GoKawiil
Tech News
Apple Maps is displaying building footprints across Gaza that match pre-war conditions, even though many of those structures have since been destroyed. A comparison image circulating online contrasts this with Google Maps, which reportedly shows the current, damaged state of the area.
Apple Maps has begun obscuring satellite views of several NASA and U.S. Space Force and Air Force installations, including Wallops Flight Facility, Stennis Space Center, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Vandenberg Space Force Base, and Whiteman and Ellsworth Air Force Bases. The change appeared without any Apple announcement, and coverage is inconsistent—some sensitive sites like Dyess and Barksdale Air Force Bases remain unblurred, as do large Navy installations such as Pearl Harbor and Norfolk. Google Maps has not made similar changes to these locations.
A review of Apple Watch usage explains that watchOS manages background processes and system caches largely on its own, unlike the periodic reboots recommended for other devices. Apple recommends a restart mainly when storage is too full for a software update, and users can manually clear cached web data through Settings. Hands-on testing found some Apple Watches ran for years without a manual restart and showed no notable performance decline, since watchOS reboots already occur with each software update.
A tech review highlights five navigation apps for Apple CarPlay that it says outperform Apple Maps in certain scenarios. Waze is singled out for drivers facing heavy traffic, thanks to real-time alerts from other drivers about accidents, speed cameras and congestion. The Google-owned app also includes Gemini-powered Conversational Reporting, letting users log incidents by voice instead of tapping the screen.
Apple's iOS 27 update adds CarPlay support for video apps, letting drivers watch content on their vehicle's screen once parked; playback switches to audio-only automatically when the car starts moving. The update also redesigns the Now Playing screen with album art, controls and a progress bar, and Apple says it improves wireless connection stability and GPS accuracy. New wallpapers and the ability for apps to share route data, including EV charging stops, are also included.
Apple has expanded its Detailed City Experience feature in Apple Maps to cover Austin, Texas, including 3D renderings of the Circuit of the Americas track ahead of next week's Formula 1 United States Grand Prix. The update adds 3D day and night views of landmarks like the Texas State Capitol and Sixth Street, plus detailed track features such as grandstands, pit buildings and entry points, alongside navigation upgrades like marked bus and bike lanes.
Apple has expanded its Detailed City Experience in Apple Maps to Austin, Texas, adding richer elevation, building, tree and road data along with landmarks like the Texas Capitol and Q2 Stadium. Apple also added a dedicated Circuit of the Americas experience with 3D track details ahead of next week's F1 United States Grand Prix. The updates are live now on iPhone, iPad, Mac and CarPlay.
Waze, the crowdsourced navigation app owned by Google since 2013, includes a 'Drive to friends & family' feature that lets users start directions to a saved contact's address without typing it in manually. The feature requires granting Waze access to a phone's contact list, which can later be revoked through device settings on iPhone or Android.
MapQuest has launched beta support for Android Auto, extending its mapping app to in-car displays on the platform. The move follows a surge in MapQuest's popularity after it kept the name 'Lake Ontario' unchanged while Apple and Google altered references under pressure from President Trump, with MapQuest saying usage rose 50-fold and downloads topped 1.5 million.
Apple allows users in the EU and Japan to set Google Maps as their default navigation app via Settings > Apps > Default Apps, making it open automatically through Siri or CarPlay. Users outside those regions can still use Google Maps in CarPlay but must manually launch it or append phrases like 'on Google Maps' to Siri requests to bypass Apple Maps.
Apple's iOS 27 update introduces two major additions to Apple Maps: an AI-boosted Flyover mode that renders more detailed aerial imagery of select cities, and a US-only Local Lists feature that groups trending restaurants and other popular spots. The update also expands Suggested Places into a horizontally scrollable list, adds a Trending Restaurants section to search, and introduces natural language search for routing.
MapQuest has launched public transit directions in its iOS and Android apps, with web support coming soon. The feature covers nearly 2,000 cities in 70 countries, offering door-to-door trip planning across buses, trains and trams, real-time departure data for over 350 cities, and station access details.