Apple Maps has caught up with Google Maps by offering a web version, allowing users to access Apple’s mapping service through a web browser.

In a Newsroom post, Apple revealed that a web version of Apple Maps can now be used as a public beta for web browser users of Safari and Google Chrome on Mac and iPad. Maps on the web can also be used with Chrome and Microsoft Edge on Windows PCs. Apple noted that “Support for additional languages, browsers, and platforms will be expanded over time.”

In our short time with it, the web version of Apple Maps works just as well as its app counterpart, which has been available on the best iPhones, iPads, and Macs since its debut in 2012. Users can explore specific landmarks, get directions, pick from a bunch of Guides to help give some useful insight into certain locations, change the map view, and more. The Newsroom post also mentioned that features like Look Around, which offers a 3D street view similar to Google Street View, will be available in the coming months.

The release of this web version is great timing too, as Apple Maps has recently been updated with some useful features for visitors to the Paris Olympics from July 26 to August 11. For example, Apple Maps will display pop-up locations such as temporary venues, souvenir shops, and public gathering sites throughout the games, making it easy for visitors to find all the important places during the summer games.

Using the web version for these updated features will surely help those visiting Paris, especially those bringing their Windows and Mac laptops. Already, Apple Maps on the web is a fantastic alternative to using Google Maps on a web browser.

How to use Apple Maps for web

Accessing Apple Maps on your web browser is a simple affair. First, make sure you’re using one of the supported web browsers: Safari on Mac and iPad, or Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge on Windows. Follow this link, and you’ll be taken to the beta version of Apple Maps for the web!

The layout is very simple to follow. On the left, you’ll see three features: Search, Guides, and Directions. These work just as they do in the Apple Maps you’ve likely used on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

That’s all there is to it! Nevertheless, keep in mind that this is still a beta version of Apple Maps for the web, so you may encounter some bugs.

More from iMore

• Apple Maps: The Ultimate Guide
• Here's why a third-party CarPlay monitor was top of my shopping list during Prime Day
• Google Maps adds hazard reports to its CarPlay app

If you live in the UK you'll know just how high fuel prices can be. It's one of the reasons that some people have already switched to electric vehicles, but with so many traditional diesel and unleaded vehicles still on the road, it's going to be some time before fuel stations are a thing of the past. This means UK drivers need to find a way to save money wherever possible — and that's where the Roadtrip app comes in.

Having initially launched in New Zealand, Roadtrip has now brought its particular brand of price-checking and route-planning to the UK with an iPhone app that promises to help people save money by providing the cheapest journeys. It does that by checking real-time prices at big-name fuel pumps based on where you want to go and then offers recommendations on how you might want to go about doing that.

Founders Ben Robertson and Emory Fierlinger say that they're now bringing Roadtrip to the UK's App Store "in response to overwhelming demand," and given the price of fuel it's easy to see why that might be the case.

Time to get moving

In a press release received by iMore, the developers say that they received comments on a viral TikTok video asking for the app to be released to the UK — and now it's here.

“Based on the huge demand we saw, we immediately began work on the UK version, and after months of dedication, we're thrilled to finally release it today," Fierlinger said. "We're so excited to bring Roadtrip to such a large audience in the UK, especially at a time when the cost of living is a challenge for so many."

So what does Roadtrip actually do?

In the simplest terms, Roadtrip shows the 10 cheapest fuel stations along a route and helps drivers save cash along the way. "Using this data, Roadtrip shows which route would be the cheapest to drive, so you can decide if the scenic route is worth the extra petrol cost, for example," the company says. It does that by asking the driver for their car's registration number and then tailoring its responses to match their vehicle.

Roadtrip is also designed to help find the cheapest prices using real-time pricing data at more than 4,000 stations across the UK. Retailers like BP, Tesco, Shell, Sainsbury’s, and others are all compared with prices updated instantly using the UK government's Pumpwatch scheme.

"For us it's about providing a tool that can make a real difference in how people can save money on petrol day to day." says Fierlinger. "Our mission is to help drivers make informed decisions about their travel costs, ultimately leading to massive savings over time".

Whether you're setting off on vacation or just want to make sure you're getting the best prices on fuel for your daily commute, Roadtrip could well be the app you didn't know that you needed.

If that all sounds like something you could make use of, you can download Roadtrip from the App Store right now. It's a free download while the Roadtrip Pro subscription is available with support for adding unlimited vehicles, unlimited calculations, and the ability to add multiple stops to your journey. Roadtrip Pro costs $0.99 per month while an annual payment option is also available.

More from iMore

• Here's your first look at installing apps in the EU on iPhone outside of the App Store
• Beware fake CleanMyMac apps that try to steal your passwords and data
• Exclusive: Here are the first 30+ apps coming to Setapp's alternative iPhone app marketplace

There are very few third-party apps that deserve to keep a long-term spot on your iPhone’s Home Screen, but Wanderlog, the best travel app I’ve ever used, has become a necessity for planning my next trip. 

With a huge birthday celebration focused around New York City’s pizza on the horizon, Wanderlog has turned my iPhone 15 Pro Max into the perfect travel companion that allows my partner and I to collaborate in real-time as we set out to make our itinerary. 

As someone who is incredibly disorganized and loves to just go with the flow when on vacation, Wanderlog has given me a new way of thinking about my trips and I’m excited to share how cool it is with iMore readers. Here’s how you can plan your next vacation using Wanderlog and why this travel app deserves a dedicated space on your iPhone’s Home Screen.

How to plan your dream vacation with Wanderlog

Starting your planning

Wanderlog is incredibly simple to use, which is one of the main reasons I think it’s such a fantastic app — no extra friction added to your vacation planning. To get started…

1. Tap the orange plus button in the bottom navigation bar
2. Tap Trip Plan
3. Choose your destination and add your trip dates
4. Tap Start planning

Wanderlog’s best feature is the real-time collaboration tools that allow you to easily plan your trip with your loved ones. You can easily add a travel companion by tapping Invite a tripmate and putting in your friend or family member’s email address.

Now you’ve created your trip and your travel companion has accepted the invitation for collaboration, it’s time to start planning your dream vacation.

How to create travel lists in Wanderlog

Now that you’ve created your trip, it’s time to add places to visit, restaurants to eat at, shops, or basically anything you want to do on your vacation. Wanderlog’s workflow lets you create lists with the places you want to visit or things you want to do and then create an itinerary so you’ve got a structured plan for your vacation. For me, the main plan for this trip is to eat pizza, so we’ve made a list of all the pizza joints we want to go to. Here’s how to make a travel list:

1. From your main trip page tap the + icon in the bottom right
2. Tap New list
3. Give your list a name. I’ve called my pizza list “Pizza”
4. Now type the name of a place in the Add a place search field
5. Tap the place you want to add to your list

As you can see from my “Pizza” list below, I’ve added all of the best pizza restaurants that I want to go to across Manhattan and Brooklyn. In my planning, I’ve created multiple lists for different purposes such as coffee shops, bakeries, bars, shops, and museums to name a few.

If you’re struggling for ideas, Wanderlog has a built-in section with user-created travel guides and gives you loads of options to learn about new and fun places to visit while on vacation. To access these guides simply tap Explore in the top bar. From each guide, you can add recommendations to your lists by simply tapping Add.

How to visualize your trip in Wanderlog

My favorite feature of Wanderlog is the ability to see my travel lists on a map which makes it easy to visualize distance and see what area the majority of the things I want to visit are in. After using Wanderlog for a few weeks I decided to purchase the Pro membership for $5.99 a month which allows me to export these maps into Google Maps as well as use some handy AI features (more on that later). That said, Wanderlog allows you to select between all your lists and easily get to grips with your surroundings if you’ve never visited a place before. Here’s how to do it:

1. Tap the map icon above the create a list button in the bottom right
2. Swipe down to see a full map
3. You’ll now see all your list locations on a map

I find Wanderlog most useful when I’m filtering between lists, so here’s how to select a specific list to see on the map:

• Tap the hamburger icon in the top right
• Uncheck all lists by tapping the Your places box
• Select the list you want to see on the map

As you can see I’ve now got all of my pizza joints on a map and it’s easy to see exactly where they are. As I have the Pro version of Wanderlog I can tap the Google Maps icon to export my whole trip, this is amazing as I find Google Maps the most reliable map application on iPhone — even more so than Apple Maps.

Creating your itinerary with Wanderlog

Ok, so you’ve created your travel lists, now what? Wanderlog’s itinerary feature allows you to plan each day of your vacation as well as a neat AI route optimization tool for Pro members. Head to the Itinerary tab in the top bar to get started. You’ll now see all the days of your vacation, they’ll be pretty empty just now but it’s easy to fill them up. You can either manually add places from your lists by tapping Add a place or use Wanderlog’s magic to automatically fill up your days. To automatically fill up your itinerary, tap Auto-fill day and watch as Wanderlog sets out a list of things for you to visit. I’ve found that starting with the auto-fill feature and then manually adding more locations is a great way to plan.

Once you’ve created your itinerary (whether manually or automatically), the Pro membership allows you to optimize your route to visit places more efficiently. To do so:

1. Tap Optimize route
2. Select your Start point and End Point
3. Wanderlog will use AI to optimize your route

Once your route has been optimized you can see it on the map by filtering based on your itinerary day just like we did previously for our pizza list above. This is a great way to see where and how to get around any city efficiently and it has proven to be a great tool for planning this NYC vacation.

See the world with Wanderlog

Wanderlog is so easy to navigate that you’ll learn the best way to use it just by digging into the app. There are other features like an AI chatbot to ask questions that make Wanderlog a joy to use especially when planning a trip of a lifetime. As someone who has never been organized with traveling, this new approach has not only taken away planning anxiety but also made me more excited than ever to go on holiday. 

Wanderlog is a rare application that helps organize your life without adding extra hoops to jump through or more friction to the planning process and I’ve found it to be exactly what I want from a travel app. With spring fast approaching and summer vacations now on everyone’s mind, Wanderlog should be the next app you download for your iPhone as it’s genuinely one of the best apps for iPhone I’ve ever had the pleasure of using.

Have you ever used Wanderlog? If not, today’s the perfect day to get started on planning that next trip of a lifetime. 

After announcing that it was bringing glanceable directions to its Maps app more than a year ago, Google has finally started to make good on its promise. The feature, which is starting to roll out to people with seemingly no geographic restrictions, allows people to see their travel directions on the iPhone's Lock Screen for the first time.

Google announced its Maps glanceable directions feature back in February of 2023 and then things went suspiciously quiet. There was no sign of the feature in the Google Maps app on iPhone or indeed on Android, a platform that might have been expected to benefit from such a feature first. However, some people have now started to notice that they do have an option to enable glanceable directions on their devices — although the option does not yet seem to be available to everyone which suggests Google is rolling it out on an account-by-account basis.

Those looking to see if they have the option to enable glanceable directions can head into the Google Maps options followed by the Navigation settings. The option to enable glanceable directions can be found towards the very bottom of the long list of options — if you don't yet see it make sure that you're running the latest version of the Google Maps app and have iOS 16.1 or later installed. Failing that, hang fire — the option should arrive sooner or later.

Directions at a glance

When Google first announced glanceable notifications back in 2023 it said that Google Maps users "can track your journey right from your route overview or lock screen. You’ll see updated ETAs and where to make your next turn — information that was previously only visible by unlocking your phone, opening the app, and using comprehensive navigation mode." The blog post also noted that "if you decide to take another path, we’ll update your trip automatically."

It's worth noting that the Live Activities support that had previously been promised still appears to be missing, but that may change as the feature completes its rollout. Now, users who have the glanceable directions option enabled will see an updated ETA and their next turn from their lock screen, a feature that previously required that the iPhone be unlocked in order to work.

The feature, first spotted by Android Police, could be at its most useful when walking and means that an iPhone can be locked and placed in a pocket before being retrieved when the next direction is required rather than being carried unlocked (and susceptible to theft) throughout the journey.

This specific feature will of course be at its best when using an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max thanks to their always-on displays. Apple is also rumored to be bringing those same always-on displays to the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus, but it will remain a Pro-only feature when the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro families of devices arrive later this year. If Apple follows its previous release cadence we can expect the new iPhones to be announced in the first couple of weeks of September before making them available for preorder the following Friday. The new handsets should then also go on sale the Friday after that, too.

More from iMore

• Google Maps - Everything you need to know!
• Google Maps' new AI-powered immersive view blows Apple's out of the water
• How to use Siri with Google Maps

Apple Maps has gained new features in several European countries with Look Around and more now available in more locations than ever before.

Apple has confirmed that the Maps improvements are now live in Netherlands, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Eddy Cue, Apple's Senior Vice President of Services, says that Apple is "excited to let even more users benefit from [...] the new features we're introducing today."

All mapped out

The updated Apple Maps includes several improvements, including the Look Around feature. "The 'Look Around' feature in Maps offers high-resolution street-level images, 3D photos, and smooth transitions," Apple says.

People can now enjoy step-by-step walking instructions in augmented reality by holding up their iPhones. Buildings are automatically scanned, and Apple Maps provides directions based on what it sees.

There's more, too. "Drivers with certain electric cars can also plan their ride in Maps with suitable charging points, taking into account differences in altitude and other factors along the route." At the same time, public access users can find nearby stations and more. Some travelers can also see how much a trip will cost within Maps and put their transit subscription in the Wallet app, too — assuming they have iOS 16 installed.

Apple has been steadily improving its Maps app across its platforms recently. Of course, Google Maps was once very much the better app with much improved maps, but that isn't the case now — especially if you happen to live in an area that benefits from the very best Apple Maps features like those rolling out to new countries today.

