The latest beta of iOS 14.5 reveals that Apple is working on introducing live status updates for businesses on Apple Maps to give users an idea of whether a shop or restaurant is busy or open.
A Reddit user spotted the change in the Settings of Location Services, which means Apple is crowd-sourcing status updates for places of interest. The data is then shown for those who want to know if a business is closed, open or currently busy at the time. It’s likely that the feature will be added to Apple Maps.
This feature is similar to Google Maps’ ‘popular times’, which also relies on crowdsourced data. Those who have manually opted in are the only ones whose data are collected.
Having business status updates doesn’t necessarily mean the feature will arrive on the final version of iOS 14.5. Apple could release it now or wait for future iOS updates.
