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iOS 18 is about to make Apple Maps better than ever

Apple Maps is finally getting a vital "Search Here" button that should be a huge quality of life improvement to users. Here's what it does.

Two iPhones showing a comparison between Google Maps and Apple Maps.
Google Maps (left) versus Apple Maps (right) Jesse Hollington / Digital Trends

Apple Maps has finally gotten a fundamental but heavily requested and long-awaited feature: the ability to “Search Here” on Apple Maps. The new button comes with the rollout of iOS 18, and it allows you to search for a specific location on the map when it isn’t in your current location.

For those new to the Apple ecosystem, the way it worked in the past was that you could search for something, but as you moved the map around, the app would populate it with results as you scrolled. That required a lot of moving and zooming, and the app would often reset the location.

This was a big pain point for many users, with many Redditors rejoicing at the addition, so it’s great to see Apple finally address it, along with some other fundamental quality-of-life changes like bringing the Calculator app to iPad OS 18.

According to 9to5Mac, you can also fine-tune the area you’re searching with more granularity than before. “Let’s say you search in Apple Maps for “Wawa,” then move the map to show you Philadelphia. As you move the map and zoom in, you tap the new ‘Search here’ button to easily search for Wawa locations within Philadelphia.”

As Android users are keen to point out, Google Maps has had this feature for years, but better late than never.

Aside from this improvement, Apple Maps also has various UI tweaks that allow you to see points of interest at a glance with bolder colors and text. Some of the bigger and more notable improvements include the ability to get custom routes for walking and hiking, a topographic map layer, offline hiking support, saving notes for the trail, and more.

iOS 18 is already available in beta, but general users should expect it to hit in the fall, most likely in mid-to-late September after the anticipated iPhone announcement. Most iPhone users should be able to take advantage of it up to the iPhone SE 2nd and 3rd generation, as well as the iPhone XR, though only iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will be table to take advantage of Apple Intelligence AI features.

Are you tired of paying for streaming services you never watch just to get a phone plan feature you actually want? T-Mobile has good news for you! The carrier is rolling out new plans, called T-Mix, in early November to replace its old Experience lineup with a build-your-own perks system called Picks.

The benefits you choose vary from streaming and gaming to food delivery, AI, satellite service, and phone discounts. But if you are satisfied with your existing plan, you can keep it.

Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.

Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.

Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.

I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.