Recently, Apple quietly expanded access to its web version of maps for Android users and removed the beta label. This allows any device user to access it through their browser at maps.apple.com. While this provides a new option for Android users, the functionality remains relatively limited, suggesting that Apple is taking a conservative approach.

The web-based map offers basic search and navigation features as well as "Look Around," which resembles Google Street View. However, using it feels more like browsing a website than utilizing an app. Testing reveals no clear advantage over Google Maps; it lacks several advanced functions such as user login to save data, traffic information, and 3D building visualizations.

Although Android users can add the map directly from Chrome for quick access via "Add to Home Screen," many potential users find it underwhelming. This move appears to be a minimal response by Apple under pressure from regulatory bodies pushing for greater ecosystem openness in light of recent antitrust investigations in both America and Europe.

Following expansions of services like Apple TV+ and Apple Music onto Windows and Android platforms, industry speculation suggests that an official native map app for Android might launch if the commercial benefits prove significant enough—a move with the potential to reshape market dynamics and provide advantages for Apple’s mapping application.