Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors.

apple maps 3d feature
‌Apple Maps‌ does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed by the file except for the name, it does mention that this upcoming feature will be limited to the United States at launch.

Custom routes would allow users to set what specific roads they want to travel down, whether for scenic purposes or for the familiarity of a route. Route options beyond the default have been a highly requested ‌Apple Maps‌ feature for several years now, and other services like Google Maps allow users to create custom routes on a computer and then view them on an iOS device.

iOS 18 will be introduced at the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, June 10. For more details about the update, check out our iOS 18 roundup.

(Thanks, Nicolás!)

Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

Popular Stories

iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps. More features and changes will follow in future ...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
maxresdefault

Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We didn't get a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out today. The M5 chip made an appearance in new MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up our coverage and highlighted the main feature changes for each device below. MacBook Pro M5...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New 14-Inch MacBook Pro Has Two Key Upgrades Beyond the M5 Chip

Thursday October 16, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with an M5 chip, and there are two key storage-related upgrades beyond that chip bump. First, Apple says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD performance than the equivalent previous-generation model, so read and write speeds should get a significant boost. Apple says it is using "the latest storage technology," ...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
m4 macbook air blue

M5 MacBook Air Coming Spring 2026 With M5 Mac Studio and Mac Mini in Development

Thursday October 16, 2025 3:57 pm PDT by
Apple plans to launch MacBook Air models equipped with the new M5 chip in spring 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is also working on M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models that will come early in the year. Neither the MacBook Pro models nor the MacBook Air models are expected to get design changes, with Apple focusing on simple chip upgrades. In the case of the MacBook Pro, a m...

Top Rated Comments

coachgq Avatar
21 months ago

Another Apple app that has failed to gain any traction despite years of work and investment. It lags so far behind Google Maps it is embarrassing!

Add it to the ever growing bonfire of failures…. Fire is roaring now!
How does it lag behind? I put an address in and it tells me how to get there. Is there stuff I’m missing out on?
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jarman92 Avatar
21 months ago
I wanna switch to Apple Maps so bad but I just can't stand the Yelp integration ?

Also: FIRST!
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
21 months ago

Another Apple app that has failed to gain any traction despite years of work and investment. It lags so far behind Google Maps it is embarrassing!

Add it to the ever growing bonfire of failures…. Fire is roaring now!
This was true up until like 5 years ago. Now, even people on Android forums complain about how Google Maps has fallen behind.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrGimper Avatar
21 months ago
I’ve always wanted a feature since Sat Nav existed that would allow you to record a route. Many times I’ve had someone tell me they know a better route and they either guide me or I follow their car. Would be great if you could record the journey and then reference it as the preferred route for future journeys.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Eric5h5 Avatar
21 months ago
Yeah, the only way Apple maps lags behind is not having street view in most areas. But where it does exist, it's much smoother and nicer than Google's. Otherwise, the idea of "lags so far behind it's embarrassing" is just...er...how to say..."special". Or mindless trolling.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iObama Avatar
21 months ago

Street view? Can’t just use Apple Maps have to keep another app around.
Look Around was launched a while ago (iOS 13, as a matter of fact! lol). Definitely not as pervasive as Street View yet, but I use it quite frequently in the Bay Area.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)