Apple Maps in iOS 14 will be much more useful if you’re determined to be kinder to the planet. The upcoming Maps release will finally include cycling directions, so you’ll know just how long it’ll take to get home using pedal power. It’ll even let you know if you might have to climb stairs or otherwise hop off your bike along your route. If you’re driving an electric car, you can get EV-friendly routing and charger locations. And if you live in a city with congestion areas, like London or Beijing, you’ll find out if where those areas are and whether you’re allowed to drive in them on a given day.
Apple previously only allowed users to route to or from certain chargers in Maps, but now it will be able to include or add chargers to a trip, even on the fly. Apple says Maps will be able to “track your current vehicle charge and factor in things like elevation to automatically add charging stops along the way,” and that it will only route to compatible chargers. Of course, to get that deeply integrated means the company needs cooperation from automakers, and so Apple said it’s only working with Ford and BMW to start.
This update will also be more helpful to non-Americans, with more detailed map data coming to Canada, Ireland and the UK. These features won’t necessarily get you to ditch rival software like Google Maps, but they do reduce the need to turn to third-party apps for anything other than standard driving or walking.
