Since iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, it has been possible to save material in Apple Maps offline. Ideal for trips where you can hardly use the internet, but still need to be able to find your way. This can also be a solution if you have an iPad without a mobile connection.
- Download maps
- What data?
- How much storage does it cost?
- Manage offline maps
How can you save Apple Maps download offline?
If you are planning to travel, it is a good idea to download the map in advance. This way you can be sure that you can find your way. In addition, stores and other points are also downloaded, including reviews and opening hours. As soon as you do have internet, this information will all be updated.
Extra useful is that the Apple Maps app suggests downloading offline maps if you plan to go to an area with poor coverage. When planning a route, Apple Maps looks at whether you are going to a National Park, for example, where you cannot always expect mobile phone masts or WiFi points. You will then see a link with which you can immediately download the map of your route. Downloaded maps are also available on the Apple Watch, if the paired iPhone is nearby.
This is how you download a map:
- Open the Maps app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap your profile photo in the menu (next to the search bar).
- Tap Offline Maps and choose Download New Map.
- Enter the name of the place you want to download the map from. In the next step you can fine-tune the area.
- Now slide the piece of map to be downloaded into the light field and adjust it if necessary via the corners of this field.
- Finished? Tap Download and wait for it to finish.
Please note that the map is not automatically downloaded to your other devices. If you want to have a piece of map available offline on all your devices, repeat these steps on all those devices. This also applies to using Google Maps offline, which has been available for a lot longer.
In the video below, Apple explains how to use offline maps:
What data is available offline?
Once you download an area in Apple Maps for offline use, almost everything you can do there is available without an internet connection. This data is downloaded:
- Navigation for car, walking, cycling and public transport (without live view of bus, tram, metro, etc.)
- Locations and details of shops, museums, restaurants, hotels and other places of interest (including opening hours and reviews)
- 3D rendering of buildings
You cannot search based on keywords or destinations, so you will have to point to the map yourself if you want to navigate to a very specific address. The satellite view is not available for offline use. During navigation you will not receive traffic information and you cannot make notifications.
How much storage does downloading Apple Maps cost?
If you’re a little tight on storage space on your iPhone, check the size of the map you’re trying to download. An offline map of the whole of Europe is of course great, but it costs a lot of storage. The map of the Netherlands costs approximately 4.8 GB to download. While selecting the area to download, Maps shows how much storage it will take up.
Apple has added a feature to optimize storage, but at the time of writing it is still unknown what exactly this does. As soon as there is more information, we will update this article.
Manage offline maps
There are a number of settings available for offline Apple Maps. You can also delete a downloaded map if you no longer need it offline. By default, your downloaded map will be named after the location you originally entered. This can be changed. For all options, start here:
- Open the Maps app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap your profile photo in the menu (next to the search bar).
- Tap Offline Maps.
Offline map settings
First you will find a button where you can choose whether to download maps via WiFi or via the mobile network. Below that is a green button. Here you can enable or disable automatic updates. This ensures that the downloaded material is automatically updated with new information, such as a new street or changed opening hours of shops. Below you will find the previously mentioned option to optimize storage.
At the very bottom is the option to only use offline maps, even if you do have an internet connection. If you haven’t downloaded a specific area, it will continue to work with mobile data. Even if you have enabled this option. This function can be useful if you are very limited on your data bundle and still want to be able to navigate.
If you want to change the name of a card, tap the card in the list. Here you can add a new name and even edit the downloaded area. For example, if the downloaded area is a bit too large or too small.
