Foursquare 6.0

Foursquare launched a major update to its iOS app Wednesday, now with more focus on what’s around you rather than who.

While the app is certainly all about checking in — and has a new larger check-in button front and center on the app’s home screen — it’s also about helping you find things to do around you. Whether you’re looking for a place to grab a cup of coffee, or trying to find out what club in town is the most popular, there’s a little something for everyone.

Using Foursquare religiously since its launch in 2009, I took version 6.0 out for a spin this afternoon to see just what the hype’s about.

When you launch Foursquare, you’re taken directly to an Explore page, where you can see at a glance which of your friends are located around you, what’s happening in the area, and what new businesses might have popped up since you've last been around.

All of that information is contained in a small widget at the top of the screen — you can scroll down to see friends worldwide — with a map behind it. Want to see what’s going on in map view? Tapping on the small map at the top of the page will bring up a full-screen version.

Friends are represented on the map with their profile pictures. Other places on the map, such as restaurants and bars, and noted by familiar location-specific icons — for instance, a bar has a picture of a martini glass. Tap on an icon and you can see that particular location’s rating, as well as its business type. Tap again and you're on that location's Foursquare page with photos, check-in info, tips and more at your fingertips.


At the top of the Explore page is a search box where you find something like a slice of pizza near you. Those results are then shown on a page similar to that initial launch page, with a list view of establishments meeting your search criteria below a map view of the same information. Once again, tapping on the small map will bring up a larger full-screen view.

In the case of search, however, that map information is more detailed, offering you not only the name and rating of a location, but also highlighting particular establishments where your friends have visited or left tips.

My search for pizza places immediately highlighted a nearby location where my friend Taylor had left a tip, and tapping around, I was able to find several more locations nearby that were frequented by my friends.

The whole experience is pretty snappy, and makes it easy to find a location near you that you know you'll enjoy, primarily because your friends are essentially recommending it to you on the fly.

You can also browse nearby locations by Best Nearby — Foursquare’s suggestions for what to do around you — by Specials, or by a particular type of location, for instance, coffee shops.


At its core, Foursquare is still the same app it was when it launched four years ago. If you want, you can still just use the app to check-in to locations and see what your friends are up to, now a little faster and on a much prettier interface.

Over the past four years, the app has evolved into a more feature-rich experience, however, one that can and should be used for a whole lot more.

Foursquare 6.0 is available now from Apple's App Store.