After announcing more than a year ago that it was bringing turn-by-turn directions to its Maps app, Google has finally started making good on its promise. The feature, which is starting to roll out to people with seemingly no geographic restrictions, allows people to see their travel directions on their iPhone’s lock screen for the first time.
Google announced its Maps glanceable directions feature back in February 2023, and then things went suspiciously quiet. There was no sign of the feature in the Google Maps app on iPhone or even Android, the platform that might have been expected to be the first to benefit from such a feature. However, some people have now started to notice that they have an option to enable visible instructions on their devices — although it doesn’t appear that the option is available to everyone yet, suggesting that Google is rolling it out for each account separately. .
Those who want to see if they have the option to enable turn-by-turn directions can go to Google Maps options followed by navigation settings. The option to enable visible directions is at the very bottom of a long list of options — if you don’t see it yet, make sure you have the latest version of the Google Maps app and iOS 16.1 or later . If that doesn’t work, fire away — the option should arrive sooner or later.
Instructions at a glance
When Google first announced preview notifications in 2023, it said Google Maps users “can follow your journey directly from your route preview or lock screen. You’ll see updated ETAs and where you need to turn — information that was previously only visible by unlocking your phone, opening the app and using the comprehensive navigation mode.” The blog also noted that “if you decide to take a different route, we’ll automatically update your trip.”
It’s worth noting that the live activity support that was promised earlier seems to still be missing, but that could change as the feature finishes rolling out. Now users who have the viewable directions option enabled will see an updated ETA and their next turn from their lock screen, a feature that previously required the iPhone to be unlocked to work.
The feature, first spotted by Android Police, could be most useful when you’re walking and means the iPhone can be locked and pocketed before being picked up when the next direction is needed instead of being carried unlocked (and prone to theft) throughout the journey.
This specific feature will of course be best when using the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max thanks to their always-on displays. Apple is rumored to be bringing those same always-on displays to the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus, but that will remain a Pro-only feature when the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro families of devices arrive later this year. If Apple follows its previous release pace, we can expect the new iPhones to be released in the first few weeks of September before being available for pre-order next Friday. The new devices should also go on sale the Friday after that.