iOS 26 gives Apple Maps a new look and 'Visited Places' tool
Apple announced iOS 26 at its 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday. The new iOS will bring a major design change powered by "Liquid Glass," which also means big changes for Apple Maps.
That big redesign means, first and foremost, that Maps will look a bit different. The embedded images below, for instance, show that Maps notifications will remain partially visible while you do other tasks.
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The other major changes are basically aimed at making Maps smarter.
Visited Places
A new tool called Visited Places will help users remember places they've been. If you enable the tool, it'll automatically remember places you've been, such as shops and restaurants. The company wrote in a press release that Visited Places will be "protected with end-to-end encryption and cannot be accessed by Apple."
Better directions
Apple said on Monday that iOS 26 would improve your daily commute.
It wrote in a press release that "iPhone can now use on-device intelligence to better understand a user’s daily route, presenting them with their preferred route when they’re headed home or to the office, along with notifying them of delays and offering alternate routes."
That means your iPhone should understand which route you like to drive, walk, or take transit and warn you when a different route is more efficient.
Hopefully, that means iOS 26 will lessen the time wasted in traffic.
Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).