The use of augmented reality is perhaps also a nod toward Apple's future headset and AR glasses plans, using the latest technologies to overlay digital information in the real world.

What you need to know

• Google Maps has added support for toll road pricing.
• Drivers will be able to see how much it will cost to drive on a toll road before setting off.

Google Maps has added support for toll road pricing, giving people more information about how much it will cost before they get to a road that requires a toll to drive on.

The Google Maps update was announced via forum post and will be available on almost 2,000 toll roads across the United States, India, Japan, and Indonesia. Google does say that more countries are coming soon although it doesn't say which ones, or how soon they'll be added.

Toll roads are a fact of life depending on what part of the world you live in and how much you travel. But knowing how much a drive will cost ahead of time can be handy, and that's what Google is helping with here. Google also says that it will offer intelligent pricing based on what day it is and more.

Those who drive on roads that use toll passes will also be able to enable and disable prices based on whether or not they have one, while those who just want to avoid such roads entirely will continue to be able to do that within the app's settings.

Google Maps has long been one of the best iPhone navigation apps available in the App Store and it's always promising to see such an app continue to add features after so many years. Toll roads aren't something many of us deal with on the daily, but that can also make information like this all the more important when we do come across a journey that requires driving on one.

If you don't yet have the Google Maps app installed, you can download it for free from the App Store today.

What you need to know

• Google has announced a new time travel feature for Google Maps and Street View.
• People can go all the way back to Street View's first images for specific locations.

Google is celebrating 15 years of Street View by announcing a time travel feature of sorts, allowing people to scroll back and see how things looked at various points between now and 2007.

Google announced the change via blog post, saying that it's now "easier than ever to travel back in time right from your phone."

Google also announced a new Street View camera that will allow it to capture more Street View imagery than ever before. It can be fitted to any car and weighs just 15 pounds, making it more portable than ever before. Google says we can expect it to be used in areas that would normally go unmapped, including the Amazon jungle.

Finally, a bit of fun. Google says that to celebrate the 15-year anniversary of Street View's launch, we can all set a Street View car as our mapping icon!

Google Maps is still one of the best iPhone navigation apps around — and being able to drive around in a Street View car makes it even better!

What you need to know

• Uber has announced Uber Explore for people who need ideas for where to go.
• Uber Explore will show people places they can visit and then have an Uber car take them.
• 14 cities in the United States and one in Mexico are live on day one.

Uber has announced Uber Explore, a new feature that will help people find new places to go and events to visit for those times when they just can't decide what to do themselves.

The new Uber Explore feature will start in 14 cities across the United States (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Memphis, Minneapolis – St. Paul, New Orleans, New Jersey, Upstate New York, Orlando, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle) as well as Mexico City to begin, but more will come online eventually. People in those countries should check the Uber app in the App Store to see if an update is required.

Uber says that people will be able to find places to go "based on categories including food & drink, art & culture, nightlife, music & shows, and more, and they'll be able to see reviews, photos, and directions." They'll also be able to take advantage of a few features as part of Uber Explore.

• One click rides: The "ride there now" functionality allows customers to tap a button and easily book a ride with their pre-populated destination.
• Personalization: You'll see suggestions for experiences based on your past use of the Uber and Uber Eats apps. We use your favorite places to go and things to eat to suggest the best places to explore in your city automatically.
• Uber Explore Offers: We've selected some of the best places to explore, and for the top restaurants & bars, you'll get 15% off your rides up to $10 for now. The deals will always be changing based on what's popular in your area.
• Seamless purchases: It will be easy to purchase tickets to events and experiences because you can pay conveniently with your Uber Wallet & Payment profile.

Uber isn't saying which cities will be next or how quickly the expansion will reach other countries, unfortunately.

Don't yet have Uber installed? You can grab it from the App Store for free now.

Apple Maps offers extensions for specific apps and services. You can, for example, use OpenTable to reserve a spot at your favorite restaurant, use Uber to hail a ride, and visit Yelp to check out reviews of that coffee shop you've been thinking about checking out. Here are all the apps that offer Apple Maps extensions!

What is a Maps extension?

The primary purpose of Maps extensions is to give you the ability to do things like book a reservation at a restaurant without having to leave the Maps app. This integration will free up your precious time by cutting out the need to switch between and search within different apps.

The feature launched with iOS 10 back in 2013 but is still supported by a select few apps in iOS 15 today.

Apps that have extensions for Maps

Third-party apps that offer ride-hailing or dining reservation functionality can opt into supporting Apple's Maps extension feature. We've listed several to make things easy for you.

How to enable Maps extensions on iPhone and iPad

1. Launch the Settings app from your Home screen.
2. Tap Maps.
3. Choose the type of extensions you wish to turn on under Extensions.
4. Toggle On the extension you want to enable. Green means it's on.

Note: If you don't see the Extension heading, no apps are installed on your device with Maps extensions capabilities.

Once you've followed the above steps, you can use the third-party ride-hailing and dining reservation apps within the Maps app. For more help getting the feature set up, check out our guide on how to enable and use Maps extensions.

All in one place

When looking up a location in Apple Maps, the next thing you want to do is work out how to get there. Integrating ride-share services into the Maps app makes total sense for the best iPhone experience.

Similarly, if you look up a restaurant's address details, your next move might be to book a table. Rather than jumping into a browser or another app, integration with OpenTable and Yelp means you can achieve that with just a couple of taps from the restaurant's detail page in the Maps app.

Updated February 2022: Updated for iOS 15.

Apple's Maps app gives you everything you need to get where you're going and find interesting places along the way. It can tell you where you are, what direction you're facing, what's nearby, how to avoid traffic, and much more. Maps can show you the ground in 3D and can take to the sky with Flyover. It can even provide turn-by-turn voice navigation for driving, walking, and — in some regions — public transit, including buses, trains, and ferries making it one of the best iPhone apps for getting around.

What's new in iOS 15?

Apple's latest iOS 15 software brings some impressive updates to the Maps app. Improvements include more detailed driving navigation and public transit information.

Maps in iOS 15 also adds some totally new features like 3D city views and augmented reality walking navigation. These features work in major cities like Los Angeles, Now York City, and London with more locations being added over time. Apple has also added an interactive three-dimensional globe and has incorporated a curated Guides section in Maps to offer expert recommendations from brands like Time Out, The Washington Post, and the National Park Foundation.

Want to get to grips with everything the Apple Maps app can do? Here's what you need to know to get started!

How to find locations and get directions with Maps on iPhone and iPad

Times have changed — instead of the Thomas Guide, sixteen year olds have an iPhone to guide their way through city streets and subway lines. And instead of numbered paper sections, we have live traffic information and trip tracking in the form of Apple's Maps app. The company's app is built right into your iPhone or iPad. All you have to do is look! Here's how to use the Maps app to find your location and get directions.

If you find something isn't right about a location, you can report a problem in Maps and it will hopefully get resolved by the time the next person tries to navigate there.

How to name and save locations with Maps on iPhone and iPad

Whether you want your iPhone to remember your best friend's house or your local gym, adding and naming locations is easy with the Maps app for iPhone and iPad. Here's how to name and save locations with Maps on your iPhone or iPad.

How to share location and directions with Maps for iPhone and iPad

Sometimes it's not enough for you to know where you are or where you're going. Sometimes you need to let other people know. Maybe you want to share a great new coffee shop you've found, maybe you got separated at the park, or maybe you need to be picked up where your car broke down. Sure, there's Find my Friends for sharing location all the time but, when you need to share your location or some directions any time, there's Maps.

How to get transit directions with Apple Maps for iPhone and iPad

Apple has a few useful features specific to transit directions, making it easier to navigate the big city without a car. You can easily see transit stops for specific lines and, whenever multiple lines are available, you'll see all of the possible route suggestions. Our guide to Apple Maps transit directions shows you how.

Apple Maps doesn't support transit directions for all locations, though the list of supported cities grows longer with each update. Here are all of the places with Apple Maps transit directions.

How to use Siri to get directions and maps on iPhone or iPad

With Siri and Apple's built-in Maps, you know longer have to stop, type, and search for directions. You can simply ask Siri for directions, and you'll get a route to go right there. It's great if you're in a new area of town or traveling in a new city. And if you get lost, you can even ask Siri to take you home.

How to find your car with the Maps app

Here's a not-so-secret fact about me: I'm awful at remembering where I parked. It's why I own a brightly colored car that can make noise and flash its lights if I press my key fob — without them, I might as well condemn myself to wandering through darkened parking garages for hours.

Thanks to Apple's Parked Car feature in Maps, though, I no longer have to rely on shiny paint or loud noises to help me discover where I left my vehicle: I only have to look at my iPhone or Apple Watch.

How to change settings for Maps on iPhone and iPad

Apple Maps offers settings that let you change the volume of navigation prompts, change the units of distance, and even get follow-up emails on issues you report. You can customize Maps settings and get everything set up just the way you want it — once you know where to look!

How to delete your search history and destinations in Maps on iPhone and iPad

There are plenty of reasons to avoid storing your search and destination history: Maybe you're planning a surprise party; maybe you have one too many trips to Starbucks listed. Whatever the case, you can very easily get delete your search and destination history in Maps.

How to view the weather in Maps

If you're cruising along the highway on a road trip with pals and you want to take a peek at the weather without switching apps, follow along, and we'll show you how to view the weather in Maps! It's super convenient, especially while driving, though you'd probably only know how to find weather info in Maps if someone told you.

How to use Maps extensions on iPhone and iPad

iOS makes it easier to get more out of the Maps app by allowing third-party apps to add Maps extensions. The primary purpose of app extensions is to give you the ability to do things like book a reservation at a restaurant or call for a ride from services like Uber — all without having to leave Maps. This kind of integration frees up your precious time by cutting out the need to switch between different apps to accomplish your goals.

If you can't find Maps extensions, we can help you there too.

How to open Apple Maps locations in Google Maps

Though Apple has been making its Maps app better over time, many people still prefer the tried-and-tested Google Maps for something as important as knowing where you are going.

While you can't change the default mapping app on iOS, you can make it easier to switch to an alternative with a $1.99 utility app called Opener that lets you open Apple Maps locations in Google Maps.

How to get directions and use Apple Maps with CarPlay

Outside of streaming services, I'd be willing to bet Maps in CarPlay is the most commonly used app. Whether you're looking for a business or traveling out of state, it's much easier to be told where to go than navigating from memory or a map.

Most of Maps' interface in CarPlay is pretty easy to understand, but there are a few tricky parts. The above-linked article takes a look at some of the app's basic functions and how you can use them to get the most out of your experience.

Still have questions about Maps on iPhone and iPad?

Have a problem or question about the Apple Maps app? Let us know in the comments below and we'll try our best to help out.

Updated September 2021: Updated for iOS 15.

The future has arrived — that was the thought I had the first time I used the Waverly Labs Ambassador Interpreter. This gadget is like something out of Star Trek. You set the app up on your smartphone, put the earphone in your ear, and just like that, you're communicating in a new language. The Interpreter can translate 20 different prominent languages in 42 different dialects. This is a game changer, especially for someone like me who loves to travel the world.

So far I have had a chance to test this unit out in English, Spanish, and Arabic. It worked well in all three languages, although it's a little stronger in the Spanish to English translations, perhaps because these two languages have similar Latin roots. Regardless, I was able to communicate adequately in all three languages with people of several different nationalities. I noticed lots of advantages and a few disadvantages to using this device — all of these are outlined below.

Ambassador Interpreter: Price and availability

The Ambassador Interpreter is currently only available as a direct purchase from the manufacturer. This is a new product invention that is not yet available from mainstream retailers. One advantage of this is that Waverly Labs has a good return and exchange policy, so you can trust that any product you receive from them will be backed by a solid warranty. It's currently available for $179, which is a great deal since you receive two interpreter ear-pieces that are meant to be used by two different people. I think this product is worth more than its modest price tag.

Ambassador Interpreter: The triple language challenge

Aside from the obvious cool factor, I appreciate the fact that the Ambassador Interpreter system is super easy to set up and use. Once the app was downloaded, I paired the earbuds to my iPhone 12 Pro Max the same way I would pair any wireless earphones. From there, I just chose which mode I wanted to use (Listen, Converse, or Lecture) and the translator started murmuring the translation in my ear in real time. It also translated all speech into a written translation on the iPhone, so I could read as well as hear what was being said. Very simple and straightforward.

At first I used the Listen mode in Spanish only. I set it up in Colombian Spanish and told my (Colombian) husband to speak to me in Spanish. Since I am fluent in Spanish, I was able to judge the quality of the translation. The translation in Spanish was almost perfect if my husband spoke clearly. If he spoke super fast or ran the words together, the Ambassador Interpreter would request that he repeat himself. I was curious how the translation would stack up against an automatic translator like the Google Translator app, so I tested them against each other. The translations were very similar, but due to the dialects that the Ambassador Interpreter has installed, the Waverly Labs device was able to more closely translate Colombian slang, while Google stuck to a very direct, generic translation. All in all, the Ambassador Interpreter won against Google Translate because they do have the local dialects and colloquialisms installed into the device.

My next experiment was to try it out in Converse Mode to see how it worked with an Arabic to English translation and vice versa. My mother in law is half Syrian (how's that for multicultural?), but she doesn't speak a word of English, so it was an interesting exchange. We both wore one Ambassador Interperter earphone; mine was set to translate her Arabic speech to English, and hers was set to translate English to Arabic. Everything we said came out as a text translation in the Ambassador Interpreter app. We talked about the weather in Syria and our favorite foods. It was a fun experience, and very strange since we usually only communicate in Spanish.

