Yelp has updated its Apple Watch app to make use of the Apple Watch Series 5’s in-built compass feature.
The compass is now able to point users in the direction of local businesses. Depending on where you’re facing, the app will tell users have far they are from places they may want to visit.
For those unfamiliar with it (which can’t be many people), Yelp is an appified local guide. Boasting nearly 200 million local reviews, it points you toward everything from eateries to shopping venues. As well as finding places to visit, Yelp can also handle reservations and order deliveries.
Describing its new compass feature, Yelp notes that:
“The compass will appear on the bottom right-hand corner of Yelp business listings. Based on where you’re facing, the compass will turn with you in real time, providing updated estimates of how many miles or feet a business is away from you.”
Unfortunately, the feature is only available for those who have the Apple Watch Series 5. It was introduced as an app and associated complications with watchOS 6. You can access it from the All Apps screen, or by tapping the Compass complication on one of your Apple Watch faces. (Check out my colleague Charlie Sorrel’s guide to the Compass app here.)
Apple Watch’s Yelp update: More than just the compass
Fortunately, the new Yelp app update does have things for those not lucky enough to own an Apple Watch Series 5. There are new personalized results for watchOS 6 users. These are based on personal preferences expressed on the iOS app. These businesses show up labelled “for you.” They include the same recently introduced heart icon found in the iPhone app.
Finally, there is an updated interface design for the watchOS app. It now more closely resembles the Yelp experience on iOS.
You can download the Yelp app for free from the App Store here.
