iOS 26 Beta hints at major Apple Maps upgrade with AI integration
Neither feature has been officially announced by Apple, but their presence in beta code suggests they're being tested ahead of a possible rollout later this year.
'Search the Way You Talk'
The headline upgrade is a more natural and conversational search capability for Apple Maps. According to Moser, the feature allows users to type queries like:
'Best coffee shops with free Wi-Fi'—phrases that are less robotic and more how we actually speak.
This is part of Apple's broader integration of its new AI initiative, Apple Intelligence, which has already improved search in other apps like Photos, Music, and TV. With Maps getting this upgrade, users can expect faster, more relevant results without having to string together perfect keywords.
If the implementation mirrors what we've seen in other apps, this could significantly improve how users interact with Maps—especially in unfamiliar areas where nuanced recommendations matter.
Keeping cool under pressure
The second feature spotted in the code is a new thermal management tool aimed at preventing iPhones from overheating during turn-by-turn navigation.
Currently, Apple Maps keeps the screen on at all times when navigating—a useful but battery-draining and heat-inducing behaviour. In hot environments (think: mounted on a car dashboard on a sunny Dubai afternoon while charging), this can lead to the phone getting uncomfortably warm or even temporarily throttling performance.
The new feature will allow the screen to automatically turn off when necessary to help the iPhone cool down. While this may sound minor, it's a meaningful quality-of-life improvement, especially for frequent drivers or anyone using Maps in high-temperature settings.
When can you expect these features?
As of now, neither of the new additions is visible in the latest iOS 26 beta available to developers or public testers. However, reports suggest that the thermal management capability may already be quietly active in some devices, not just in iOS 26, but even in iOS 18.
The natural language search functionality, on the other hand, appears to still be in the works and hasn't yet made its way into any build available to users.
Whether both features land in time for the public iOS 26 release this fall, or get pushed to later updates like iOS 26.1 or 26.2—remains to be seen.
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