According to my mother-in-law and some Syrian cousins who also tried out the device, the Arabic translation from English is not as accurate as the English to Spanish translation, but it allowed us all to communicate with each other just fine. I am super excited to use this device for traveling. I remember having the hardest time of it when I got lost on the Paris train years ago — what a difference this device would have made! It will also be invaluable for my husband's upcoming trip to Syria. He has no language in common with the Syrian side of his family, so this device will make it possible to communicate with his extended family in a way that would have been otherwise impossible without someone to serve as translator.

Finally, I did try out the "Lecture" mode, which allows you to speak using the device to translate for you on the iPhone or a Bluetooth speaker. This is excellent if you need to lecture or make presentations in a second language. Your business can save a load of money by using an Ambassador Interpreter instead of hiring a live interpreter. I can imagine a lot of scenarios where this feature would be incredibly useful in business environments.

Ambassador Interpreter: What's not so good

As I mentioned in the previous section, the translation from Arabic to English (and vice versa) was not as accurate as the translations between Spanish and English. This is likely due to the fact that Spanish and English are simply more similar to each other than English and Arabic, which have roots in completely different regions and languages. Another reason for this may be that there is no "Syrian" dialect in the Ambassador Interpreter, whereas we did have a specific "Colombian" dialect of Spanish. I assume that if I were speaking with someone from Lebanon using the Lebanese dialect, the translation would likely be more accurate. Either way, we were able to communicate and understand each other in Arabic, so that's the point of the Interpreter in the first place. The app and devices are continuously updated, so this aspect will likely be improved over time.

I also noticed that I have to re-pair the earbuds in the Bluetooth settings panel every time I use them. This is not a huge deal, but it's something to point out, since most of my Bluetooth earphones connect automatically after the first pairing. I haven't tried to troubleshoot this problem with Waverly Labs; perhaps it is an easy fix. Regardless, it does not affect the usage or effectiveness of the product.

Finally, I'd like to see a way to record logs of translations and conversations. If I were using the Ambassador Interpreters for work purposes, I think a translation log history would come in handy in case I forgot some part of the conversation, or if I just wanted to review it at a later time. Perhaps the manufacturer will add this feature in the future.

Ambassador Interpreter: Competition

The Ambassador Interpreter is an innovative new product, and there are few products in the marketplace right now to contend with it. The only other comparable products I can find are the WT2 Plus AI Realtime Translator Earbuds from Timekettle. The WT2 offers a similar service, translation earbuds that work with a specialized smartphone app. These have the capability to translate 40 different languages - more than the Ambassador Interpreter - but they are also $70 more expensive.

Ambassador Interpreter: Should you buy it?

• You travel a lot for pleasure or work.
• You work on a regular basis with people who speak different languages.
• You're learning a second language.
• You have family members from different parts of the world.

• You've never left your hometown and don't plan to.
• You've never met anyone that speaks a different language.
• You need a detailed history of each translation.

World travelers, international businesses, and intercultural families can all reap huge benefits from this smart device. For business travel alone, this inexpensive device is much more affordable than a live translator. I personally plan to use it during my travels, and my husband plans to use it to speak to long-distance family members in other parts of the world. The translations are accurate and fast, with both spoken and written translations to make sure everyone stays on the same page. With Listen, Converse, and Lecture modes, there are a lot of different ways to use the Ambassador Interpreter, and a lot of different situations that call for this type of technology. Honestly, the possibilities are endless.

Source: StackCommerce

Diagrams are really useful for visualizing information, but they can be tricky to create. MyDraw makes the process quicker and simpler, with loads of tools in a user-friendly interface. Right now, it's 50% off at $33.99.

While you can use Illustrator to make mind maps and floor plans, Adobe's app is really not made for the job. In contrast, MyDraw offers a range of specialized diagramming tools.

Available on Windows and Mac, the software offers a selection of templates for flowcharts, flyers, certificates, scorecards, and many other diagram types.

If you prefer to create your graphics from scratch, you can easily add lines, curves, rectangles, ellipses, polygons, and many other shapes. MyDraw also offers control point editing, automatic layouts, and rich text editing.

Being a vector editor, MyDraw allows you to export your work at print resolution in a number of formats. This means you can quite easily produce business cards and brochures using MyDraw. In fact, the software even supports barcodes.

Order today for just $33.99 to get MyDraw on a lifetime license, worth $69.

MyDraw Advance Diagramming Software: Lifetime License – $33.99

See Deal

Prices subject to change 

What you need to know

• Apple is rolling out a huge update to Maps for Canada beginning today.
• Look Around will be available for all major cities.
• EV routes, flyover, and various other features are included in the update.

Apple has been improving its Maps app with a ton more data for a couple of years now. The first country to get better Maps data was the U.S., but now it's finally Canada's turn.

Starting today, the Maps app for iPhone and iPad will receive a huge update that includes more detailed maps, Look Around for major cities, EV routes, and quite a bit more. Think of this as the next generation of Maps because this update is huge. Here is a quick breakdown of the new features coming to Maps in Canada.

Look Around is coming to major Canadian cities, which will allow you to look at high-resolution 3D images of the entire city. This will be at street level, meaning you can take a look at a popular tourist destination or look around the park, like you're actually in that location.

Look Around will be coming to cities like Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, as well as parts of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and more according to Apple.

Guides offer curated lists of places to visit in a city. It's a way for you to find interesting parks, museums, monuments, and other cool things to see or do in a city. In Guides, you'll be able to see pictures of the location and more information if you want to read up on it before you visit.

There's also EV routing coming across Canada. This will allow electric vehicle owners to plan routes with chargers in mind for the type of EV they are driving. For example, If you have a Tesla and want to go from Vancouver to Winnipeg, Maps can guide you there and take you to a Telsa Supercharger when you need to charge.

Real time transit will give you access to live transit information for buses, trains, and other mode of public transit. This include arrival times, deprature times, a live look at where the bus or train currently is, and more.

This means if you plan on using transit in a new city, or just to get around your own city, you should be able to plan your entire trip with Maps.

Flyover should let you see major metro areas with photo-realistic, immersive 3D views from above. You'll be able to move your device through space to experience a top-down view of the citiy, or even pan, tilt, and zoom on locations and landmarks.

Where the data is available, Maps will now warn you when you are approaching red light or speed cameras well you're en route. You can also see speed cameras in the Maps as well.

Canada is also getting indoor Maps for airports and malls in Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, and more cities.

You can simply open Maps while in a supported indoor location to see what level you're on, where restrooms are, which stores are open, and more!

Head over to the Apple Newsroom post to look over every tiny detail.

The official Maps app on iOS and iPadOS keeps getting better. And yet, there are times you might want to open Apple Maps locations in Google Maps.

While you can't change the default mapping app on iOS, you can make it easier to switch to an alternative with a $1.99 utility app called Opener.

The app runs as an action extension from your Share sheet: It was designed initially to open web URLs in their proper apps, but you can also use it to open Apple Maps locations in Google Maps, Waze, or another mapping app of your choice. Here's how to use it!

How to open Apple Maps locations in Google Maps

First, you'll have to set up Opener.

1. Download Opener.
2. Open Apple Maps.
3. Search for a location.
4. Swipe up on the info screen to reveal the Share button.

5. Tap the Share button.
6. Choose Opener
7. Select the option Open Link in Google Maps.

8. Tap Open to confirm you want to open the directions in Google Maps.
9. Choose Start in Google Maps to begin your journey.

Questions?

Any questions about getting Apple Maps locations to open up in Google Maps? Have you found a quicker, better way to do it? Let us know in the comments.

If you want to check out the app extensions that are available in Apple's built-in Maps app but can't seem to figure out how to enable them, read on.

Maps extensions became available starting with iOS 10. My colleagues swooned over all of the cool app extensions and what they could do.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find them.

"Do you have OpenTable on your iPhone?" "Is Uber available in your area?" Yup and yup. Still no toggle switch in Settings. When I tried to enable an app that I knew was available as an app extension, I got nothin'.

The fix!

Turns out, the problem was that I hadn't downloaded a supported app. From there, you must also enable an app extension in Maps.

Did you have trouble finding Maps extensions?

Please tell me I'm not the only one that had trouble figuring it out. Somebody have my back in the comments, will ya?

What you need to know

• Google is rolling out a major update for Google Maps to improve public transportation.
• The biggest improvements come with live traffic info for buses and crowdedness prediction.
• The new features will start rolling out today for iOS and Android for nearly 200 major cities around the world.

Google today announced a new update for Google Maps coming to both the iOS and Android apps. The new update aims to improve public transportation with live traffic info for buses and crowdedness predictions for when people get to their destination.

Here is what's new with live traffic info for buses:

https://twitter.com/googlemaps/status/1144279848111751170

Here is what's new for crowdedness prediction:

The new public transportation features in Google Maps will roll out in nearly 200 cities around the world starting today. It continues Google's focus on keeping its mapping service current with cutting-edge features to fend off other services that seek to supplant it, including Apple Maps.

The holiday season is upon us and that means decorations, festive food, and a plethora of Santa hats... but what about your memoji?! You can easily get your mini-me decked out in some holiday gear this season: here's how!

How to give your memoji a Santa or Elf hat for the holidays

1. Tap memoji in your messages app.
2. Find the memoji you would like to Santa or Elf-ify.
3. Tap the three dots in the bubble to the left of your memoji.

4. Tap edit in the new screen that appears.
5. Go to the headwear portion of your editing screen.
6. Scroll until you see the holiday hat you would like to choose.

Simply tap on the hat to add it to your memoji and you're instantly ready for the holidays!

Total side note, but I really was hoping for some adorable little antlers, too. Maybe for New Years a super cute party hat or some sparklers in your hair?! Gosh. A gal can dream.

What do you think?

Are you excited to add a little holiday spirit to your memoji? Let us know what other hats and accessories you'd love your memoji to rock in the comments down below — and happy holidays!

Whether you just need directions or are hopelessly lost, Apple's Maps app is right there on your iPhone to help you out. The official Maps app can help you find the exact place you're looking for, such as a restaurant, a friend's house, or an airport. You can get directions to all of these places, including driving, walking, and mass transit directions. With more recent additions, you can even see indoor maps of facilities such as airports.

Here's everything you need to know about Apple Maps

What's new with Apple Maps?

Check back here for the latest updates in Maps news.

As first noted by MacRumors, Apple has rolled out its indoor maps for several malls across Canada, making it easier for iPhone owners to find the exact locations of the stores they're looking for. Most of the malls in question are owned by Cadillac Fairview.

Here are the malls that now have new indoor maps from Apple:

• Galeries D'Anjou in Montréal
• Carrefour Laval in Laval
• Promenades St-Bruno in Saint-Bruno
• Fairview Pointe Claire in Pointe-Claire
• Rideau Centre in Ottawa
• Markville in Markham
• Shops at Don Mills in Toronto
• Fairview Mall in Toronto
• Sherway Gardens in Toronto
• Square One in Mississauga
• Lime Ridge in Hamilton
• Fairview Park in Kitchener
• Masonville Place in London
• Polo Park in Winnipeg
• Chinook Centre in Calgary
• Market Mall in Calgary
• Richmond Centre in Richmond
• Champlain Place in Dieppe, New Brunswick

Many people ... er ... struggle with Apple Maps. Sure, it's been improved a lot over the years, but it's not a perfect solution, and users have experienced many issues since its genesis. Thankfully, Apple has heard our cries, and is completely redesigning its Maps app for the upcoming iOS 12, with limited first-party maps data coming in the next beta. According to an amazing, in-depth piece by Matthew Panzarino over at TechCrunch, here's what we can expect from the update:

Maps will be based solely on first-party data

Yup: Apple is finally going to be building all maps using the company's own data.

Okay, okay. I say finally, but really, Apple has been collecting first-party data for its maps for the past four or so years. Back in 2015, Apple began collecting map data from a combo of sources at its disposal: dedicated Apple Maps vans outfitted with GPS rigs, LiDAR arrays, cameras that shoot overlapping high-resolution images, Macs, iPads, and physical measuring tools; high-resolution imagery captured using satellites; "probe data" from iOS devices; and hundreds of human editors.

Eddie Cue, Apple's Senior Vice President, shared the company's reasoning for switching to first-party data instead of relying on third-party data in the aforementioned conversation with TechCrunch:

Maps will be more responsive to changes

Because Apple will no longer be relying on third-party data (and, thus, no longer jumping through all the hoops that were once necessary to update Maps), the app will be more accurate when it comes to corrections, roadwork, new routes, and construction changes. Cue again weighed in on this matter to Panzarino:

Graphics will be more visually detailed

In the revamped Maps, depending on the context of your trip, the app will now show more detailed graphics, including things like foliage, swimming pools, sporting areas, and sidewalks.

The redesigned UI will make maps easier to read

As Panzarino mentions, Apple has always had a knack for marrying the utilitarian with the artistic. Thanks to a team of cartographers (yes, cartographers), the new version of Maps will be even more beautiful and useful than ever before, helping your brain more intuitively make sense of what's going on geographically.

Sounds pretty cool if you ask me*.

*Someone who struggles desperately to make sense of any sort of map at all.

Apple will still focus strongly on user privacy

If the phrase "probe data" frightened you, worry not: Apple is still adamant as ever about protecting user privacy. Probe data is, according to Panzarino, "essentially little slices of vector data that represent direction and speed transmitted back to Apple completely anonymized with no way to tie it to a specific user or even any given trip. It's reaching in and sipping a tiny amount of data from millions of users instead, giving it a holistic, real-time picture without compromising user privacy." So Apple isn't tracking every step of your trips from beginning to end. Instead, the company is only collecting teeny tiny slivers of location data from tons of different trips completely anonymously in order to form a cohesive picture.

