser agent to Chrome does the work. Yet, no map, only the map’s background grid. Moving the cursor shows the map’s coordinates change in the urlbar. Suddenly the map appeared… and moved around, rebuilt itself very slowly as I moved the mouse. Impossible to reproduce the success : no map, again, still …
Anyway, 4 possible reasons :
1- The site needs what Firefox (at least 115.13.0 ESR) cannot provide.
2- OS (Win7) and/or Firefox, both heavily tweaked, pose a problem.
2- Availability is restricted also to the region [https://support.apple.com/en-us/120585] :
“Availability varies depending on region. To start, Maps on the web is available only in English. Maps on the web will be available for additional browsers, platforms, and languages soon.
Published Date: July 24, 2024”
3- Simply the fact development is in beta stage …
I’ve tried the Apple Maps available at DuckDuckGo, which I’ve promptly decided to avoid given they provide nothing special compared to other maps I use :
1- Openstreetmap [https://www.openstreetmap.org/]
2- FacilMap (built with OSM) [https://facilmap.org/]
3- Mapcarta (requires WebGL) [https://mapcarta.com/]
4- Satellites.pro [https://satellites.pro/]
5- Géoportail (France) [https://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/]
Maybe desktop Apple Maps, who knows, maybe if it’s better than what it offers on DuckDuckGo.
EDIT : The 4 reasons mentioned above are obsolete. Apple Maps requires WebGL which I disable by default. Enabling it resolved my issues. I have a dedicated toolbar button to toggle WebGL, Very few sites require WebGL which is why I enable it only when required.
Your current browser isn’t supported.
Apple is terrible. It functions flawlessly in Firefox if I use an agent switcher.
Not the first time they’ve been nasty on the browser front, hell, for probably 10+ years the School Manager and Business Manager sites don’t let you log in with anything other than Safari or Chromium.