iOS 27 gave Apple Maps a handful of new features, and my favorite is one that keeps offering fresh updates every week: Local Lists.
Apple Maps has long offered a ‘Guides’ feature where you can browse curated collections of places worth checking out. Sometimes they’re created by Apple’s editorial team, other times by celebrities or in conjunction with current events.
But in iOS 27, there’s a new feature-Local Lists-that’s sort of an extension of Guides, but it gets updated weekly with the latest trending places.
Here’s how Apple describes it, via Apple Newsroom:
With Local Lists, Apple Maps users in the U.S. can find the perfect spot for meeting friends, dining, and more. Using intelligent insights from what’s trending, Maps surfaces locally relevant collections of places - from trending restaurants to great spots to take kids - so it’s easy for users to find what they are looking for. All insights are derived with privacy in mind and never tied to individual users.
I’ve always enjoyed browsing Guides in Maps to help find new places. But Local Lists are a great expansion of the idea, especially since they’re updated all the time. I’m always up for trying a new trending restaurant, and now Maps makes it easy to stay on top of what’s new.
How to find Local Lists in the iOS 27 Maps app
Even if you’ve been using iOS 27 for months, there’s a good chance you’ve never seen Local Lists. That’s because they’re pretty hidden.
To find the feature, tap into the search field in Maps and scroll down to see a new ‘Trending Restaurants’ section. On my iPhone 18 Pro, by default this section gets hidden behind the keyboard, so you have to first scroll and dismiss the keyboard to see it.
Trending Restaurants are ranked from 1-20. The search screen shows only a handful, but you can tap to view the full list. For example, if you open the ‘Trending Restaurants in New York’ list, you’ll see 20 places worth checking out.
How does a restaurant make the list? Per the in-app explanation, the list contains “Restaurants climbing in popularity this week, based on what people view, share, and interact with on Apple Maps.”
Since these Trending Restaurants lists update weekly, Apple says you’ll want to save any places you plan to visit. There’s a convenient + button next to each listing.
It’s unclear exactly how many different parts of the US have localized lists in iOS 27. But if you poke around and find the full collection of Local Lists, there are 1,021 total-so you’ll probably have one in your area.
You can browse all available lists by opening a Trending Restaurants list then tapping where you see the Apple logo and ‘Local Lists’ near the text that says when it was last updated.
Have you used Local Lists in iOS 27’s Maps app yet? Let us know what you think via the comments.