The new Maps will be rolling out to the US first, launching in San Francisco and the Bay Area of California with the next iOS 12 beta next week. It will cover Northern California by this fall, and will eventually be rolled out to every version of iOS over the course of about a year. For a more in-depth preview of upgraded Maps, check out Panzarino's full piece here.

If you're not already checking the "Useful to Know" section when you search a location in Maps, you absolutely should be. It's full of handy information that can help you plan your day out and about, especially if you're traveling or visiting somewhere new. It includes whether or not a place accepts Apple Pay, if you can make reservations there, if it's kid-friendly, and, most importantly to some, whether or not it has gender-neutral restrooms.

To view the "Useful to Know" section, all you need to do is do a quick search for whatever establishment you're curious about, then tap on it in the suggestions that appear below your map. You may need to scroll down a bit to see it — it's underneath the location's phone number.

Though there are already dedicated apps out there for finding gender-neutral restrooms for transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals — the incredible Refuge Restrooms comes to mind — it's really heartening to see this information being displayed in the native Maps app. And yes, I hear what you're saying: Shouldn't every public place have a gender-neutral restroom option to provide a safe and welcoming space for everyone, regardless of how they identify? Absolutely yes. However, until that day comes, it's nice to know what to expect when you're going out for drinks with your friends or taking your family for ice cream.

Looking for an alternative form of public transit that doubles as a workout? If you don't have a ride of your own, you'll now be able to view nearby places in your city where you can rent bikes within the Maps app so you can get where you need to go.

According to a report by TechCrunch, Apple has signed a partnership with public transit data company Ito World, integrating bike-sharing service data into Apple Maps in more than 175 cities across 36 countries.

The feature is currently live and incredibly easy to use. All you need to do is search "Bike Sharing" in the search bar that appears when you launch the Maps app. Or, if you already use bike-sharing regularly, you can type in the name of your favorite service instead, and Maps will tell you if there are any stations nearby. It will also provide contact information for the service.

Though Apple had already added some bike-sharing services to maps in a handful of cities prior to now, integrating Ito World's existing bike-sharing data allowed Apple to make the feature available more quickly than doing all the collection in-house. And, as TechCrunch notes, "Ito World has worked with dozens of companies to license and normalize bike-sharing data. This way, Apple only has to integrate one data model to support hundreds of bike-sharing services."

Unfortunately, as TechCrunch also mentions, Maps doesn't currently show how many bikes there actually are at a station or if there are any available bike docks. Hopefully, that feature will be added soon, as more specifically-dedicated bike-sharing apps already have it.

For a full list of supported services, you can check out TechCrunch's article here.

Apple announced indoor maps for places like airports and shopping malls as part of iOS 11 and the company has just now expanded the feature to include 30 more airports in the U.S. and around the world.

With indoor maps, you can see things like security checkpoints, food courts, and most importantly to me — coffee shops! The detail level is great, as is the seamless way you can zoom out from regular maps and into the detail view inside.

The 30 new airports coming online today include:

• Amsterdam Airport Schiphol AMS
• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport BWI
• Berlin Tegel Airport TXL
• Berlin Schönefeld Airport SXF
• Chicago O'Hare International Airport ORD
• Chicago Midway International Airport MDW
• Denver International Airport DEN
• Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport DTW
• Edmonton International Airport YEG
• Geneva Airport GVA
• Hong Kong International Airport HKG
• Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport IAH
• Houston William P. Hobby Airport HOU
• Indianapolis International Airport IND
• Jacksonville International Airport JAX
• Las Vegas McCarran International Airport LAS
• London Heathrow Airport LHR
• London Gatwick Airport LGW
• Los Angeles International Airport LAX
• Orange County John Wayne Airport SNA
• Miami International Airport MIA
• Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport MSP
• Nashville International Airport BNA
• New York John F. Kennedy International Airport JFK
• New York LaGuardia Airport LGA
• Newark Liberty International Airport EWR
• Oakland International Airport OAK
• Philadelphia International Airport PHL
• Pittsburgh International Airport PIT
• Portland International Airport PDX
• San Diego International Airport SAN
• San Jose Norman Y. Mineta International Airport SJC
• Seattle–Tacoma International Airport SEA
• Toronto Pearson International Airport YYZ
• Vancouver International Airport YVR

Sadly, my local Trudeau airport in Montreal (YUL) hasn't been added yet, but I just happen to be at LGA right now and, in my quick tests, it's working a treat. You can tap to switch between departure and arrival levels, for example, and use nearby to find shops, snacks, and more.

Airports, especially when you're rushing for flights or facing weather delays, can be beyond stressful. Indoor maps take the edge off that stress and help you not only find where you need to go, but places you want to check out while you're waiting to go.

Apple put in a lot of extra effort as well, traversing every airport, making sure dead zones were covered and walls and doors were accurately placed.

When you put it together with indoor location, which makes sure you know exactly where you are at all times, and it's beyond impressive. (Especially when you consider all these international airports are so different.)

If you live in a city where Apple's indoor maps for airports just went live, check 'em out and let us know what you think.

Apple Maps has lagged behind its competitors for a few years — in part because Apple was late to the game. But over the last year, it's become a more stable, usable service. iOS 10 continues that trend, bringing huge (and much-needed) software and server-side improvements to Apple's mapping application.

No, it's still not perfect: In driving mode, it continues to struggle with traffic estimations and offering up the best alternate routes. But for local driving, it's gotten leaps and bounds better.

The new look

Apple Maps has embraced the San Francisco bold look head-on, with clear, readable maps labels, bright colors, and crisp text. The top and bottom navigational bars have disappeared entirely, replaced by contextual cards and a small overlay for further information, GPS location, and the weather. Though you get more visual overhead as you use more complicated Maps options, the general focus seems to have been on keeping it light, clean, and understandable.

On launch, the bottom card will display a search bar along with predictive locations (based on your routine or Calendar appointments) and favorite or recent locations. As will soon become custom, you can scroll up on this card to get an expanded list, as well as full access to your Favorites list.

Tap on an address or pin, and that contextual card changes, offering you an address, estimated mileage and driving time, and — if it's a public business — Yelp-sourced information on the business's hours, photos, website, menu, and the like. (You can tap any of these to go directly to Yelp for more information.) You can even tap on yourself to either mark your current location with a pin, or share it with your friends.

Search improvements

Where Apple Maps has really branched out is in its search: Though it still pulls primarily from Yelp's database, it's become a lot easier to find and narrow down options for food, entertainment, travel, gas, and more. When you tap on the search bar, eight brightly-colored bubbles appear to whisk you off to the business of your choosing: Food, Drinks, Shopping, Travel, Services, Fun, Health, or Transport.

Tap on one bubble, and you go further down the rabbit hole into a sub-genre of options: Food, for example, offers up a Popular section, along with Restaurants, Groceries, Fast Food, Coffee Shops, Bakeries, and Desserts.

Once you pick a category, you can browse through a listing of suggested eateries or drill down further — a sliding menu along the bottom of the screen lets you select specific brands or options. (For example, tapping Bakeries in the Northeast will give you sub-options that include all nearby Dunkin Donuts, Panera Bread, Au Bon Pain, and the like.)

Adventures in directions

Let's get this out of the way: Maps's server-side directions still need some work. Over the past few months, I've been running it on all my short- and long-haul trips simultaneously with Google Maps, and while it generally keeps up quite well, there are still some holes in its computations. (Notably when traffic is involved, or trying to branch off the well-worn path through slightly more obscure street routes.) It's miles better than Maps's initial server woes, and largely only when driving routes are involved: I actually quite prefer Apple's transit data to Google Maps. But the caveat needs to be stated, and so it has been.

That aside, Maps now has one of the best interfaces for directions out there. The new bold, bright look is great for quick-glance information when in the car, and both Siri and large buttons help keep your attention on the road as much as possible rather than yelling at your directions-providing device. Outside the interface, Maps fixes a niggle I've had since version 1.0: It now lets you zoom to any point on the map with a multitouch pinch gesture, as well as view a full overview of the route.

When turn-by-turn is enabled, you can also search along your route for local food, gas, or coffee options by tapping a few big buttons; you can also just ask Siri "Is there a coffee place nearby?" and Maps will present options and automatically add a stop to your route if you so desire. It works just as well (if not better) than Google's implementation — having Yelp data and rankings to draw on is a welcome addition to the sometimes-stressful job of picking road trip stops.

When you're planning your routes, Maps offers multiple options, like most major mapping services; Apple has also now incorporated switches that let you avoid tolls or highways — a big deal for metropolitan folk — and transit options that let you exclude certain methods of transportation in favor of others (turning off bus routes, for example, if all you want to see are train schedules).

Hello, car

Hands down, my favorite Maps feature in iOS 10 is Apple's new "Parked Car" marker. If your vehicle has either CarPlay or Bluetooth connectivity, your iPhone will recognize where it last chatted with your car, and mark it in the Maps app. Not only that: It'll tell you when you last parked (so that you can accurately monitor meters), and offers a notes field where you can add a photo (of your parking garage number) or different notes. I have used this feature pretty much daily since installing iOS 10, and my forgetful parking lot self can't really imagine life without it.

Beyond the Maps app

Maps is one of Apple's test-case apps that supports third-party embedded extensions: Though not as expansive as, say, Messages, Maps will let you book reservations and rideshares directly through the app — even from the directions screen. It's clearly a very limited concept at launch (there aren't that many rideshare services, period), but as with Apple's other embedded app experiments, this could snowball very quickly if it proves successful. I'd love to be able to embed Carrot Weather in place of the fixed weather widget, for example.

How to use Apple Maps

If you're wondering exactly how to do a particular thing in the Maps app, you'll want to check out our ultimate guide. It covers the gamut of actions you can take with the app, from viewing and sharing your location to filing a troubleshooting report.

Maps App: The Ultimate Guide

Transit directions

Maps offers transit directions to an ever-expanding list of cities across the world. These directions allow you to find trains, buses, ferries, and other means of mass transit near you, and which routes will most efficiently get you to your destination.

Apple Maps and transit directions: Which cities have them?

Airport navigation

Airports can be massive, sprawling messes of different gates, food courts, and baggage claim areas. Apple offers a solution to this navigation nightmare with one of its more recent additions: indoor maps for airports

Complete list of Apple Maps 'Look Inside' for Airports

Troubleshooting

Problems crop up with every piece of software, but for Maps, that could mean everything from a bad turn-by-turn instruction to being given a completely nonsensical route. With Maps' built-in tools, you can report a variety of problems to Apple directly in the app.

How to report a problem in Maps on iPhone and iPad

Questions?

If you have any questions about the Apple Maps app, let us know in the comments.

Google Maps is an alternative mapping service to Apple's native Maps app. It's also got about a decade more experience under its belt. Though Apple Maps is a worthy adversary, and continues to improve constantly, Google Maps has been the go-to service for a lot of people. If you want to know more about Google Maps, here's everything you need to know.

What's new with Google Maps?

Check back here for the latest updates in Google Maps news.

This morning at the Google I/O 2018 developer conference in Mountain View, California, Google announced a myriad of improvements soon coming to Google Maps (among tons of other cool stuff.) These improvements include a brand new section chock full of recommendations just for you, tools to help you better plan get-togethers with your friends and family, AR street view, and more.

Google's new recommendations section — called simply "For You" — is slated to roll out this summer. It's basically made to show you new places in your area that you might like, and will let you know about restaurants opening up near you, the new hottest spots to check out, and any other cool haunts that may be of interest to you based on places you've already been and places you've rated positively. It'll even show you how well your personal tastes will match up with restaurants you've never been to, providing you with some much-needed assistance when answering one of the most dreaded questions of all time: "What do you want to eat?"

What's more, if you and your friends (or family, or theatre troupe, or D&D group, or whoever else you hang around) are having a difficult time choosing a place to go, Google Maps will help you settle it with a real-time vote. All you have to do is long press on a location you may want to visit and select the option to to add it to a list, which you then can send to your companions (who can also add their own suggestions). Once everyone's finished giving their two cents, you can all vote on where to meet.

Finally, Google also announced a feature that may prove to be incredibly helpful for individuals who struggle to read traditional maps: an AR Street View version of walking directions. Just like in a sci-fi movie, you'll be able to see an AR information overlay as you walk to your destination that will tell you exactly where and when to turn, where you're headed next, and what locations and streets are in your vicinity, keeping you as in-the-know as possible while navigating.

For more information on other announcements Google made today, I'd check out Android Central's Google I/O 2018 hub.

With Google's recent announcement and release of gaming APIs for Google Maps, which allow developers to better integrate real world locations into their games, three previously-announced augmented reality games have been revealed to be powered by Google Maps.

Jurassic World Alive places AR dinosaurs at real locations, marked on the game's map, which you can go and find by heading to that location in the real world, much like Pokémon Go, with some dinosaurs also existing exclusively in a single specific geographic location. The Walking Dead: Our World is an action game that pits you against walkers in real-world environments, fighting beside AR companion characters, and giving you the ability to explore to find nests of walkers, new weapons, and other collectibles. Finally, Ghostbusters World takes a similar path, letting you find ghosts to bust on the game map, sending you to real locations to fight and then trap your spectral enemies in augmented reality.

These games are all due out later this year.

What is Google Maps?

