Update August 24, 2021: Apple is now rolling out the review feature to the United States. Users will now see photos taken by others here. It works in iOS 14 and the iOS 15 beta. Plus, they can give a thumbs up or down for most locations. If you tap the thumbs down, you can indicate whether you are dissatisfied with the products, service, atmosphere and the like. This depends on the location: atmosphere will be important in a restaurant, less so in a hospital. In addition, users can now upload photos, which will appear in Apple Maps over time.
Currently, Apple Maps is still showing Yelp ratings alongside Apple's new ones. Ultimately, Apple could ditch partners Yelp and TripAdvisor, if there are enough of their own ratings. You cannot add written reviews yet. In the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan has been testing the feature for a while.
Update April 22, 2021: Apple promised that in iOS 14 you would be able to rate locations with a thumbs up or down. This means that Apple is no longer dependent on reviews from third parties, such as Yelp and TripAdvisor. The idea is that as an Apple user you give a thumbs up yourself if you like a place. But so far the rollout has not really gone smoothly. In the UK and in Australia some people already have the option. It is still not available in the US and in the Netherlands and Belgium. neither.
People who have physically been to a certain place and then tap a point on the map are given the opportunity to rate a place, including the quality of the products and services. After that, with the option ‘Add Photos to Maps’ upload your own image.
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Images shown during the Spring Loaded event now give the impression that Apple is willing to roll it out further – at least in the US. For example, during the announcement of the iMac, it was shown that you can give a recommendation for Joshua Tree National Park in California in the Maps app. Even so, Yelp reviews can still be seen. That gives the impression that Apple does not (yet) completely want to put the reviews of external parties aside. Via MacRumors.
Below is our original article from August 26, 2020.
Locations such as hotels, restaurants, museums, shops and more are starred in Apple Maps to indicate how this location is rated. Apple uses third-party services such as Yelp for this. In the most recent beta of iOS 14, it was discovered that Apple is going to trade in this system for its own rating system. Apple has not previously announced the feature, but has now unexpectedly popped up in beta.
Apple Maps gets location rating system
Currently, the feature doesn't seem to be available to everyone yet, nor does it work with all locations. Once it's available to you in beta, you'll see an introduction screen explaining the new rating system. You can rate places you've been, for example with a thumbs up or down. When giving a thumbs up you can also indicate how you rate individual aspects of the location, such as the products and the service.
You can also upload photos with each review. These also appear for other users, as is now the case. When giving reviews and uploading photos, the information will be linked to your Apple ID, but of course your personal data will not be made public. With this, Apple wants to make the system as reliable as possible. Your estimated location is also sent, to ensure that you can only give reviews for places you have actually been.
Whether the rating system will be available globally or only rolled out in the US is unknown at this time. Apple is still full in the transition of replacing the card stock. The new cards are collected by Apple itself. Recently, Apple already started with the improved maps in the United Kingdom and Ireland. By now also creating its own location rating system, Apple is even less dependent on third-party services.
Revision history:
- 2021 – August 24, 09:06: Article updated due to US rollout.