I’ve been a Google Maps user for most of my adult life. Even after Apple cleaned up its messy launch, I stuck with Google because it had my saved places, worked reliably abroad, and never got me lost in Brooklyn.
But iOS 26 finally gave me a reason to come back to Apple Maps, and I haven’t looked back.
The feature is called Visited Places. You’ll find it tucked under your profile in the Maps app, inside “Places,” then “Visited Places.”
It quietly logs your whereabouts, including restaurants, shops, airports, and parks, and organizes everything by category and city.
Unlike other apps, there’s no social component or check-ins, just a private, personal history.
I realized how useful this was on a recent trip to San Francisco. During the flight home, I tried to remember the name of a sandwich shop I’d stumbled upon between meetings.
Normally, I’d scroll through photos, search my credit card statement, or give up entirely. Instead, I opened Apple Maps, checked Visited Places, and had the answer in seconds. I even left myself a note so I wouldn’t forget next time.
The best part is that the whole system is opt-in and encrypted, which means not even Apple can see where you’ve been. That balance of convenience and privacy makes it easy to trust.
Visited Places is still in beta, so you may run into a few hiccups for now, but I expect those will be ironed out by the time iOS 26 officially ships this fall.
And while I still lean on Google for transit directions, this feature is sticky. It solves a simple problem without adding friction, the kind of tool that quietly becomes part of your routine.
Apple has finally built a map I want to keep coming back to. So here’s the question: has Apple done enough to make Maps your go-to, or does Google still win on the features that matter most? Let me know in the comments below.
Even though this is a neat feature to have, Apple needs to do WAY MORE THAN THIS to come to par with google maps. Either the team and partners/vendors handling apple maps needs to be totally and thoroughly overhauled or apple ditches the app altogether and adopt google maps as their default maps app and graft in their own features from the defunct Apple Maps app. Most people outside the US use google maps for all their travel and movement needs!!!!!