Apple Maps isn't among the apps with the most new features in iOS 27 – but it's still worth a closer look. From a significantly more realistic Flyover and clever location suggestions to more accurate information about visited places, the update brings several practical improvements. Here are all the new Maps features in detail.
With iOS 27, which has been running as a developer beta since WWDC 2026 and will be released to everyone this fall, Apple Maps is also getting a number of new features. This time, the focus is less on a major overhaul and more on numerous targeted improvements: The map display will be more realistic, the search function will be more sophisticated, and some existing features will work more reliably. Below you'll find each new feature along with its key features.
Flyover will be significantly more detailed
The most noticeable change concerns Flyover. Apple combines the existing aerial image rendering in iOS 27 with visual intelligence models, thus improving image quality using AI. The result is more structure and sharper details – from the shape of individual trees to the way light reflects off the glass facades of skyscrapers.
Flyover presents landmarks, streets, parks, and buildings in over 350 cities in three dimensions. Until now, the view has relied on aerial photographs taken from airplanes; the iOS 27 version refines this material with AI, making selected cities appear noticeably more lifelike.
New Liquid Glass Icon
With iOS 27, Apple redesigned several of its Liquid Glass app icons, giving them additional glass-like layers. This makes the icons appear deeper and more three-dimensional. The difference is particularly noticeable in the Maps app icon.
Local Lists: Suggestions from the surrounding area
With Local Lists, Apple Maps analyzes what's currently popular in your area and suggests places worth visiting based on that data. The app compiles locally relevant collections of places to make popular and interesting destinations easier to find.
The feature is designed with data privacy in mind and does not access information associated with individual users. Local Lists is initially available only in the USA.
Trending restaurants in the search
The search interface will soon include a dedicated section for popular restaurants. Apple Maps will display the top addresses in your current location – a quick and easy way to find a place to eat on the spur of the moment.
Voice search understands more
Natural language search is expanded in iOS 27. A new feature allows users to specifically request routes that avoid toll roads or highways via voice input. This enables users to express route preferences without having to navigate through multiple menus.
New Parked Car Widget on the Apple Watch
A new widget for parked cars is coming to the Apple Watch's Smart Stack. It displays the car's last known location, with information pulled from the iPhone. This means a glance at your wrist is all it takes to find your way back to your vehicle.
Better offline maps
Apple has also revamped offline maps. In iOS 27, more places are displayed on the map, labels are darker and clearer, and icons are easier to see at a glance. Tapping on a location, such as a city, automatically zooms in on the area, allowing you to see what's there.
How offline maps for individual regions can be downloaded remains unchanged – however, the presentation of the saved material becomes clearer.
More specific "Places visited"
The "Visited Places" feature in iOS 27 works more accurately and misses fewer locations. It automatically logs the places you've been and organizes the stops by category and location. You can access this overview via your profile picture, the "Places" tab, and then "Visited Places."
This feature was introduced with the more personalized Maps features in iOS 26; in iOS 27 it will be extended to more regions.
Apple Maps in iOS 27: The most important features at a glance
Overall, the Maps update in iOS 27 is more compact than some other apps – the Home app, for example, receives the largest iOS 27 update. However, Apple Maps offers many useful improvements: the more realistic flyover, the enhanced voice search, and the more accurate location data make the app a well-rounded everyday tool. Local Lists and the trending restaurants encourage exploration, while the new Parked Car widget and the streamlined offline maps increase its practicality. Not a spectacular update, but a thoroughly solid one.
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Frequently Asked Questions: Apple Maps in iOS 27
A more detailed flyover, a redesigned liquid glass icon, local lists, a trending restaurants section, enhanced voice search, a parked car widget on the Apple Watch, better offline maps, and more accurate visited locations.
Apple combines aerial imagery with visual intelligence models and enhances image quality using AI – with sharper details from trees to glass facades in over 350 cities.
A feature that suggests places to visit based on what's popular in the area. It's designed to be privacy-friendly and is initially only available in the US.
Yes. In iOS 27, you can specifically request routes that avoid toll roads or highways via voice input.
On the Apple Watch, the Smart Stack displays the car's last known location, with the data being taken from the iPhone.
More locations are displayed, labels are darker and clearer, symbols are more easily recognizable, and when you tap a location, the map automatically zooms in.
Apple unveiled iOS 27 at WWDC 2026; the final version is expected in autumn 2026, the beta phase is currently underway.
