Apple released the third public beta of iOS 18 on August 6, nearly two months after the company announced the iPhone software at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The beta brings many new features to the iPhone from developers and beta testers, such as RCS messaging, ways to customize the home screen, and an improved calculator app. The Maps app is also getting an update, and one new feature you’ll see in it is the ability to search within a specific area.
Before iOS 18, if you searched Maps for a restaurant that served pizza, the app would show you restaurants near you that served pizza. But if you live in a densely populated area like New York City, or you want to know if there’s a pizza place in a particular neighborhood, Maps might not be helpful. With the iOS 18 beta, Maps now shows an option that lets you search in a new area.
Read more: Everything you need to know about the new features in the iOS 18 betas
Since iOS 18 is still in beta, I recommend downloading a beta on a device other than your main one. Beta versions can be buggy and reduce battery life, so it’s best to fix these issues on a secondary device. I download beta versions on an old iPhone XR and test them there to keep these issues away from my main phone, an iPhone 14 Pro.
Remember that the beta is not the final version of iOS 18. More features may be available on your iPhone when the software is released this fall.
If you’re testing the iOS 18 beta, here’s how to search for specific areas in Maps.
How to use Find Here in Maps
1. Open Maps.
2. Enter a term like “pizza” in the search field and tap Seek.
“Search Here” will appear at the bottom of your screen.
Maps will show you pizza restaurants near you. However, if you zoom in on an area or move the search area in one direction or another, Search here The button appears at the bottom of your screen. Tap this button and Maps will search the area on your screen without adjusting or reorienting the map.
When you search for a new pizza place and zoom in on an area, Maps will now show you results for the new area and won’t zoom back out or move your search area.
Remember that iOS 18 is still in beta, so this feature may be buggy or not work properly. There will likely be more betas before the operating system is released in the fall, giving Apple plenty of time to fix any issues. There is currently no information on when Apple will release iOS 18 to the public.
For more on iOS 18, check out my hands-on experience with the iOS 18 betas and our iOS 18 cheat sheet. You can also read what you need to know about the first iOS 18.1 developer beta.
Check this out: iOS 18 in practical testing: The major design changes
