Among several confirmed updates to Apple Maps in iOS 14, it appears Cupertino is adding in-house ratings and photos for points of interest.
Currently, when someone taps a placemaker in Maps, they’re met with reviews from third-party platforms like Foursquare, Yelp, or TripAdvisor; click to read a review and you’ll be redirected to download the partner app. That may change, though, with the upcoming launch of iOS 14—currently available as a developer beta.
Twitter user @BeauGiles tipped 9To5Mac off about the remodel, “now in beta 6.” “I was just looking at a random venue in Apple Maps … and noticed a new ‘Rate & Add Photos’ button towards the bottom,” he wrote. “From there, I now have the option to recommend/add photos for venues (eg, coffee shops and other places of interest).”
Using built-in machine learning, the app can detect when someone has visited a location several times and will then present them the option of rating it, 9To5Mac reported. A new user interface, meanwhile, lets folks recommend (or not) a point of interest with a thumbs up or down, and rate a shop’s products and services separately.
Beau’s tweet didn’t drum up much interest (as of press time, it’s been retweeted twice). But one person responded with intrigue, suggesting that a native ratings system “might be enough to get me to use Apple Maps as default again.” Apple unveiled iOS 14 in June, promising easier app organization, a more customized Messages platform, and various Maps additions—from cycling information and electric vehicle routing to data on congestion and green zones.
