Tip of the Day: iOS 8 Gives Access to Third-Party Maps in Apple Maps

Master your iPhone in one minute a day: Sign up here to get our FREE Tip of the Day delivered right to your inbox.

I like Apple's Maps app, but a number of times it's taken me to a location that simply didn't exist: an Indian restaurant, a zoo, a hotel in a small town, a Chinese restaurant. I diligently follow Siri's directions and when she says I've arrived, the establishment in question is nowhere to be seen. And in several of these cases probably never existed. If you've had similar problems and prefer maps from third parties such as Google, you can now conveniently access these maps from within Apple's Maps app.

To access third-party maps, request directions as you ordinarily would. In the example below I asked Siri for directions to the local Walmart. As you can see, when Maps responds to the request with an overview, a route selection-menu appears at the top and offers three selections: Drive, Walk, and Apps.

iPhone Life
Discover your iPhone's hidden features
Get a daily tip (with screenshots and clear instructions) so you can master your iPhone in just one minute a day.

 

If you tap Apps, a menu will appear listing installed apps for mapping as well as apps in the App Store.

 

Select the app of your choice, and your route will then be shown in that app, in this case Google Maps.

 

Note that Google Maps defaults to the Bus view, so you may want to change the view.

Did you enjoy this tip? Master your iPhone in one minute a day: Sign up here to get the FREE Tip of the Day delivered right to your inbox.

Topics

Author Details

Jim Karpen's picture

Author Details

Jim Karpen

Jim Karpen holds a Ph.D. in literature and writing, and has a love of gizmos. His doctoral dissertation focused on the revolutionary consequences of digital technologies and anticipated some of the developments taking place in the industry today. Jim has been writing about the Internet and technology since 1994 and has been using Apple's visionary products for decades.