What’s new with maps?

Asked on 07/31/2024

1 search

Tailscan

This post is brought to you by Tailscan, the best devtool for Tailwind CSS.

Want to sponsor? We'd love to chat →

At WWDC 2024, Apple introduced several new features for MapKit and MapKit JS. Here are the key updates:

  1. Place ID: A new identifier for places that can be used to reference various points of interest such as museums, restaurants, parks, or schools. These identifiers are unique and remain valid over time, allowing apps to display up-to-date information about places (Reference a place).

  2. Place Cards: New APIs to show detailed information about places in your app's UI. Place cards can be displayed in different styles, such as full presentation, compact presentation, or just a link to view the place in the Maps app. These can be used even if your app or website doesn't feature a map view (Display place details).

  3. Search Enhancements: Improvements to the search APIs, including the ability to search for more kinds of places like music venues, skateparks, or castles. You can also search for physical features such as rivers or mountain ranges, and specific components of an address like city or postal code. The MapKit server API now supports pagination for handling large sets of search results (Find a place).

  4. MapKit JS Enhancements: Simplified token provisioning process for MapKit JS, making it easier to get started. The new token provisioning tool generates domain-specific token strings that don't expire until manually revoked (Introduction).

  5. Embeds: A low-code solution to add maps to websites, allowing developers to quickly generate HTML for embedding maps (Display place details).

These updates aim to make it easier for developers to integrate rich map features and place information into their apps and websites.

Unlock the power of places with MapKit

Unlock the power of places with MapKit

Discover powerful new ways to integrate maps into your apps and websites with MapKit and MapKit JS. Learn how to save and reference unique places using Place ID. Check out improvements to search that make it more efficient to find relevant places. Get introduced to the new Place Card API that lets you display rich information about places so customers can explore destinations right in your app. And, we’ll show you quick ways to embed maps in your website with our simplified token provisioning and Web Embed API.