Google Maps features driving, walking, and transit directions for both the iPhone and iPad, complete with voice guided GPS navigation. Google Maps is available in over 220 countries and territories with transit directions included for over 15,000 major cities around the world. Google Maps also comes with Google's popular Street View feature built right in to help you find exactly what you're looking for. It gives real-time estimated time of arrival using current traffic conditions and provides alternate faster routes whenever possible, even during mid-travel.

You can use Google Maps to get you around town when walking, biking, taking public transportation, and even hailing a ride from Uber or Lyft.

How to get Google Maps on your iPhone or iPad

Google Maps is an iOS app available in the App Store for free. You don't have to sign up or subscribe. You can use Google Maps anonymously, or by signing in with your Google account.

Download in the App Store

How do I sync my Google account to Google Maps?

If you have a Google account (like from Gmail, Hangouts, Google Play, or YouTube), you can sign in with your Google credentials and keep your data synced across all devices you use, including Macs and PCs, windows phones, and Android phones. Depending on what permissions you give, you can save maps you've searched for on your computer, get directions to someone in your Contacts, and save favorite locations to easily find in the future.

If your Google account is already synced with your iPhone, it will automatically appear in Google Maps. You can also sign in manually.

To sign in to your Google account,

1. Launch Google Maps on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap the Menu icon in the upper left corner. It looks like three stacked lines.
3. Tap Choose an account.
4. Tap your Google Account and sign in.
5. If you don't see your Google account listed, tap Add account.
6. Enter your Google account email or phone number.
7. Tap Next.
8. Enter your Google account password.
9. Tap Next.

You'll be logged in and ready to go.

How to use Google Maps

Google Maps is fairly easy to use, but there are a lot of unique and useful features that can make your navigation experience a whole lot better. If you sign in with your Google account, you can also sync searches from websites, save your home, work, and other addresses, and more.

• How to find locations and get directions with Google Maps
• How to use Siri with Google Maps
• How to share location and directions with Google Maps
• How to delete your search history and prior destinations in Google Maps
• How to save your parking spot with google maps

Troubleshooting Google Maps

If you're having trouble getting Google Maps to work for you, please let us know by posting a comment and we'll update this post with detailed information on how to fix the problem.

At the 2018 Games Developer Conference, Google spoke about ARCore and its newly announced Google Maps API for game developers. What started with examples of how games could be played in the real world, unveiled a deeper level of possibility that I'm excited to see in the future.

When you think about a Google Maps API, I'm sure you're thinking, "Pokémon GO." That's what I first thought. But that only scratches the surface of what this new developer cool can do. It's more than just a way to map an environment and plant augmented reality characters into it. It has the ability to literally change the environment around us ... in real time ... with relative real-world changes.

Google will provide game developers with four key features for their games. First, access to Google's massive Maps data (which is updated approximately 25 million times per day), access to Unity's physics engine so they can create unique graphics with the data they have from Maps, information about real-world landmarks and points-of-interest so they can create special play around those areas, and the ability to deliver this information on a global scale, even in countries where game developers have never been.

How access to Google's massive mapping database can make games meticulously detailed

Google has spent more than a decade gathering and organizing detailed location information about nearly every nook and cranny of the populated world. They've got a plethora of pre-made maps. Sure, it's cool when a game developer creates a previously non-existent world, but the Google API will make it possible for game developers to use maps that already exist. Very detailed maps of streets, buildings, street carts, trees, everything. And, this mapping data is constantly being updated with new information, like new buildings or streets that have closed. Games don't usually have this level of detail, regularly adjusted for the changing environment.

Using the Unity engine, game makers can change what a city looks like without changing the core details that already exist. Maybe you want candy canes where street lights should be. Using the Google Maps API, street lights are already in real-world, properly-distanced plots on the map and all you'd have to do is make them look like candy canes instead using the Unity physics engine.

A candy-coated New York City? I'll bite!

Game developers can alter what the real world looks like by using Unity's physics engine. The SDK includes minor things like building caps or changes to what appears in an open field, as well as, night and day cycles for a realistic real-time experience and the ability to completely change the layout of structures around us.

Every building, street sign, tree, whatever, can be designed to look a different way, including taller, shorter, or even removed from the map entirely.

When demonstrating the possibilities of the Google API, there is an example of a candy theme overlay in which New York City looks like it jumped off the Candy Land game board. Every building has sugar coated decorations and additional items are rendered in the form of candy carts, gummy bears, and jelly rainbows.

This is just one example of the way Google Maps, Unity, and game developers' imaginations can unlock a new way to view the world around us.

In-game assets lead you to a real-world point-of interest

Google is also including assets that can be automatically mapped to points of interest in the real world. It's not unlike how Niantic mapped locations for gyms and PokéStops, but game developers don't have to do any of the work because Google already did, and has been for more than a decade. The data is already there waiting for developers to implement into their own games.

For example, using the Unity SDK, developers can tick a box for, say, restaurants and put a candy cart where ever a restaurant exists in real life.

This goes for all sorts of landmarks, businesses, and points of interest. Filter the type of location you want to add a special item to and everywhere they exists in that city is identified on the map for you.

It makes it incredibly easy for developers to add unique experiences based on real locations.

But what about NOT the real world?

What does all of this mean? It means the potential for some seriously good looking games with incredibly detailed environments that won't use a massive amount of space or be too intense for mobile devices. Imagine your favorite open-world games on consoles. Now imagine it on your iPhone. Google Maps, combined with Unity has the potential to create an immersive open-world environment that doesn't lag or overheat your device.

Which got me thinking about other possibilities the combination of Google Maps and Unity could have for the gaming world outside of just augmented reality.

It doesn't have to be AR. Google has successfully proven that we can take virtual trips around the world using Google Street View Treks. It stands to reason that developers could create immersive, meticulously mapped games that you can play right on your Mac or PC.

It might not seem as impressive as looking at your local landmarks and seeing a dragon flying over head, but it could make it much easier for developers to create realistic worlds in games simply because they're using real-world maps.

PC games can benefit hugely from the same Google Maps API and Unity graphics engine to create epic game maps that players can explore in-depth without having to physically be in a specific city to experience it.

Going beyond AR

I'm excited to see what the Google Maps API can do for the future of augmented reality and gaming in real-world environments, but I'm also hoping this can be used for games that don't require players to actually leave the house in order to experience an immersive, meticulously detailed world. I'm hoping for a complete shake-up of stay-put gaming, too.

Do you use ride-sharing as your main form of transportation? You may soon be able to pay monthly for all those rides instead of paying for each of them individually. First reported by Andrew J. Hawkins at The Verge, popular ride-sharing service Lyft has apparently been testing what it calls an "all-access pass" for several months now that allows regular customers to pay for their transport like they would Netflix or Apple Music — with an upfront monthly fee.

As Hawkins notes, the subscription plan is currently invite-only, and seems to be targeted at individuals who regularly spend $450 or more a month on Lyft rides. The subscription models also seem to differ in price and organization depending on who you ask: one invite offers 60 standard rides per month for $399, one offered 30 $15-and-under rides for $199, and yet another promised Engadget seven rides per week for $49.

Uber, Lyft's most direct competitor, tested something similar back in 2016 in select cities such as Boston and Miami, but apparently it never quite took hold. However, according to Hawkins, Lyft CEO Logan Green seems particularly dedicated to the idea, saying at a press event this past Wednesday that the company is "going to move the entire industry from one based on ownership to one based on subscription."

While some people may say this is similar to a bus pass or other more affordable monthly public transit plan, that isn't true for everyone. As someone who doesn't own a car and lives in an area where public transit isn't as readily available as it is in other cities, I find the idea of a subscription plan for ride-sharing services — and furthermore, ride-sharing as a substitute for car ownership — to be an extremely intriguing option. However, it's still unclear when (or even if) it will be made widely available.

Thoughts?

Would you utilize a Lyft subscription plan? What do you think paying monthly for ride-sharing services as a concept? Share with us in the comments!

March 10 is Mario Day (Mar10) and Google is getting in on the action. In collaboration with Nintendo, Google Maps has a fun new character to your driving directions. When you're ready to go, tap the Prize Block question mark in the bottom right corner to trigger Mario Time.

When you tap Let's-A-Go! your GPS marker will turn into Mario driving his familiar racer from Mario Kart. He travels along the route with you until you arrive.

The cutest part is the animation and audio that goes along with the Easter egg. When you tap the Prize Block, you hear the coin sound effect. When you tap Let's-A-Go, Mario says, "Woo hoo! Let's-a go!." While you're driving, his racer bounces along just like it does in Mario Kart. When you arrive at your destination, Mario gives a "Woo hoo!" and pumps his fist in the air.

Google reminds everyone to drive safe.

Mario Time is available in the Google Maps app running the latest version for iPhone and Android devices. It lasts for one week.

Apple's original Maps app debuted with the first iPhone in 2007 and pulled location data from Google. Apple brought Maps to the first iPad in 2010 as well. Then, in 2012, after deciding they could no longer maintain their relationship with Google, Apple built an all-new, Maps app for iOS 6. It lost transit directions and Street View, but gained turn-by-turn navigation and Fly Over. Apple pulled in data from several different sources, including TomTom, but the data aggregation, cleansing, and sanitizing wasn't well done, leaving Maps prone to misreporting locations and points of interest.

In 2013 Apple brought Maps to OS X Mavericks, including the ability to push directions from the Mac to iPhone. Maps now works on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, and keeps improving every day.

If you've got a long road trip ahead of you this holiday season, you're going to want to hit the road prepared. Make sure you have all the tech you'll need on the road and once you settle in at your destination.

Here's a list of some of the most important tech you need for the long trip ahead!

Mophie Powerstation XXL

First thing's first: Go ahead and get your charging solution figured out.

Because there's no such thing as too much power when it comes to keeping your road trip gadgets up and running, Mophie's $90 Powerstation XXL had to make the list.

This behemoth is a whopping 20,000 mAh battery pack with three USB ports for charging multiple devices.

If your passengers' iPads are running low on charge, they can link up to this monstrous power pack and keep the entertainment flowing!

Because let's be real: No one wants to spend hours in a car with a dead device. "Are we there yet‽"

See at Amazon

By the way, if you've got phones that support wireless charging (like the iPhone 8 and iPhone X), you might consider snagging Mophie's $50 Charge Force Powerstation Mini. It's a 3,000 mAh battery pack that features Qi wireless charging capabilities. It'll only work for one device at a time, but at least you won't have to fumble with cables!

See at Amazon

Seagate Wireless Plus Hard Drive

As much as we love our portable devices, there's one complaint I think we can all agree on: When it comes to storing media, they could stand to have a little more storage capacity.

One of our favorite solutions to the problem is this $130 wireless hard drive from Seagate.

You load up the hard drive with all your media (leaving your tablets, phones, etc. free of all those space-clogging movies you want to watch) and stream that media directly to your tablet, smartphone, etc. It broadcasts its own wireless network and you simply connect your device to it.

It's got a 10-hour battery and comes in 500GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB variants. Best of all, if you've got multiple passengers with different media tastes, this thing can stream up to three different movies to three different devices at once.

It's a must-have for road trips with children … unless you prefer not to distract your children with media — then this is definitely not for you.

See at Amazon

Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless

If you're a passenger for this year's holiday road trip and you'd rather not listen to the driver's choice of music (or just wanna catch some shut-eye), you can't go wrong with the $300 Sennheiser PXC 550 Wireless headphones.

They've got active, adaptive noise cancellation, up to 30 hours of battery life, and they're wireless! There's no need to worry about getting tangled up in a cord while you're trying to sleep in an already uncomfortable situation.

And this is pretty neat: The earcups feature touch-sensitve trackpads so you can control volume, answer a call, and move backward and forward through your media.

See at Amazon

Bose QuietComfort 20

Not big on bulky headphones? Check out the $250 Bose QuietComfort 20 headphones.

These adorable little in-ear headphones offer active noise cancellation and they're doggone comfortable. Bose calls their ear tips "StayHear+" — tbh, I don't care what they call them as long as they keep making them this comfortable. The soft silicone-like material hooks into the shape of your ear and the in-ear portion shapes itself to the space inside your ear. When I first tried them on, I was worried they would let in too much outside noise with noise cancelation disabled. I couldn't been more wrong. They're equal parts comfortable and isolating.

The QuietComfort 20s also feature an in-line microphone and remote so you can control your media without having to pull out your device. They're the perfect choice for a long road trip if you're not into on-ear and over-ear headphones.

See at Amazon

Traveling?

Are you hitting the road this holiday season? Where ya headed? Are there any must-have gadgets on your packing list? Gimme a shout with your answers in the comments below or over on Twitter!

Updated December 2017: This gift guide has been updated with new products, links, and images to help prepare you for your holiday trip. Happy Holidays!

Uber is one of the most popular ride services but they're by no means the only option. If you don't like their policies, their privacy protections, how they treat their drivers, the surge pricing popup, the latest redesign — or the news that the company just covered up a massive hack — or anything about them at all you can delete the app, delete your account, and try something else.

How do you delete your Uber account?

To delete your Uber account:

1. Go to https://help.uber.com/riders/article/i-am-unable-to-delete-my-uber-account---?nodeId=24010fe7-7a67-4ee5-9938-c734000b144a in Safari or your web browser of choice.
2. Tap/click Sign In To Get Help.
3. Enter your Uber-associated email address or phone number.
4. Tap/click Next.
5. Enter your Uber password
6. Tap/click Next.
7. Enter Yes to confirm.
8. Enter a reason if you have something specific you want to share.
9. Tap/click Submit.

How do you delete the Uber app?

Deleting the Uber app is easy.

