iOS 18 Beta: Your iPhone’s Maps App Gets This Handy Hidden Feature
Apple is holding its September event today, but it released the sixth public beta of iOS 18 on August 29, more than two months after the company announced the iPhone software at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The beta brings a host of new features to the iPhones of developers and beta testers, like RCS notifications, ways to customize your home screen and an upgraded Calculator app. Your Maps app is also getting an upgrade, and one new feature you’ll notice is the ability to “Search Here.”
Throughout the event, follow CNET’s iPhone 16 live blog for more details on all the features and devices Apple announces.
Before iOS 18, when you searched for a place that served pizza in Maps, the app would show you nearby restaurants. But if you live in a densely populated area like New York City, or you want to see if there’s a pizza restaurant in a specific neighborhood, Maps might not be helpful. With the iOS 18 beta, a “Search Here” option now appears in Maps, giving you more control over the area you search in.
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Since iOS 18 is still in beta, I recommend downloading a beta build on something other than your primary device. Beta builds can be buggy and cause short battery life, and it’s best to keep those issues on a secondary device. I download and test beta builds on an old iPhone XR to keep those issues away from my primary phone, an iPhone 14 Pro.
Please note that the beta is not the final version of iOS 18. More features may be available on your iPhone when the software is released in the fall.
If you’re testing the iOS 18 beta builds, here’s how to search specific areas in Maps.
Read more: Everything you need to know about the new features in the iOS 18 betas
How to use Search Here in Maps
1. Open Cards.
2. Enter a term, such as “pizza”, in the search box and tap Search Query.
At the bottom of your screen you will see ‘Search here’.
Maps show you pizza restaurants near you. If you zoom in on an area, or move the search area in any way, then Search here button will appear at the bottom of your screen. Tap this button and Maps will search the area on your screen without adjusting or reorienting the map.
When you search for a new pizza place and zoom in on an area, Maps will now show you results for the new area. It will no longer zoom you out or move your search area.
Keep in mind that iOS 18 is still in beta, so this feature could be buggy or not work properly. There will likely be more beta builds before the OS is released to the public this fall, so Apple has plenty of time to address any issues. There is no word yet on when Apple will release iOS 18 to the general public.
For more information about iOS 18, here’s my hands-on experience with the iOS 18 beta, how to customize your iphone home screen and our iOS 18 cheat sheet . Plus, check out what to expect at Apple’s iPhone event in September.
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