Apple has announced the availability of Apple Maps on the web via a public beta. It places Apple Maps in direct competition with Google Maps, which has been available on the web for a long time.

By visiting beta.maps.apple.com, you can now get driving and walking directions as well as reviews. The company has said it will launch additional features, like Look Around, in the coming months.

The launch of the web version comes 12 years after Apple launched the service on the iPhone. By expanding the availability of Apple Maps, the company wants to reach more users and take on Google Maps.

Currently accessible in English, the site is compatible with Safari and Chrome on a Mac and iPad as well as Chrome and Edge on Windows computers. Earlier versions of Apple Maps were available on the web through the work of developers, who used the API to create maps for sites like DuckDuckGo. But there is competition: Overture Maps Foundation, which is backed by Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft, made its first mapping dataset publicly available; it allows developers to freely use the information in their apps.

You may wonder why you need to use Apple Maps on a browser when you can use it on a mobile device. Say, you don’t have a phone on you but want to use it on your tablet.

All developers, including those using MapKit JS, can also link out to Maps on the web, so their users can get driving directions, see detailed place information, and more.