Forget Google Reviews, Apple Users Can Now Rate Businesses Directly From iPhones
Image via ID 95205067 © Chris Dorney | Dreamstime.com
Apple is finally rolling out its new rating system to the US and Canada, which was previously only available in a handful of countries including Japan and Australia. Now, when searching up your favorite places in Apple Maps, you’ll find thumbs-up and thumbs-down buttons next to some businesses.
As of now, it’s still unclear what places will be eligible to be reviewed on Apple Maps. iDropNews found that in Toronto, locations such as businesses and parks had ratings available, though landmarks such as the CN tower and municipal buildings did not. Banks, malls, airports, churches, and schools, among others, were also not given rating buttons.
To access the feature, one has to opt-in instead, as it’s not the default setting on iPhones just yet. Simply open Maps on your device, find an eligible business nearby, and tap on the location to bring up the information card. Once you select ‘Rate This Place’, a screen with ‘Introducing Ratings and Photos’ should appear. Click continue to enable the change.
If you want to disable it in the future, you can also access the setting by selecting Maps under your iPhone Settings app, before indicating your preference with the ‘Ratings and Photos’ switch.
Once you’ve enabled the new feature, Apple’s ratings will appear in a new segment on the location’s information card, instead of its Yelp or TripAdvisor rating. When enough ratings have been submitted for a particular place, the percentage of positive and negative reviews will also be displayed. Users can also submit photos to back up their ratings.
While your name won’t be publicly displayed to other users, it won’t be anonymous to Apple itself. As with almost everything else on the smartphone, the reviews are still linked to your Apple ID.
Additionally, if you’ve enabled Siri on your device, it will make use of your on-device location history and photo library to suggest places you may have visited to rate.
Will Apple’s very own ratings take over the prevalence of Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor reviews we’re so accustomed to? If it’s a default setting in iOS 15, it could quickly become the preferred choice of reviews among iPhone users.
For more information, or to check if the feature is available in your country, click here.
[via iDropNews, cover image via ID 95205067 © Chris Dorney | Dreamstime.com]
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