Something to file under “won’t please many Linux users, but is nonetheless a good thing™ for choice”, Apple Maps on the web now works on Linux.
Apple launched a web-based version of Apple Maps in beta in July, bringing its mapping service to non-Apple platforms for the very first time (the app comes preinstalled on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS).
In an ideal world, any web-based service should work everywhere.
But in the less-than-ideal world we actually live in, it often doesn’t.
Initially, ‘Apple Maps on web’ (as Cupertino is calling it) only worked in Safari on macOS and iOS, and Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge on Windows and macOS.
This expanded to include Mozilla Firefox support in August but, again, only for users on macOS, iOS, and Windows.
According to the official Apple Maps for web support page that remains the case: those browsers only, those operating systems only.
And yet…
Apple Maps on Web Now Loads on Linux
The screenshot above shows Mozilla Firefox 132 (running on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS) with the web version of Apple Maps successfully loaded.
All features work as they should, including search, directions, hybrid images, location detection, guides, places of interest, plus core interactive features like scrolling/zooming, and so on.
In other browsers, this is not the case.
When I go to the same URL in Google Chrome, Vivaldi, or GNOME Web (Epiphany) it continues to do what it used to: redirect to an ‘unsupported’ holding page bearing a notice that reads “your current browser isn’t supported”.
Despite trying to doge them, user-agent string modifications doesn’t (seem to) have any effect.
To Apple’s credit, they said from the get-go that Maps on web would be “available for additional browsers, platforms, and languages” in time, albeit with no information on exactly when.
Given Apple’s other web-based services already “work” in Linux browsers, including iCloud, I certainly take “additional platforms” to mean Linux/ChromeOS as much as Android.
Yet despite the lack of mentioned support, it does load in Firefox on Linux (and Firefox only) at present.
Which is good, I guess?
“I’d rather dowse for directions in the dark than use this…”
Once upon a time Apple Maps was notoriously sh …ort of reliable routing info. These days Maps on iOS is as good as any other mapping app. Real-time directions, transit info, locations, attractions, things to see and so on.
Despite the fact it’s no longe awful, the fact it’s made by Apple will invoke incredulity from many Linux users: “I don’t want to use Apple Maps on Linux at all! Ever! How is this even news!?”.
Thing is, Linux users being able to access a competent alternative (not the only alternative, of course) to Google Maps is a good thing, even if most people (myself included) would prefer to use another service, like OpenStreetMap.
Which hits upon a repeated rub in the Linux community: we rebuke companies for not supporting Linux, complain once they do, then gaslight each other for choosing (or needing) to use their software — also a Linux YouTuber content flowchart, that ;)
My point is: Ubuntu is an operating system, not a prescriptive cult (for most, anyway). Lots of Linux users own Apple devices. This is a decent alternative to Google Maps. Some would rather dowse for directions in the dark than touch Apple Maps. Others aren’t so dogmatic.
Recalculating; more to come?
I don’t yet see any indicator that Look Around (Apple’s Google Street View alternative) is present, but chances are it’ll be added – after all, if Maps is to be useful to non-users of Apple devices some degree of feature parity is needed to peel people away from Google Maps.
If you’re interested in seeing it loads for you (I make no guarantees) then go load the Apple Maps beta website to find out!