The travel route from Xidan's Apple Store to Aloft Hotel is highlighted by Apple Maps in a screenshot taken on August 12, 2015. (Liu zheng/chinadaily.com.cn)
Even as rumors swirl around the upcoming release of the next iPhone, the release of the public beta version of iOS 9 has also caused a stir among Apple users.
The new feature of Apple Maps, which can help Chinese users to navigate from point A to point B via public transport, such as bus, subway, or train, will be fully operational in more than 300 Chinese cities this fall.
The debut of Apple Maps was met with considerable criticism due to system bugs and mapping errors in 2012, so, after making a number of transit-focused acquisitions, the company has attempted to provide a service that can rival Google Maps as well as domestic brand Baidu Maps.
As one of the selective Chinese media outlets, China Daily was invited to take part in a tour to explore the public transit function of Apple Maps, which comes preinstalled in the brand's latest mobile system.
Press members who were gathered at the Apple Store of Beijing's Xidan Joy City, were asked to navigate to Aloft Hotel in the Haidian district of the city by using Apple Maps.
The route simulated the experience of a first-time visitor to Beijing, being able to navigate without asking for directions. All you needed to get around was a iPhone with a 4G LTE SIM card.
Thanks to Gaode Maps, or amap.com, who is the location database provider for Apple Maps, users can type their target destination into the app, and it will calculate the optimal travel route.
Whether traveling within a city or across the country, Apple Maps will provide detailed routes including bus stops, subway stations, train stations and the walking distance between different forms of transport.
It also provides customized options for users to choose departure date and time to calculate an optimal travel solution.
When you need to get off your bus to get to the next leg of your journey, the app will prompt you ahead of time in case you miss your stop.
Compared with the original Gaode maps, which had voice search input and estimated fare functions for public transit, Apple's maps make use of its voice-activated assistant, Siri, to support the audio search while no specific commuting fees will be shown for any planned routes.
And of course, there are still shortcomings to be improved, for example information about ferry or flight services are so far not provided and the potential value of online to offline businesses that could be listed on Location Based Services has not been explored at this moment.
Introduced in 2012, Apple Maps, which aims to replace Google Maps, the previous default mapping application for iPhone, iPad and Apple computer users, comes preinstalled in the iOS, OS X and watchOS operating systems.
