Apple Maps Still Does Not Show Driving Speed, and Users Are Mad

You open Apple Maps because you like the clean design and the clear directions. Then you hit the same wall again: you cannot see your current driving speed inside Apple Maps, and you cannot get a built-in speeding alert like you can in apps such as Waze.

That gap keeps coming up in user discussions, especially among people who want a speed limit display plus your live speed plus an optional warning when you go over. Apple Maps already knows a lot about the road. So the missing pieces feel obvious.

Apple Maps shows speed limits, but only in a narrow way

Apple says Maps can show current speed limits while you drive, but the feature does not behave like many drivers expect.

In practice, Apple Maps typically shows the speed limit when you run turn-by-turn navigation. People notice the speed limit disappears when they keep the map open without setting a destination, even though they still want that information while they drive around.

You can also hit another problem: the data itself varies by road and region. Some places show speed limits mainly on larger roads, while smaller streets show nothing or lag behind recent changes.

The bigger missing piece is your current speed

This is where Apple Maps falls behind Waze for a lot of drivers. Apple Maps does not give you a built-in speedometer that shows your live speed on the navigation screen.

That matters because the speed limit number alone does not help if you cannot quickly compare it to your actual speed. If your car shows speed limits on the dashboard, you already know why people still ask for it in Maps: not every car does it well, and some systems fail on temporary limits, roadworks, or older sign databases.

Apple keeps it limited

A few explanations come up again and again.

One, routing can improve road matching. When you navigate to a destination, Maps has a planned path. That helps it decide which road you are on, especially near junctions or parallel roads where GPS drift can place you on the wrong street. If Apple showed a speed limit all the time, it would risk showing the wrong limit more often.

Two, alerts create a different kind of product promise. If Apple adds speeding warnings, you will expect them to be accurate, timely, and easy to control. Some drivers also dislike constant chimes, especially if their car already warns them.

What you can do right now

If you want speed limits inside Apple Maps, start here:

1. Open Settings on your iPhone
2. Tap Apps or scroll to Maps, depending on your iOS version
3. Tap Maps
4. Tap Driving
5. Turn Speed Limit on

If you want the speed limit while you drive without a real destination, use a simple workaround: start navigation anyway, then mute guidance. People often set a nearby point and ignore the directions just to keep speed limits visible.

If your priority is a speedometer and speeding alerts, you will get them more reliably from apps that already ship those features in many regions. Google Maps supports a speedometer and can provide speed limit alerts where available, and Waze positions itself around speed awareness and alerts.

The feature Apple Maps needs next

Apple Maps does not need to copy Waze’s entire playbook. It needs a simple, optional dashboard: speed limit, your current speed, and a toggle for alerts. Once Apple gives you that, you can keep the Apple Maps UI you like and stop switching apps for one basic driving tool.