It’s even easier to follow walking directions thanks to an immersive mode that uses augmented reality (AR). When activated, you can follow directions by pointing your device at the buildings around you, and arrows will appear on-screen which send you down the right street.
As you’d expect, AR mode is available for walking directions only – so don’t go pointing your device at the road while driving! To activate the mode, begin a route and tap the walking icon before hitting GO. Then simply raise your iPhone or iPad and scan the buildings when prompted.
Step-by-step walking instructions will appear in AR mode automatically. This is a far safer way to navigate a busy town or city, since instead of looking down at your device, you’re looking up and around you.
AR walking directions will be available from late 2021 in a handful of supported cities, including London, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington DC – and will expand to more cities in the future.
To access the feature, you’ll need a device sporting an A12 Bionic chip, which first appeared in 2018.