iOS 14.5 will bring a number of new features and improvements, including to Apple Maps. Now there are new hints of another feature.
Starting with iOS 14.5, Apple Maps will be able to warn of potential dangers. But the map app seems to have more to offer. According to recent Reddit reports, Apple is working on a new feature that shows users how busy a particular location is. If the location is very busy, the user will be warned before they visit. As reported on Reddit explained Apple has updated the Privacy menu in the Location Services section of the Settings app to describe the new feature, which would use location data to collect details about how busy a point of interest is. Apple explains that this privacy-preserving feature would use anonymous location data to let users know if a particular location is open and full. The data would be collected when users "open an app near such a location." The statement reads:
Will Apple enable the feature in Maps on iOS 14.5?
Route Planning and Traffic: While you're on the move (for example, walking or driving), your iPhone periodically sends GPS data, travel speed, and barometric pressure information to Apple in an anonymous and encrypted form, which is used to augment crowd-sourced databases of road traffic and atmospheric corrections. Additionally, when you open an app near a point of interest (such as a store or park), your iPhone sends location data to Apple in an anonymous and encrypted form, which Apple can aggregate and tell users whether that point of interest is open and how busy it is.
The feature Apple is working on isn't entirely new. Google Maps and Search have been handling "live visit data" for quite some time. It remains unclear exactly how Apple intends to implement this in Maps. It also remains unclear whether the feature will be available starting with iOS 14.5. It could also be introduced in a later version. (Photo by Denys Prykhodov / Bigstockphoto)