1. Touch the Uber app icon and hold until it begins to jiggle.
2. Tap the Delete icon (looks like an X).
3. Tap Delete to confirm.

What if you change your mind?

Simple. Download the Uber app again and make a new account.

• Download Uber

Any questions?

If you run into any problems or have any questions, drop them in the comments below!

Update: Comments disabled. We'll keep doing that until everyone learns to communicate politely and with respect.

Uber has revealed that, in late 2016, two hackers stole email addresses and phone numbers from Uber rider accounts, and the license numbers from U.S. driver accounts. Uber claims no credit card information, location data, or social security numbers were compromised. Yet, instead of disclosing the attack when it happened, Uber paid the hackers $100,000 to delete the data and keep it quiet.

From Bloomberg:

Uber's co-founder and former CEO, Travis Kalanick, learned of the attack a year ago.

The company claims it took steps to lock down its data and prevent any further unauthorized access.

Khosrowshahi has fired chief security officer Joe Sullivan and Craig Clark, a senior lawyer that reported to Sullivan.

Uber as also posted a statement to its company website which, along with an apology, reads:

You may be asking why we are just talking about this now, a year later. I had the same question, so I immediately asked for a thorough investigation of what happened and how we handled it. What I learned, particularly around our failure to notify affected individuals or regulators last year, has prompted me to take several actions:

• I've asked Matt Olsen, a co-founder of a cybersecurity consulting firm and former general counsel of the National Security Agency and director of the National Counterterrorism Center, to help me think through how best to guide and structure our security teams and processes going forward. Effective today, two of the individuals who led the response to this incident are no longer with the company.
• We are individually notifying the drivers whose driver's license numbers were downloaded.
• We are providing these drivers with free credit monitoring and identity theft protection.
• We are notifying regulatory authorities.
• While we have not seen evidence of fraud or misuse tied to the incident, we are monitoring the affected accounts and have flagged them for additional fraud protection.

This is a complete and utter cluster. The breach was bad enough. The cover-up, a potential show-stopper.

Uber was at the forefront of a logistical revolution. They completely transformed the way people arranged for, paid for, and engaged with transportation services. But under its original leadership, it also accumulated a startling number of scandals. And the number of times it violated customer trust and good faith is staggering. This is just the garbage cherry on top of the unacceptable sundae.

If the new leadership had a lot of rebuilding to do before, it has even more now. The question is, how many of us will give them yet another chance?

How to delete your Uber account

Recently, Google rolled out a new test feature to a small number of users that showed them the amount of calories that they could burn by walking their chosen route instead of driving or taking public transit. In an attempt to make the caloric amounts more tangible, the feature also translated them into — get this — mini cupcakes.

It seems the company's intentions were pure in that it wanted to playfully encourage a bit of physical activity. However, it's clear that Google didn't take users that may struggle with disordered eating into account. Many individuals took to Twitter to voice their concerns, saying that the new feature made them feel shamed and judged for eating and could be an extremely harmful trigger for those battling eating disorders. The worst part: the feature wasn't something you opted into, and there was no way to turn it off.

https://twitter.com/sosaysm/status/919743903707824128

Some also noted that the fact that Google was measuring the calorie count in cupcakes, a food most often associated with women, meant it was contributing to the dangerous and unhealthy diet culture young girls and women often fall prey to.

As a result of all this, the the cupcake calorie counter didn't even last a whole 24 hours before it was pulled. I speculate that reception of this update would have been different had it been an optional thing users could toggle on or off by choice. As someone who has had a lot of experience with shame and self-hatred centered around eating and body image, I understand the constant pressure to obsessively count calories. Though these triggers may seem small and trivial to some — and oh boy, did they — to others they're a first step toward relapse.

As of right now Google hasn't commented on whether or not it's going to tweak the feature and reintroduce it at a later date, but it's looking like chances are slim.

Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick is taking a leave of absence from the head of his company as the bad news around the ride-hailing service continues to pile up. Kalanick's leave of unspecified length comes at a critical time for Uber, and at a tragic personal moment for the CEO — his mother died in a boating accident and was buried on Friday. Given everything that's going on, he says he is taking some time "to reflect, to work on myself, and to focus on building out a world-class leadership team."

Kalanick has his work cut out for him. Uber has been plagued for the past several months by allegations of sexism and harassment throughout the entire company, targeting government officials to avoid authorities in major cities and even entire countries, and even obtaining the confidential medical records of a woman who claimed to have been raped by an Uber driver. The turmoil prompted Uber to launch an extensive probe, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder that has so far resulted in more than 20 firings and still has more than 100 other employees under investigation. Holder's investigation also provided a number of recommendations for Uber, including protocols for HR complaints and bringing transparency and continuous feedback to the employee review process.

But the probe's house-cleaning isn't the only staffing problem facing Uber. A number of high-level executives have departed the company in recent months — some due to their own misconduct or turning of a blind eye to said misconduct — others have decided that they're not interested in going down with the ship. With Kalanick's leave of absence, Uber is now a company without a permanent CEO, COO, CFO, CMO, or SVP of Engineering, along with several other empty desks with varying levels of VP assigned to them.

While purging the bad apples is the start to improving a toxic corporate culture, it's only the start. Uber's new hires will have to set the example for what Kalanick and the Uber board want to see from the company and its employees, and any residual toxicity will have to be stamped out with impunity. Uber has been revealed to be the poster child of the Silicon Valley "bro culture", and fixing that starts with admitting that bro culture is not okay, whether you're a garage start-up or an 8-year-old company with $6.5 billion in revenue and 12,000 of employees and even more drivers. In fact, accepting that Uber clearly isn't a start-up anymore is probably the start of moving away from the adolescent attitudes that pervade the Valley.

And while the corporate culture is fixed, so too will Uber's public image need rehabbing. They've already made a few steps in that direction, including hiring former Apple Music marketing chief Bozoma Saint John as the new Uber Chief Brand Officer. While Uber's the highest profile incident of revealed skin-crawling practices and attitudes, this is far from the biggest catastrophe for a corporation to survive. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill dumped nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, contaminating swaths of ocean and shoreline, and cost BP $18.7 billion in fines. BP is still around.

There's also the nature of Uber from the customer's perspective. Most users have been obtained via word of mouth and their interactions with the company are entirely with Uber's on-demand contract drivers. Few ever communicate with Uber corporate, and when they do it's to solve a problem with a drive. Uber's problems are almost entirely internal and cultural, which is harder to visualize on the evening news than a massive oil spill or a train crash or the dollar signs that accompany a massive bankruptcy.

It's worth noting that Kalanick is not above the fray here. He's been personally implicated in encouraging and perpetuating the frat-house culture of Uber. In one example, a memo sent out before a full-company party in Miami, Kalanick laid out a number of rules for the party. Okay, that's fine, right? Not when you have to advise your partying employees about drug use, throwing kegs off rooftops, and that you should obtain emphatic consent before having sex with a fellow employee (and that you shouldn't work in the same chain of command). In February, Kalanick had to publicly apologize after video surfaced of a shouting match he had with an Uber driver over driver rates and Uber's future.

Kalanick said at the time, "The criticism we've received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up. This is the first time I've been willing to admit that I need leadership help and I intend to get it."

We've all been to busy shopping malls, and we've all walked out after an intense shopping trip only to realize that we left through a different door than we came in, and we have no idea where our car is. Google Maps now helps you out by letting you save your parking spot.

Here's how!

How to save your parking spot in Google Maps

You'll just need to make sure Location Services are enabled before proceeding.

1. Launch Google Maps on your iPhone or iPad (though why you're lugging around an iPad when you're out, I don't know).
2. Tap the blue location dot that denotes your location.
3. Tap Set as parking location. A little white 'P' in a white circle will appear on the map beneath your blue location dot.

That's it. Google Maps will save that spot for 12 hours, and you'll be able to tap it at the bottom of the Google Maps window to bring it up and view or add a photo of the spot. You can then download the spot or share it with other folks you're traveling with.

Do you ever lose your car?

Is this feature something you'd use? Or do you think it's superfluous and we're becoming too reliant on this kind of thing? Sound off in the comments below.

Google Maps recently added a new location-sharing feature to its app for iPhone and iPad. This is useful when you're trying to meet up with people, especially in large areas like parks or beaches. You can easily choose who you share with, how long you share, and how. The app also makes it easy to share directions to destinations, great for getting input on potential routes or for planning shared trips with other drivers.

Here's how you can share your locations and directions with Google Maps.

• How to share your location directly with Google Maps
• How to share your location in Google Maps with a link
• How to share directions in Google Maps

How to share your location directly with Google Maps

Google Maps offers a couple of different methods for sharing your location. The first is sharing directly in Google Maps itself with people on your Google Contacts list.

1. Open Google Maps on your iPhone or iPad
2. Tap the Menu button (looks like three stacked lines)
3. Tap Share location.

4. Tap Get Started.
5. Tap the + or - buttons to increase or decrease the amount of time your location is shared with people. Alternatively, tap Until you turn this off to deactivate location sharing manually.
6. Tap Select People to share your location directly through Google Maps.

7. Tap the icons of the people that you want to share your location with.
8. Tap Share.
9. Tap Turn On.

How to share your location in Google Maps with a link

Google Maps also allows you to share with people using a link that can be freely shared using Messages or a third-party app.

1. Open Google Maps on your iPhone or iPad
2. Tap the Menu button (looks like three stacked lines)
3. Tap Share location.

4. Tap Get Started.
5. Tap the + or - buttons to increase or decrease the amount of time your location is shared with people. Alternatively, tap Until you turn this off to deactivate location sharing manually.
6. Tap Messages to share in a text message or iMessage, or tap More to share in a third-party app like Messenger or WhatsApp.

7. Choose who you want to send the link to in Messages or your third-party app.
8. Tap the Send button in Messages or your app.

How to share directions in Google Maps

This is useful if you're planning a trip and need input on directions from others, or if you're planning a multi-vehicle excursion to a shared destination.

1. Open Google Maps on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap the blue directions button in the lower-right side of the screen.
3. Enter your starting point and destination.

4. Tap the options button in the top-right corner of the screen (looks like three stacked dots).
5. Tap Share Directions.
6. Tap the app you want to use to share the directions (in this case, Messages).

7. Choose who you'll send your directions to.
8. Tap the Send button in your app of choice.

Questions?

If you have any questions about sharing your location or sharing directions in Google Maps, kindly direct to the comments.

Google Maps is a great alternative to Apple's built-in Maps app that offers turn-by-turn navigation, helps you find local points of interest, and more. If you use Google Maps a lot, you might feel the need to clear out some of the data once in awhile, including your old search terms and directions.

Here's how you can manage your history in Google Maps.

How to delete your search history and prior destinations in Google Maps

Deleting old search items and directions in Google Maps is fairly easy. Unfortunately, you have to delete items one at a time.

1. Open Google Maps on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap the menu button (looks like three stacked lines).
3. Tap Settings.

4. Tap Maps history.
5. The the "x" next to the item that you want to delete.
6. Tap Delete.

How to clear your app data from Google Maps

This is useful for clearing out downloaded maps, cache data, and resetting cookies. In fact, if you want to get rid of cached data but retain your search history and prior destinations, this is the way to do it.

1. Open Google Maps.
2. Tap the menu button (looks like three stacked lines).
3. Tap Settings.

4. Tap About, terms & privacy.
5. Tap Clear application data.
6. Tap OK.

Any questions?

Do you have any questions about how to delete your search history and prior destinations in Google Maps? Drop them into the comments and we'll help you out.

Although Apple has preloaded all iPhones and iPad with its own Maps app, the Google Maps app is a popular alternative that functions just a tad differently.

If you're looking for help on how to find locations, get directions, or even see business information, then follow along!

• How to find locations with Google Maps for iPhone and iPad
• How to get directions with Google Maps for iPhone and iPad
• How to get transit, bicycle, and walking directions with Google Maps for iPhone and iPad
• How to use Street View with Google Maps for iPhone and iPad
• How to get business information with Google Maps for iPhone and iPad

How to find locations with Google Maps for iPhone and iPad

1. Launch Google Maps from your Home screen.
2. Tap the search bar at the top of the screen.

3. Type in an address or business name.
4. Tap Search.

How to get directions with Google Maps for iPhone and iPad

1. Launch Google Maps from your Home screen.
2. Tap the search bar at the top of the screen.
3. Type in an address or business name.
4. Tap Search.

5. Tap the directions button. It looks like a car.
6. Tap on the route you want to take.
7. Tap Start.

How to get transit, bicycle, and walking directions with Google Maps for iPhone and iPad

1. Launch Google Maps from your Home screen.
2. Tap the search bar at the top of the screen.
3. Type in an address or business name.
4. Tap Search.

5. Tap the directions button. It looks like a car.
6. Tap on the type of directions you want.
7. Tap on the route you want to take.
8. Tap Start.

How to use Street View with Google Maps for iPhone and iPad

1. Launch Google Maps from your Home screen.
2. Tap on the map in the location you want to use Street View.
3. Tap on the Street View.

4. Swipe right or left on the blue line to move up and down the street.
5. Tap the back button in the top left corner when you are done exploring Street View.

How to get business information with Google Maps for iPhone and iPad

1. Launch Google Maps from your Home screen.
2. Tap the search bar at the top of the screen.
3. Type in an address or business name.

4. Tap Search.
5. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen.

In the information section, you can see reviews, popular hours, photos, and much more!

Any questions?

Do you have any questions about using Google Maps to find a location or get directions? Put them in the comments and we'll help you out.

If, for some reason, you've recently decided to stop using one or more ridesharing services, but wish there were an easier way to call for a cab, you're in luck. Curb - The Taxi App works a lot like Uber or Lyft, but it's for cabs.

