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Apple Maps update will make Canadians’ next run in a new city a breeze

The new Maps update unlocks a host of features for travellers

Photo by: Apple

For the rare Canadian runners who still get to travel for work, the latest update to Apple’s Maps app, unveiled in Canada today, will make going for a run in a new city a lot better. (The updates apply to driving and transit use also.) The more detailed and accurate map and features like Look Around and Guides make it both easier and more fun to create routes and find your way around, wherever you happen to be.

Photo: Apple

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With the update (which hit the U.S. a few weeks ago), the Maps experience is now richer for Canadians, too, with, among other things, more detailed 3D renderings of buildings and road features and better pedestrian data. Addresses are more precise, directions more intuitive, and more choices are available to enhance your runs and your visit as a whole. Whether you carry your iPhone on your run or rely on your Apple Watch, or just use the features to plan an outing from your hotel room, you’ll be amazed at what Maps allows you to see and do.  

Photo: Apple

If you’re in Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver or parts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and a variety of smaller cities, Look Around’s interactive, high-res 3D photography gives you a 360-degree view of what’s around you. Navigating through unfamiliar territory will be a pleasure, and getting safely back to where you started, while enjoying the sights and sounds of your new location, will be effortless. (The enhancements apply when you’re driving, too – and Maps will even factor in charging stations for those who drive electric cars.)

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Photo: Apple

Thanks to trusted local and international partners like Toronto Life, Narcity and Lonely Planet, the Guides feature offers expertly curated, shareable lists of attractions, shopping and restaurants you’ll want to take in while you’re in town. The Flyover feature lets you see an entire city from above in three dimensions, and you can zoom in and around streets and landmarks to situate yourself. There is also an Indoor Maps feature for airports and malls in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and Quebec City, and Flight Status gives you updated flight information, check-in times, gate locations and more using Siri Intelligence.

Photo: Apple

Runners can rest assured that privacy is built into the Maps app, which is not connected to your Apple ID. No sign-in is required, your location is obscured on Apple servers and the brand does not maintain a search history. In images including people and cars, faces and license plates are blurred. 

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