Apple Maps Focuses on Groceries, Food Delivery, Pharmacies and Hospitals When Searching

Apple has updated the search feature in the Apple Maps app to focus on categories that are most important to people right now: groceries, food delivery, pharmacies, hospitals, and urgent care.

applemapssearchcategories
These category options come up first when searching, coming ahead of restaurants, fast food, gas stations, banks, and other categories that used to be higher priority in the list.

Places that are currently closed, such as shopping centers, are at the bottom of the search category list. These changes were first noticed by German site iPhone Ticker, which also points out similar changes that have been made in the Google Maps app.

Google Maps has gone even further than ‌Apple Maps‌, letting users know when a business is closed or has shorter hours. The app also warns users to call a doctor before visiting a medical location.

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

achappy Avatar
63 months ago

who actually uses apple maps when you have something like google maps?
People that prefer a much cleaner interface, integration with Siri/Apple Watch/Car Play/Calendar events with Location and have used it perfectly for years with no issue.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
achappy Avatar
63 months ago

that maybe true for the US, but worlwide it does not come even closer. And I think the clean interface is more about lacking data than the UI itself.
I'm in the US so that's all that matters to me :).

Lack of data is not completely true. It's also about how the data is presented. I open up Google Maps and see a cluster of overwhelming information. A search for something yields results with large photo arrays of each business instead of just a list of my results. It's like Google tries to display as much as possible at once and is just a mess of an interface. Apple presents things cleaner and then allows me to narrow down and get more details as needed.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarlJ Avatar
63 months ago

that maybe true for the US, but worlwide it does not come even closer. And I think the clean interface is more about lacking data than the UI itself.
Are you suggesting that people in the US should avoid Apple Maps because people outside the US don't like the data?

And, no, the clean interface is about being able to easily parse the necessary information from the screen at a glance. It displays all the data I need. Google Maps' UI is cluttered with junk I don't want.


who actually uses apple maps when you have something like google maps?

apple should just ditch apple maps already. it makes no sense really, its so much worse than competitors.
Translation: tyranne201 doesn't like Apple Maps, so nobody should be allowed to use it. Glad you're not in charge. I have both and strongly prefer Apple Maps. Better UI, more easy to parse at a glance, and always gets me where I want to go.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hagar Avatar
63 months ago
Great. They swapped some items in a list. Took them 45 seconds to implement and push live.
Google shows temporarily opening hours, while Apple Maps doesn’t even show regular opening hours for many businesses.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vicviper789 Avatar
63 months ago
All I want at this stage is An Adblock like utility to block all references to Covid and coronavirus And the stupid emails
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dallison13 Avatar
63 months ago
It appears that Apple Maps is giving temporary hours as well

Attachment Image
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)