Taxis vs ridesharing

I have a confession to make. I've never felt good about using a ridesharing service. I worry about how the taxi industry can survive when these startups come in and seriously undercut the competition. I do use Uber and Lyft, but I feel guilty every time I do.

I used to sit on my high horse and preach about how important it is to support the cabbies instead of calling a ridesharing service just because it's cheaper... and easier.

And then I took my first Uber ride. After that, like a drug, I found myself using it again and again, even though I felt guilty about it. It really is cheaper... and way easier.

But, taxis have a few advantages that rideshare companies do not. Taxi drivers are fully covered under their company's insurance policy. Rideshare drivers do need insurance, and are partially covered while they have a rider in their car (and their app is open and running), but can be dropped from their insurance company if their coverage does not include commercial coverage. Taxi drivers are required to undergo a background check - in some states a fingerprint scan is required, which is run through an FBI database. Rideshare companies do perform background checks, but don't require a fingerprint scan. Because taxis are regulated, they undergo audits and inspections more often than a rideshare company does.

The quick and dirty: Ridesharing costs less and is easier to use. Taxis cost more, but provide better protection for the rider.

How does Curb work?

When you first install Curb, you'll be asked to set up an account. You'll put in your name, phone number, and email address. You'll also connect your credit or debit card. Curb is supported by VeriFone, which is the credit card company that most Yellow and Green cabs use for payment transactions. So you can feel secure (as secure as you normally would paying for a cab ride) setting up your payment options.

Once you're set up, you'll enter a Drop off location and select Book Now. You can then enter your destination location to get an estimate of what the ride will cost. From my experience, taxi rides through Curb run about $2 more than non-surge priced ridesharing rides.

You can see, just like in the Lyft and Uber apps, where your taxi is currently located and how long it will take to get to you. In my city, estimated pickup times are about three minutes longer than ridesharing pickup estimates.

When your taxi arrives and your driver starts his meter, you'll get a notification that your ride has started. You'll also be asked to confirm the default tip or customize your tip (you can select no tip) within the app.

When you arrive at your destination and the taxi driver stops the meter, your connected payment card will automatically be charged. You will receive a notification and an email with the total amount charged.

Then, you're done. In a nutshell, it's pretty much the same experience as using Uber or Lyft.

How Curb compares with Uber and Lyft

There are some small differences between Curb and the two most popular ridesharing apps, Uber and Lyft, that might deter you from making the switch.

First of all, taking a cab via Curb costs more money. You may get a ride estimate of only $8, but end up paying $12 when all is said and done. This is because the ride estimate is an estimate and driver doesn't have to adhere to that amount. What you end up paying is directly based on how long the meter is running. Plus, every ride you take through Curb costs an additional $1.95 service fee, so you'll always have to tack on a couple of extra bucks to the cost.

Then, there is the tip. Uber and Lyft have traditionally suggested that there is no need to tip the driver (though Lyft has a tip option in the payment section). Cabs have traditionally been a tipping industry and it is expected.

When it comes to how long you have to wait, you'll be waiting a little longer for a cab than you would for an Uber or Lyft (depending on the city you live in, of course). Even though the Curb app might show an estimated time of arrival as eight minutes away, I noticed that it took about 15 minutes, each time, for my cab to arrive.

Why you might like Curb better

There are a few small things about ridesharing that I've never really liked very much. Taking a cab can be somewhat freeing in that way.

There is no surge pricing with taxi companies. It may cost you a little more overall to get from point A to point B, but it will never cost you four times as much to get from point B to point A. The price will always be the same, no matter what time of night it is.

You can ask your cabbie to make extra stops or even take you through the drive through. If you want to make a late night detour, it's no skin off your driver's nose. I personally have been refused an extra stop by my Uber driver en route. Every rideshare driver will be different, but I've never had a cabbie refuse to make a quick stop at the liquor store on the way to my house.

Should you switch back to taking a cab?

If you've been considering not using a ridesharing service for one reason or another, Curb is a great app for making the transition back into the cab culture. Things have changed in the taxi industry since ridesharing first started. It is easier to get a ride than it used to be, and prices have gone down. It's still not perfect, but the experience has improved.

If you've ever been scared about getting into a car with a perfect stranger and have heard stories about drivers for some ridesharing companies, you may feel better about getting into a cab. Taxi drivers have a lot more to lose by upsetting a customer. It is usually their entire financial livelihood, not just a second job to make some extra pocket money.

If you've ever questioned how it is that ridesharing companies can charge so little and wonder if drivers are being properly compensated, or feel concerns that cab companies are losing business because other companies are undercutting the market, Curb will give you the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting the industry, while making it easier to catch a ride.

If you hate the idea that your driver gets to rate your performance as a rider and worry that you may get a poor rating just because you weren't friendly enough with your rideshare driver, taxi drivers don't rate their fares.

What do you think?

In the end, it is a personal choice. If you've wanted an better experience than you've had in the past with taking a cab, but can't get over how easy it is to use Uber or Lyft, you should give Curb a try. You'll be pleased with how easy it is to use, even with it's faults.

If you can't get over how much less expensive it is to take an Uber or Lyft and feel like the cab companies have had a monopoly on the ride-hailing business long enough, stick with what you've got. Curb is definitely more expensive, and taxis have not gotten that much more reasonably priced.

What do you think? Have you been pondering the idea of going back to taxi rides? Are you all-in with the rideshare industry? Do you use both? Let's discuss in the comments section.

Please remember to be polite.

With its latest update, popular translation app iTranslate is going pro. The app now includes an optional purchase for iTranslate Pro, which features offline translations, voice-to-voice conversations, and even an action extension for translations inside Safari and other apps.

Here's what people can expect with iTranslate 10:

Pro Features:

• Offline translation mode.
• Voice-to-Voice conversations.
• Website translation including a nifty Safari extension.
• Verb conjugations in different tenses.

More New Features:

• Support for iOS offline voices.
• Full screen view.
• Actions toolbar for a quicker workflow.
• Handy paste button.
• Beautifully re-designed apps for iPhone and iPad.
• Nifty "Did you mean?" feature to help you correct typos.
• Smarter language detection.
• Improved Favorites & History.
• Improved language settings.

iTranslate Pro is available as an in-app purchase of $2.99. You'll find iTranslate 10 on the App Store now.

• Free - Download Now

Fancy eating out at that incredible restaurant both yourself and friends really enjoy, but can't quite muster up the effort to get dressed and head out the front door? No worries, simply fire up the new UberEATS app and have the company deliver food from said establishment straight to your door. Uber has offered food delivery in the past, but now there's a dedicated app.

Available for iOS and Android, the new app offers this unique service to those who reside in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Toronto. Think of the experience as ordering a private vehicle, but instead of transporting people, you're having the driver bring your dinner to your house. And since it's Uber, ordering the vehicle itself is convenient as ever.

The company notes that Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Melbourne, New York, Paris, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. will be added in due course. Download UberEATS and let us know how you got on with regards to ordering and receiving your meal.

• Free - Download Now

HERE announced that the 6,500 strong team has officially bid farewell to Nokia to bring all its global mapping and location technology under a new umbrella backed by Audi, BMW and Daimler AG. It's not the end of the mapping giant relied on by millions, but rather the opening of the flood gates to new advances in the field, as well as in-car services.

With self-driving vehicles already in development by multiple companies, HERE will certainly look to leverage its mapping platform and available data to insert itself as a viable provider for said concepts. They haven't forgotten their roots, however. HERE has committed to provide an open platform accessible to all customers, whether you're inside your automobile or on your smartphone.

HERE already utilizes its high-tech vehicles to essentially map the world. We managed to take a look at said vehicles some time ago, but the company will also be looking to incorporate anonymized data from its new backers, enhancing the platform with multiple sources for information. Automated driving is a serious goal for HERE.

So what will change for you and the HERE Maps mobile apps? Not a lot, if anything at all. The company has committed to provide its mapping platform to all customers, regardless as to what you're attempting to navigate on.

Source: HERE

You know the drill when it comes to a summer road trip: The bags are packed, but before you leave, you've got to make sure you haven't forgotten any essentials.

Sure, there are probably stores in Oregon, but do you want to re-buy something you already own? Traditionally, I would be fretting about sunscreen or water or if I brought enough socks, but this is 2015, so instead it's about Lightning cables and power adapters and mapping apps and hotel Wi-Fi. Welcome to the 21st century road trip.

Vacation, meet technology

Last week, my family and I got back from a meandering, 2,000-mile journey from the Bay Area to just north of Seattle and back again. While a large part of the adventure was just what you'd expect from a classic road trip—mom and dad pull to the side of the road and then drag two somewhat unwilling kids out of the car to look at some allegedly interesting landmark—I was struck by how much technology has become a key factor in the planning and execution of these trips.

My wife said that she wanted to take a road trip, but I ended up doing the planning. That meant a lot of use of the Maps app and Google Maps website on my Mac. I didn't sweat the details too much, knowing that we'd be doing most of our navigation via iPhone inside the car. But I did need to pick general destinations and find hotels: I used the web for research on hotels and booked all of our stops online, as you do these days.

Groupthink planning

It's funny: When I book business travel, I use my own priorities to choose a place to stay. But for this, I was concerned not just with budget, but with my wife's request for an included breakfast and my kids' demand for good Wi-Fi. (Like most members of the younger generation, my kids are obsessed with YouTube. YouTube requires good Wi-Fi. Dad is bad if he does not provide good Wi-Fi at the hotel stop.)

Our itinerary was also strangely modified by the existence of Facebook. Between my home in the Bay Area and the Seattle area lie out-of-the-way towns in which friends of mine from high school and college live. I haven't seen these people in ages, even though we stay in touch on Facebook, because when would we ever be in the same place? On this trip, we visited two of them, with everything coordinated via Facebook. I can't say I'm the world's most enthusiastic Facebook fan, but this would not be the last time that Facebook made a positive impact on our trip.

Packing for power

When it came time to pack, in addition to the usual bug spray and sunscreen one brings with them on vacation, we had to supply power for our various Apple devices. My daughter has an iPhone, my son an iPad, and my wife and I have one of each. That's a lot of charging cables.

On most trips I bring along a Belkin 3-Outlet Travel Swivel Charger, which provides three power plugs, two USB plugs, and pivots to fit in weird plug locations. Those two USB plugs also match up well with the Scosche 2-USB charger permanently placed in the power port in our minivan, so we can bring two Lightning cables without any associated power bricks.

My daughter packs her own charging cable, and we manage to split two iPad chargers across the three remaining iPads. You can actually plug everything into the Belkin power brick, which we often did. This made packing up after a night in a hotel easier, because I could pull out the power brick and all the cables would come along, ready to be packed away in my tech bag.

Ah yes, the tech bag. For this trip I used a long-discontinued Brenthaven backpack, though the company's Metrolite is the nearest analog. I chose a backpack because it could do double duty as something I could bring on a hike, like the one we took at Crater Lake.

On watches, photography, Maps, and music

This is the first trip I've taken with an Apple Watch. I enjoy my Apple Watch a lot, but I don't love the fact that it requires I bring yet another charger with me. I don't have a clever solution to share with you—I brought the watch charger and plug, big surprise—but I also brought along my Elevation NightStand, and was glad I did, since it allowed me to position the watch charger somewhere visible and not forget it in the morning.

What I didn't pack—and this was a first for a family vacation—was my fancy digital camera. It takes fantastic pictures, but it's another heavy device to tote, with its own charging setup. I agonized about it, during and after the trip, but when I look at the pictures and video my family managed to take with two iPhones 6 and one iPhone 5, I can see why I opted to leave the big SLR behind.

Yes, there were times I wish I had my good zoom lens, but would I have really pulled the thing out and carried it onto Cannon Beach on a crazy-windy Saturday morning? Probably not.

Once we hit the road I navigated mostly using Apple Maps, which worked just fine, thank you very much. The current iOS 9 beta of Apple Maps is much better at finding nearby restaurants for food stops, but I also relied on Yelp. We managed to never eat at a big chain restaurant or fast-food joint on our entire trip. (Excepting the one time we stopped at a Dairy Queen because my daughter wanted us to stop, and it's a vacation for parents too sometimes, you know?)

I've enjoyed streaming music on Apple Music since the service launched, and when you're driving down major freeways you almost never want for cellular data. But in rural California, Oregon, and Washington, our iPhones displayed No Service a lot, and we also spent a lot of time on AT&T's Edge network, too. So my daughter was glad that I showed her how to save music for offline listening, and I was glad that I had installed a new flash drive in the iPod in the minivan's glove compartment so that we had plenty of music to play on the ride, even when we were avoiding cows on the road outside Ashland.

A smooth ride

It turned out that my online research into hotels worked out pretty well, though a couple of the hotels failed the fast wi-fi test—making my kids a bit cranky. We didn't have a problem connecting to the wi-fi, but getting a fast connection was often out of the question. I see this at tech conferences a lot—unsurprisingly, flooding a hotel with heavy Internet-using computer nerds tends to generate a lot of Internet traffic.

But it's happening in real life, too. As streaming internet video becomes standard behavior, an Internet pipe that was suitable for a bunch of business travelers checking their email can become unusably small. Still, some of our hotels passed the Wi-Fi test with flying colors. I was even able to attach my Amazon Fire TV stick in a couple of places and stream video on the in-room flat screen.

Finally, we used our technology to stay in touch. Every day my wife bundled up a bunch of the photos she had taken during the day and posted them to Facebook, which essentially gave everyone who follows us a day-by-day journal of our trip. It was fun to see friends' reactions to our pictures, including travel tips and stories of what they had done when they had visited the same location.

