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Have you used Apple Maps recently? It's not that bad anymore. Just because they had bad press about it 5 years ago doesn't mean the product is still stuck in 20

Have you used Apple Maps recently? It's not that bad anymore. Just because they had bad press about it 5 years ago doesn't mean the product is still stuck in 2012.

tryingagainbro 9y ago
Great point. Yeah they got bad press, but are no longer hostage to Google Maps and have an acceptable maps product that gets improved as time goes by. If Tim Cook decides that $10billion in acquisition /hiring is needed for seearch, I'm sure he'll have it in a few hours from the board. Apple might release the search engine to just a xx% at a time and rotate to see /get data to tweak it (if it's feasible) or make Apple Search default but give option to switch for a few years. Search is like maps, a core product.
SirHound 9y ago
"Not that bad" doesn't really stand up to Google Maps, which is excellent.
thestephen 9y ago
While your sentiment probably holds correct in some places, it really is "that bad" in some places that aren't the US or the UK. Many countries still don't have transit, and my apartment (in Stockholm!) doesn't even exist in Apple Maps.
- wrboyce 9y ago
  Have you ever submitted an error report? I moved house just over 12 months ago and there were some errors on both Apple and Google maps. I submitted error reports to both providers, Apple had it fixed in around 48 hours whereas Google have still not fixed it. At least one of the errors is extremely easy to verify and fix.
  - macintux 9y ago
    I've had mixed results. I report errors to Apple fairly regularly, and while some are fixed quickly, some are seemingly ignored forever. Even in the US, there are a lot of missing POI on Apple Maps. Parks in particular are woefully underrepresented.
richardknop 9y ago
From time to time I still accidentally open Apple Maps on my iPhone while searching for some place (tube station, restaurant, store) and almost immediately close it and use Google Maps. Apple Maps is still much worse, the UX is worse and it's much more difficult for me to find things on the map. Especially tube stations are much more visible on Google maps and I often use tube stations for orientation. On Apple Maps stations are very light color and hard to spot. The same with other landmarks. I don't understand why they don't do some user testing and find out what UX practices are the reason why Google Maps is so much easier to use and replicate that. They've had years do do this.
- chewz 9y ago
  From my experience it depends a lot on the country. Apple Maps was for me excellent in China or Japan and terrible in Thailand for example. Both Google and Apple buy basic maps info from third party and the quality depends a lot on the deal they get. For example it is not possible to save area offline in Google Maps for Thailand due to some legal issues I guess. Google has much more user engagement and stars and recommendations give Google a big advantage.
- mercutio2 9y ago
  Different strokes for different folks. I occasionally open Google Maps because I want my search results to include only things on the same continent as the one I live on, and I literally cannot figure out how to get the damn app to give me directions, then I give up and go back to Apple Maps, because while search is filled with nonsense, once I’ve found my destination, it’s non-search UX doesn’t make me want to scream in irritation and confusion. Possibly worth noting, if you’ve never actually used Apple Maps, you might not know that if you change your routing to transit from the default (car), it will change its POI highlights to emphasize transit stops at the expense of businesses. Might improve your experience, if you felt like giving it a shot.

Have you used Apple Maps recently? It's not that bad anymore. Just because they had bad press about it 5 years ago doesn't mean the product is still stuck in 2012.

tryingagainbro 9y ago

Great point. Yeah they got bad press, but are no longer hostage to Google Maps and have an acceptable maps product that gets improved as time goes by. If Tim Cook decides that $10billion in acquisition /hiring is needed for seearch, I'm sure he'll have it in a few hours from the board. Apple might release the search engine to just a xx% at a time and rotate to see /get data to tweak it (if it's feasible) or make Apple Search default but give option to switch for a few years. Search is like maps, a core product.

SirHound 9y ago

"Not that bad" doesn't really stand up to Google Maps, which is excellent.

thestephen 9y ago

While your sentiment probably holds correct in some places, it really is "that bad" in some places that aren't the US or the UK. Many countries still don't have transit, and my apartment (in Stockholm!) doesn't even exist in Apple Maps.

wrboyce 9y ago
Have you ever submitted an error report? I moved house just over 12 months ago and there were some errors on both Apple and Google maps. I submitted error reports to both providers, Apple had it fixed in around 48 hours whereas Google have still not fixed it. At least one of the errors is extremely easy to verify and fix.
- macintux 9y ago
  I've had mixed results. I report errors to Apple fairly regularly, and while some are fixed quickly, some are seemingly ignored forever. Even in the US, there are a lot of missing POI on Apple Maps. Parks in particular are woefully underrepresented.

richardknop 9y ago

From time to time I still accidentally open Apple Maps on my iPhone while searching for some place (tube station, restaurant, store) and almost immediately close it and use Google Maps. Apple Maps is still much worse, the UX is worse and it's much more difficult for me to find things on the map. Especially tube stations are much more visible on Google maps and I often use tube stations for orientation. On Apple Maps stations are very light color and hard to spot. The same with other landmarks. I don't understand why they don't do some user testing and find out what UX practices are the reason why Google Maps is so much easier to use and replicate that. They've had years do do this.

chewz 9y ago
From my experience it depends a lot on the country. Apple Maps was for me excellent in China or Japan and terrible in Thailand for example. Both Google and Apple buy basic maps info from third party and the quality depends a lot on the deal they get. For example it is not possible to save area offline in Google Maps for Thailand due to some legal issues I guess. Google has much more user engagement and stars and recommendations give Google a big advantage.
mercutio2 9y ago
Different strokes for different folks. I occasionally open Google Maps because I want my search results to include only things on the same continent as the one I live on, and I literally cannot figure out how to get the damn app to give me directions, then I give up and go back to Apple Maps, because while search is filled with nonsense, once I’ve found my destination, it’s non-search UX doesn’t make me want to scream in irritation and confusion. Possibly worth noting, if you’ve never actually used Apple Maps, you might not know that if you change your routing to transit from the default (car), it will change its POI highlights to emphasize transit stops at the expense of businesses. Might improve your experience, if you felt like giving it a shot.