Apple Maps Now In The UAE!

Apple in the third quarter of 2019 sold 44.8 million smartphone units, it is recorded in a recent study by digital media planning solutions company Effective Measure that 55.8% of the mobile internet users in the Middle East and North Africa region used Apple devices. 

One of Apple's missing features in the UAE was Apple Maps, now finally launched offering turn-by-turn directions for users across the country.

You should be able to use Apple Maps straight away, using an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch. The system offers directions in English and Arabic for journeys whether by road or on foot.

A fascinating additional feature is the indoor maps, which are available for popular destinations such as Dubai International Airport, Festival City Mall and The Dubai Mall. This feature will roll out across the country over the next few days.

You can also share your ETA with friends (no more lies, everyone will know if you've left home or not), ask Siri to check flight statuses, add your most frequented locations to ‘Favorites’ and build ‘Collections’ of your go-to places or places you’d like to go, and places you wish to share with friends.

Apple shared some details into the privacy aspect of the app, including how your location information is stored. In a release, they said: “Maps goes further to obscure a user’s location on Apple servers when searching for a location through a process called fuzzing”.

It also stressed that Maps doesn’t require you to sign-in, and any data collected is associated with random identifiers that continually reset to ensure the best experience and to improve the app.