I also used my tech to stay in touch, posting podcasts from the road via my iPad and iPhone, answering email, and the like. I tried to keep my work to a minimum—this was a vacation, after all—but I was able to keep things moving without it ever feeling like I was doing actual work.

One admission: Though I didn't mention it above, I did bring my MacBook Air with me on the trip. I pulled it out exactly once, to edit a podcast. Then it went back in the backpack and I tried to pretend it wasn't there. The laptop feels like work. The iPad feels like leisure. I tried to keep it that way.

In the end, our 2015 summer road trip was a success. Yes, there was lots of technology in the car. There were also running family jokes, beautiful sights, visits with friends and family, and everything else you'd expect from a road trip. Some things never change.

Nokia's quest to sell off its HERE Maps division may have come to an end. A new report claims that the company is close to signing off on a deal that will sell the maps division to German-based car makers Audi, BMW and Daimler for over $2.71 billion.

Nokia put its HERE maps business on the block earlier this year, and it attracted a number of suitors. However, it was the trio of German car companies that apparently had the best offer, according to The Wall Street Journal:

Source: Wall Street Journal

At the beginning of this year, my roller derby league moved their practice space north of Boston, changing my five-minute commute to somewhere in the 55-minute vicinity. Boston is notorious for its rush hour traffic, and our move meant that for the first time, my naive work-at-home self was routinely stuck in it.

Lucky for me, I had ETA. The $1.99 app from Australian-based Eastwood lets you make a list of your frequent destinations, and every time you load it, live-calculates the time it will take to get to those destinations. It even has a live-updating Notification Center widget to quickly launch your route in the Maps app of your choice.

ETA 2.0, released Wednesday, takes it all up a notch: It's added traffic indicators to each route (green for clear, yellow for slow, red for stopped) as well as a forecaster, which gives you a quick 2-5 minute prediction for traffic going forward. Even better, ETA now offers multiple route options for both driving and walking, as well as a one-tap button to send a friend your travel information.

If these features (and a great interface redesign) were all that ETA 2.0 brought to the table, it'd be a great update. But ETA has one more trick up its sleeve: an Apple Watch app and Glance.

I've been testing ETA on the Apple Watch for a month now, and it's far and away my favorite app. On the Watch, ETA offers the same scrollable list as on your iPhone, providing travel estimations and a tiny traffic indicator to the right of the location. Tap on a destination, however, and you'll get a bigger travel time, mileage estimation and current route, arrival time, and traffic indicator. Scroll down, and you can tap the map to get directions. Scroll further, and you can change those directions to walking, or select this location as the one displayed in your Glances.

The ETA glance is maybe my favorite part of ETA on the Watch — in four taps, I can quickly get directions to my most-often driven place (roller derby), no dictation processing or map loading to be done. Swipe up, tap ETA's glance, tap the map to load directions, tap Driving, tap start. Easy peasy.

My only real disappointment with ETA on the Watch is a disappointment with WatchKit and Maps in general — Handoff-enabled Watch apps are sometimes slow at talking to their iPhone counterparts, and Maps on the Watch is limited to Apple Maps (on the iPhone, you can set ETA to automatically source Google Maps, Waze, Navigon, MotionX, or Citymapper).

Bottom line

If you travel by car or foot frequently to specific locations, you'll adore ETA. And if you have an Apple Watch, you may find it an even bigger help — if you don't mind being limited to Maps.

Amsterdam-based TomTom will keep providing data to Apple for use in its Maps app. TomTom revealed the news in an extremely brief press release:

This news comes on the heels of Apple "confirming" on Sunday that it has acquired GPS company Coherent Navigation, in an apparent move to improve its mapping technology.

Source: TomTom

Users will now be able to view a map full screen, view transit line colors when receiving transit directions, and filter search results for restaurants rated on Zagat. Here's the full breakdown of what's new in Google Maps 4.4.0:

• View a full-screen map by tapping an empty spot on the map
• See transit line colors on the map when you get transit directions
• Filter search results for Zagat-rated restaurants (where available)
• Type, or tap the mic and say, "directions to" a place for faster results
• Bug fixes

Overall, all of the new features look to be welcome changes. However, the addition of of transit line colors is especially noteworthy for anyone trying to get around in the city. To snag the update, simply hit up the store link below to get started.

• Free - Download Now

While the previous version of HERE Maps for iOS was built around HTML5, the new release is a completely native app, designed for iOS 7 and iOS 8. The new app also features an offline mode, allowing you to save maps to your device, according to the official HERE 360 blog:

Offline car navigation features full turn-by-turn audio support, including spoken street names, for both driving and walking. HERE Maps also lets you save destinations ahead of times with Collections, and you can create and view your collections on iOS, Android, Windows, and the web.

HERE Maps is rolling out on the App Store right now, though you may have trouble downloading the app due to the extended iTunes Store outage.

• Free - Download Now

Source: HERE

I don't drive around Boston a whole lot — the perks of working from home and living in a fairly walkable city — but when I do, it's often to specific locations: my roller derby league's practice space, "Fort Independence," for example, or my boyfriend's house. Apple provides an easy way to add bookmarks for frequent destinations, but the Maps app isn't so great at being able to see quick traffic estimations on the go. Asking Siri "How long will it take me to get to X?" will get you directions from the Maps app, but there's no quick way to preview travel time or routes.

Enter ETA: the $1 app and accompanying Notification Center widget not only stores your frequent locations, but gets accurate walking or driving time estimates for you from your favorite map app, too.

The app itself is minimalistic in nature, displaying clear and easy-to-read entries for each of your destinations. Tapping on one will reveal its precise location along with how long it'd take you to get there if you were walking (or driving, if you have walking enabled by default); your estimated arrival time; and shortcuts for driving directions, a text message that contains your ETA, and editing name for the location. If you want to quickly toggle between driving and walking, you can also swipe to the right on any location.

Adding new locations is as simple as tapping the plus button and entering an address (or selecting a contact); once you've added it, the location appears in your ETA list.

One of ETA's big perks, for me, is being able to select which maps app I want to use for estimations and directions: Apple Maps, Google Maps, or Waze.

But the cherry on top is the app's Notification Center widget, which displays the most recent three destinations in Notification Center's Today view and lets you tap them to get turn-by-turn directions. It's a little annoying that you can't select which three destinations you'd like shown, but I'm hoping that'll get tweaked in a future version. Regardless, it's become one of my most-used Notification Center widgets, and it's an awesome app for any frequent traveler.

• ETA - $1 - Buy Now

Apple's taken a bunch of steps in the past few years to make it easier to find directions for any given address, including data detectors that intelligently make addresses tappable in Messages, Maps search suggestions in Safari, and more. But the system isn't perfect, and I often find myself executing far too many steps every time I want to get directions for a location — even more so if I want to use Google Maps.

Instead, I offer a simpler solution: Using Workflow, you can quickly get directions to any address from your clipboard. Friend didn't format their address in a way iOS can parse? Don't want to go through the hassle of copying and pasting an address from one place to your Maps app of choice, waiting for directions to load, and so on? This fixes all that.

To use this trick, you'll have to have the Workflow app installed. Trust me: It's just $2 and will pay for itself a million times over.

The workflow itself is pretty simple: It gets the content of your clipboard, gets directions for that address, and opens it in the Maps app of your choice. (I have Google Maps selected.)

You can download my workflow from the Workflow website on your iOS device; after you do, here's how you can use it.

Option A: Use an action extension

By default, the workflow is set up as an option whenever you tap the Share button in a program. So, in Safari for instance, all you have to do is copy the address you want, tap the Share button, tap Run Workflow, and select the Open In Maps workflow.

Option B: Use a home screen web app

If you're using an app that doesn't have the share sheet — like Messages, for example — you can also add the workflow to your Home Screen, where you can launch it as a regular app. To do so, just follow these steps.

1. Open the Workflow app, and under My Workflows, tap the Open in Maps workflow.
2. Tap the Settings icon in the upper right corner.
   

3. Tap Add to Home Screen.
4. Choose the color and glyph you want to see on your home screen.
5. After Workflow sends you to Safari, tap the Share icon.
   

6. Tap the Add to Home Screen icon in the Extensions list.

You'll then have a home screen icon for that workflow that you can tap at any time after you've copied an address to have it run.

In short...

I really love this trick, and I've made a bunch more workflows to address similar tiny gaps in iOS's infrastructure. Anyone else played around with Workflow and made anything cool? Let us know in the comments.

Yesterday we told you about a big overhaul coming to Google Maps, and today that overhaul has arrived. The Google Maps app for iPhone and iPad has been bumped up to version 4.0, bringing a whole new "Material Design" look to the mapping, search, and navigation app.

In addition to the new look, which features a lot of bright colors and a flatter design, the Google Maps update is also bringing integration with OpenTable for finding restaurants and making reservations at said restaurants, and integration with Uber that will allow you to estimate the wait time and fare for a ride with the private car service.

By and large Google Maps still works the same way on iOS and Android, it just has a nice new design, optimizations for iOS, and proper support for the bigger screens of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Check it out and let us know what you think of the new look.

• Free - Download Now

Every day dozens and dozens of new and updated apps and games hit the iOS and Mac App Stores. It's impossible to keep up with them all, but it's not impossible to pick out the very best. Here they are! Today we've a huge update for Wunderlist users, a new app for sharing secrets, discounts on popular games, and more!

New iOS apps

• Maskerade - A new social app that is similar in concept to [Secret](. Share a status anonymously and view what others around you are saying. You can delete statuses you share as well as vote others down for deletion if you don't like them. Free - Download Now

Updated iOS apps

• Wunderlist - With a completely redesigned interface and over 60 new features, Wunderlist 3 reimagines what tasks and todos should be. As always, Wunderlist is completely free for individuals unless you want group collaboration. Free - Download Now
• Automatic - A trip tracking and mileage estimation app that pairs with the Automatic extension for your car. This update adds a tone that sounds at the beginning of each trip so you know Automatic is working properly. The update also contains bug fixes. Free - Download Now
• Zest - A recipe management app that lets you save recipes from many of the popular recipe magazines and data bases on the web. The 2.1.2 update brings full support for the iPhone. You can also sign up for Zest Cloud in order to sync all your recipes between your devices. Free - Download Now

Discounted iOS apps

• LIMBO - A dark and eerily beautiful story of a boy on a quest to find his sister. You're tasked with guiding him through tons of worlds that are ready to be explored. Currently $2.99 - Download Now

Updated Mac apps

• Wunderlist - The popular task app for iOS also brings a new design to the Mac and all the new features the iOS counterpart receives in Wunderlist 3. Free - Download Now
• iStat Menus - Lets you monitor the performance of your Mac right in your menu bar. This update brings lots of improvements and bug fixes as well as support for the mid-2014 21.5" iMac. $16 - Download Now

More new, updated, or discounted apps?

If you see anything in the iOS or Mac App Store that you think is worthy of a shoutout today, be sure to let me know in the comments and we'll add it in!

Delta has just updated their Fly Delta iPhone and iPad apps to give passengers the ability to stream movies and TV shows through the app when connected to in-flight Wi-Fi. Streaming is done through the Delta Studio section of the apps.

Delta Studio lets travelers watch movies and TV, including live satellite TV, HBO, Showtime, and previously-run episodes from a number of networks. For instance, this month Delta will be showing Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Vikings, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and more . Now, instead of watching through the screens built into the plane, you can watch all of these and more on your own device.

You can download Fly Delta for iPhone version 2.8 and Fly Delta for iPad 1.6 from the App Store right now.

• Free (iPhone) - Download Now
• Free (iPad) - Download Now

Budget U.S. airliner Southwest Airlines has added mobile boarding passes to their mobile apps on Android and iOS. The update brings functionality to Southwest's app that competing carriers have offered for some time: just load up your boarding pass code on your smartphone and scan it on your way through security and when boarding your plane. Not only does it save on paper, it's more convenient with automatic location-based availability.

Southwest started testing the mobile boarding pass system last year in Texas, and is now rolling it out to airports across the United States.

When checking in for their flight online or with the Southwest app, customers will be able to request a mobile boarding pass. Those checking in online can have it sent via email or text, while those using the app will get it right from the app. And if you so desire to be all luddite-like, you can still print off a copy of your boarding pass on a sheet of dead tree.

The updated Southwest Airlines app is available now from the App Store.

• Download now for iOS — Free

The British Airways app for iPhone has today seen a massive overhaul that makes it – finally – an app you'll want to use when travelling. The visual differences are staggering and no longer does it feel like simply a mobile website inside a wrapper. It's really, really good.

For starters we've now at long last got an app that iOS 7 is worthy of running. The old, stale interface has been replaced with large images in the background – of the cities you're visiting no less – a slide out menu and silky smooth scrolling as well as ensuring the important information remains easy to access.

If you're a BA Executive Club member, the main bar across the top of the app will change color reflecting your status, and we get some added bonuses with this new app such as current weather conditions at your destination and quick access to some of the airline's current cheapest fares right from the main menu. Booking flights has been improved too, as has the mobile check-in experience.

The old British Airways app was for many just a way to get your boarding card into Passbook, with it becoming too frustrating to use in recent times. With the arrival of version 5.0, all that is in the past. British Airways has given us an app that we would actually want to use in the process of travelling with them.

The update is live in the App Store now and you'll find it at the link below. British Airways is my own preferred airline, so I'm really pleased with this fantastic new app. If you're in the same boat, take a look and let me know what you think of it in the comments below.

• Free - Download Now