Maps & GPS Coach

Which app to use?

• Apple Maps — built into iPhone, very good now (was bad years ago). Cleaner look. Best if you're in the Apple world.
• Google Maps — most accurate everywhere. Best business hours, best reviews. Works on iPhone too.
• Waze — best for daily commutes — finds the fastest route around traffic, accidents, police, road closures. Owned by Google.

Best practice: Use Google Maps as your default; switch to Waze for big city or rush-hour driving.

Save your "Home" and "Work"

Once saved, you tap once and start driving — no typing.

Apple Maps:

1. Open Maps → tap your photo (top right) → "Favorites" → "+ Add".
2. Type "Home" → enter your address. Repeat for "Work" or your favorite restaurant.

Google Maps:

1. Open Google Maps → tap "Saved" → "Labeled" → tap "Home" → enter address.

Share your location with family

iPhone — Find My (free, built in):

1. Open the Find My app.
2. Tap "People" → "Start Sharing Location".
3. Pick your spouse or child. Choose "Share Indefinitely".
4. They tap to share back, and now you both can see each other's location anytime.

Google Maps — Location Sharing:

1. Open Google Maps → tap your photo → "Location sharing".
2. Tap "+ New share" → pick a contact → choose duration ("Until you turn this off" for ongoing).
3. They get a notification with a link.

When they share back, you'll see them on the map too. Useful for road trips ("how far away are you?").

Download offline maps before a road trip

No more "GPS lost" warnings in the mountains.

Google Maps:

1. Open Google Maps → tap your photo → "Offline maps".
2. "Select your own map" → drag and zoom to cover your route.
3. Tap "Download". 100 MB to 1 GB depending on size.
4. Now navigation works even with no signal.

Apple Maps (iOS 17+):

1. Search a city, tap its name at the top → scroll down → "Download Map".

Helpful tricks

• Avoid highways — in the navigation menu, toggle this on to scenic-route a drive.
• Avoid tolls — same menu. Saves $5-30 on long drives.
• Speed limit — Google Maps and Waze show the current speed limit on screen.
• Find restrooms / gas / charging — tap the search bar → "Restrooms" or "Gas". Pick a stop on your route.
• Send a friend an address — long-press a spot on the map → tap Share → text or AirDrop.