Apple Maps could see a huge upgrade in iOS 17

The new Live Activity features mean Maps will be just as useful when your iPhone is locked

iOS 17 Maps leaked image
(Image credit: analyst941/Twitter)

With WWDC just weeks away yet more iOS 17 and iPhone 15 information is leaking, this time around the Apple Maps app. According to leaker analyst941 on Twitter, the Lock Screen on all iPhones will benefit from the Live Activity feature to provide much better guidance when your iPhone is locked.

The new feature will deliver "seamless transitions" when you unlock, and you'll be able to swipe up as normal in order to see the other notifications in the Notification Centre. It will, however, replace your Lock Screen widgets as you navigate.

What else to expect from the iOS 17 Maps app

According to the leaker, you can also adjust the size of the map on your Lock Screen by tapping it to make it smaller or bigger; however, "I haven't seen this nor gotten enough details to show that, yet at least," they write.

This isn't the only leak of iOS 17 to break cover before WWDC. We've also seen leaks of significant changes to the Wallet and Health apps, also from analyst941, and multiple rumours say there are significant changes elsewhere too: sideloading of apps in EU countries, a seriously overhauled Control Centre, improved AirTags and a new mood tracking app.

It's all pointing to a worthwhile set of upgrades, and we'll no doubt see even more at WWDC. That takes place in June, and while the star of the show is expected to be the Apple Reality Pro headset the changes to iOS are the things I'm looking forward to most: AR/VR is impressive, but iOS changes affect how I use my iPhone every single day.

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Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).