Apple Envisions New Apple Maps Features to Make Google Maps Feel Outdated

Apple Maps and CarPlay now spearhead Apple's push beyond the technology world, so the technology giant has become very committed to new features and innovative functionality that will give its products a major lead over rivals.

Apple Maps will receive new features with the release of iOS 18, albeit their purpose is to bring Apple's mapping service closer to Google Maps from a functionality perspective. This doesn't mean that Apple isn't already thinking of ways to make Apple Maps a more revolutionary product.

A patent called "user interfaces for customized navigation routes" provides a closer look at how Apple wants to make Maps integral to the driving experience.

As with other Apple patents, this idea is divided into two components that can eventually be combined for more advanced functionality.

The first part involves the vehicle type. Apple describes how Apple Maps can offer customized routing based on your engine profile – a feature already available in cars with Apple Maps integrated into the infotainment system, with the app reading range information to suggest charging or refueling stops.

Apple explains that Apple Maps would look at how much fuel or battery range you have when beginning navigation and look for routes within the available range. If you can't reach a destination without refueling or recharging, Apple Maps looks for gas stations or charging stations. The application can estimate how much extra fuel or charging time is needed to arrive at the destination, and it can display how much fuel or battery level is left after navigation is complete.

Apple Maps aims to get you to the destination regardless of the engine type under the hood. It can offer customized routes with automatic stops for fuel or charging, letting you choose if you want to follow the suggestion or continue navigation.

The second component concerns driving to a destination in a zone with access restricted based on the license plate. Apple Maps would require users to define the license plate to determine if the vehicle is subject to license plate restrictions when setting up navigation. The application can look for special routes that avoid these restrictions, allowing you to choose how you want to navigate based on full vehicle data.

Eventually, Apple Maps can combine these two components for advanced navigation, taking into account more vehicle information, including the engine under the hood and the license plate number. Apple explained that Apple Maps would search for routes that meet all criteria, suggest refueling or charging stops, and scan for possible license plate restrictions. Users will get notifications within the app and on the iPhone lock screen when navigation is enabled.

Similar capabilities would make their way to CarPlay.

Apple Maps is getting more and more improvements, and it all started with the detailed city experience, whose rollout has yet to be completed. The detailed city experience was announced three years ago, but the global availability phase hasn't been reached. It includes Apple's in-house maps, with rich details like medians, crosswalks, sidewalks, and 3D buildings. The detailed city experience also expands the availability of Look Around, Apple's alternative to Street View, and brings Waze-inspired incident reporting to users where the feature is life.

The debut of iOS 17 last year provided Apple Maps with one of the most requested features. The offline maps allow users to navigate to a destination without an Internet connection, albeit users must download the data before they begin driving. The feature works similarly to its sibling in Google Maps, albeit Apple has added support for more travel modes without an Internet connection.

Google is also working non-stop on improving Google Maps, and this week, the company teased a new mobile app refresh that would simplify the tab bar at the bottom of the screen. Furthermore, Google Maps recently received a controversial interface update that brought new colors for forests, lakes, and roads. The new color palette was received with mixed reactions by users worldwide, with some launching petitions to convince Google to restore the old look. Everybody eventually got used to the new interface, and now Google is focusing on other features for Google Maps.

One of the latest updates for Google Maps is Gemini integration. The ChatGPT-inspired assistant can now look for route information to a user-defined destination and launch Google Maps for navigation. In the future, Gemini could make it easier for users to find places to go based on custom and more complex requests.

If you want to read Apple's full patent, you can find the document in the box after the jump, but keep in mind that the technology is still on the drawing board. A patent isn't a sign that a new feature could reach the production stage.