Apple Maps Ridiculous Routing

TidBITS Talk
41

I’m currently in London and Apple Maps has me mystified with some of its proposed routes. Yesterday it asked me to turn off the footpath I was on, travel about 400m then follow a path for about 1km before asking me to turn left and join the footpath I was originally on. I could see what was happening so I ignored it and simply followed the footpath. All up I would have walked an additional 800 metres for no reason.

Now I enjoy a good walk, but when I’ve been walking between 15-20 km a day an extra 800m isn’t welcome.

Another complaint. I love setting a destination on my phone then putting it in my pocket and letting my watch alert me to the route. Annoyingly, after walking a km it asks the question “Do you want to record your outside walk” and if you select "yes’, it over-rides the map on the watch and displays the walk information. Feel free to advise how I can get back to the map because all manner of swiping and pressing hasn’t revealed it for me. I have to stop walking, quit the activity, then quit Maps and re-enter the destination to get the phone and watch to sync again.

Surely the software should be smart enough to understand if you’re using Maps, its information should be preferred over exercise information.

42

A few things:

  • Double-clicking the crown reveals the task switcher, like a half-swipe up on the iPhone. You can go back that way.
  • I’m not sure, but the directions may be in the Smart Stack. Roll the crown up, or swipe up on the screen from the bottom.
  • You probably want to open the Watch app on the iPhone and hit General, then Return to Clock, scroll down and tap Maps, and turn “Return to App”. When you are recording a workout, the Workout app likes to take control of the foreground (and grab it if you move away), but setting Maps with the “Return to App” should prevent that happening.
  • Of course if you don’t want to record your walk as a workout, don’t accept the prompt “Do you want to record your outside walk?”
1 Like
43

Many thanks for the suggestions, I’ll attempt to test them when I’m not lost :slight_smile:

I figured there’d be a way to retrieve it but couldn’t find it. What I find most annoying is that an active Map route simply vanishes when you’re actively using it. It’s really poor functionality.

My current option is the last one - I dismiss the prompt.