Apple updates Maps search to focus on essential businesses during pandemic

Apple makes the search for essential businesses easier with the latest Maps update.

What you need to know

• Apple has updated the Maps app.
• The update brings essential categories to the top of the search list.
• Businesses like grocery stores and hospitals are made a priority.

Apple has brought a number of changes to its apps in order to inform or help its users during the coronavirus pandemic. The company's latest move hopes to make finding the businesses you need the most even easier.

As spotted by iPhone Ticker, the Maps has been updated with a change to the order of the categories when you bring up the search menu.

The order of categories now highlights the businesses that users might need the most during the pandemic. Categories like Hospitals, Urgent Care, Pharmacies, Groceries, and Food Delivery have been moved to the top, while other categories like Shopping Centers, Gas Stations, and Banks & ATMs have been moved to the bottom of the list.

As reported by MacRumors, Google has gone even further than Apple Maps. The Google Maps app will inform if a business is closed or has reduced hours, as well as warning a user to call a doctor before visiting a medical center.

Tapping on any of the categories will show you the closest businesses in that category to your current location. It's a small change to the Maps app, but just one more way that the company is trying to help its customers as much as possible during the crisis.

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