Explore and navigate on your wrist ????

Smartwatches are one of the most popular wearable categories globally. Statista estimates that more than 300 million people will use smartwatches by 2023. Are you one of them?

I am, even though it took me a long time to convince myself to get an Apple Watch. I was initially drawn to the Apple Pay feature, which I found super convenient for use on public transportation in London. There's no need to pull out your phone each time you're entering the tube. Other main use case is obviously tracking my activities. Unlike my fellow runners, I use an Apple Watch to track my runs and other outdoor activities. I also find it useful to import external GPS traces to my Apple Watch with a third-party app to follow my running route if I’m running in unfamiliar areas.Unfortunately, Apple Maps still does not support visualizing GPS imports.

Lately, I've started to use maps on my watch more often. With the latest watchOS 10 updates, the maps have become more functional and useful for day-to-day life. I wanted to share my experience of how the Maps app has improved with Apple’s latest OS releases.

?? Exploring surroundings

The discovery and search functionality have greatly improved with the latest version. Most watch map apps simply project what you see on your smartphone. Now, you can interact with maps on the watch and search for places around you. You can ask Siri for the best sushi place within a 10-minute walking distance and see suggested places on the map. Or you can search for the nearest drinking water or toilet around you.

??? Get Directions on your wrist?

You can search and start navigating directly from your Apple Watch. Maps show you alternative routes and different means of transportation. I've tried turn-by-turn navigation while walking, biking, and using public transportation. It works perfectly. I enjoyed the hands-free experience with audio hints and regularly checking directions on my watch with map view. I find it fascinating that Apple Maps uses human-perceivable statements such as “turn right at the upcoming traffic lights”, “go along the pavement and cross the street”. It feels so human in the era of AI??

The Walking Radius feature shows points of interest around you. The map displays a circle indicating walking distance in terms of minutes. You can change the radius with the digital crown.

?? Offline Maps

You can save an area for use in the Maps app on your iPhone and view it on your paired Apple Watch. With downloaded maps, you can view POIs and get turn-by-turn navigation. It’s especially useful during outdoor events in the wild where you may not have coverage but can have access to the map on the watch. Apple’s new release contains contour lines and shade reliefs, however, it seems these are only available in the US for now. Looking forward to have outdoor maps available in UK.

I'm excited that maps have become more accessible and are solving real-life problems such as turn-by-turn navigation and exploring surroundings on smartwatches.

Have you tried using Maps on your Apple Watch or any other smartwatches? Let me know how was your experience!?#maps #applemaps