12 ms·

Is the consensus that Apple Maps _still_ sucks? Sure, the launch was horrible, but it's seen years of progress and nowadays I find it perfectly usable. I use it

Is the consensus that Apple Maps _still_ sucks? Sure, the launch was horrible, but it's seen years of progress and nowadays I find it perfectly usable. I use it over Google Maps without hesitation. Now I'm scared they're gonna break it again by rebuilding it. If it ain't broke (any more), don't fix it.

anothergoogler 8y ago
If you like Apple Maps, empirically there is no consensus that it sucks.
- daeken 8y ago
  What? Consensus means a general or overwhelming agreement, not unanimous agreement.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
tjr225 8y ago
I dunno- this might be an edge case but I was going hiking and was trying to get to a trailhead a month or so ago using Apple maps, and I ended up quite lost in the fireroads of the buckhorn wilderness. Spooky.
- mikestew 8y ago
  I would never trust Apple or Google maps to get me anywhere more complicated than a local restaurant. If you're wandering out amongst the logging trucks (or anything that isn't paved, for that matter), try something like Gaia GPS. Gaia allows you load whatever maps you want, including USGS Topo maps. On the dirt-road-loving motorcycle, I paid the $50 (or whatever it cost) to get the topo dataset on the Garmin that rides on the dashboard. EDIT: BTW, if you're on anything that might be labelled "fireroad" you don't want to be depending on a map app that needs a connection to begin with.
glial 8y ago
I like the usability of Apple Maps a lot, but just this weekend it took me to the wrong part of town. I put the same address into Google Maps and it took me to the correct place.
sfotm 8y ago
I also find it perfectly usable. Does it sometimes suggest a longer route than Google Maps does? Sure. That could be partially attributed to the sheer number of drivers Google Maps has, though. I think search is almost certainly better on Google Maps, but that's no surprise. I think Apple Maps is the better choice for iOS users, though, if only for the tighter integration with the OS itself and reportedly better battery life.
- EpicEng 8y ago
  >if only for the tighter integration with the OS itself and reportedly better battery life. So, gmaps is more accurate and overall better in execution, but you recommend an inferior product because of OS integration and battery usage? Makes no sense to me. The number one priority is getting the best directions to where you want to go.
  - toasterlovin 8y ago
    The google UI paradigm is utterly bewildering and foreign to me. I would probably give Google Maps a chance, but every time I open it, I feel lost. When the maps are good enough, the other stuff matters.
    - EpicEng 8y ago
      I suppose I just don't understand that at all. I open it, enter an address, and it takes me there. Every time.
      - toasterlovin 8y ago
        The Google Maps app doesn't follow any of the iOS UI paradigms, so any time I want to do anything beyond what you described (like transit directions, bike directions, etc), I have have a hard time figuring out how to do that.
- bitpush 8y ago
  Honest question - How does the tighter integration with OS help when you're trying to do directions?
lucasverra 8y ago
Ios user Maps is no bad (and clean), Gmaps is better-ish from a features POV (but noisy). for directions and in selected cities https://citymapper.com https://citymapper.com rocks
pier25 8y ago
I don't know about the US, but I live in Mexico and here iOS users either go for Waze or Google Maps.
plopz 8y ago
Here's some discussion comparing the two that got a lot of attention on here. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15965653 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15965653
- bitpush 8y ago
  Article linked in the discussion - https://www.justinobeirne.com/google-maps-moat https://www.justinobeirne.com/google-maps-moat
GuardianCaveman 8y ago
One of the most frustrating things for me with Apple maps is having a view of the city I’m in and searching for something like ramen restaurant and it takes me to another country like Singapore and says there’s a restaurant named “the ramen restaurant “. I won’t use it now because of this.
- vole 8y ago
  The same thing is a huge problem in OpenStreetMaps for me .
  - thinkingemote 8y ago
    OpenStreetMap is just a data project. It sounds like you are using a third party application (often by a commercial provider) which uses OSM data? Or you might be using the osm.org website which itself uses 3rd party search applications. The search on the project website is designed to find data and is not designed to be a competitor for google maps.
- bobwaycott 8y ago
  I have never experienced this, and I almost exclusively use Maps for this very purpose (never for directions; only for finding places nearby of a specific type).
- mikec3010 8y ago
  Makes me wonder how stuff like this makes it past QA. I bet there was a low-paid QA engineer or college intern who pointed this out to their supervisor and they were ignored.
  - matt4077 8y ago
    I don't understand the point you're making. Are you saying that we have it all backwards, and that the wrong people get promoted, while the smart prolem-solvers get stuck in low level position and ignored? Because in that case I have sympathy for your plight, but would still like to ask: Are you actually trying to make that argument by pointing out how counter-intuitive a story is you just made up? As to the actual problem: It is both well known and not as easy as some low-level interns think: Fundamentally, Maps only does this when it finds absolutely nothing relevant at the user's location–these are almost always (really bad) typos. In that case, the only alternative is to completely ignore the far-away match, frustrating users' #1 expectation of how a search engine works. Or to present the user with some dialog "oh but that's far away!" The latter doesn't help anybody, because the user can return with the back button, just as easily as by declining the notification. Yet the user who actually intended the search gets inconvenienced.
jeffreylees 8y ago
For me Maps is consistently less accurate than Google Maps. However, the Google Maps UI bothers me just the same as everyone else here. I'm hoping that the improvements continue to roll in on Apple's version, because I'd much rather just use theirs.
BurningFrog 8y ago
Last time I tried it (~2 years ago) it took me on a circular route instead of my destination.
ebikelaw 8y ago
They still don't have bicycling directions or transit directions in many cities. They still show businesses that were demolished years ago. They don't have indoor maps of anywhere near the number of places that Google has.
Teckla 8y ago
I was recently on vacation and Apple Maps provided a poor experience, including but not limited to telling me to take a right where there was no road and into the ocean. Google Maps to the rescue; it gave me 100% accurate directions 100% of the time.
- chipotle_coyote 8y ago
  What city/country was this, out of curiosity? (I'm not disbelieving you, I'd just like to know where Apple Maps may be trying to murder me.)
  - Teckla 8y ago
    Maui, Hawaii
- rajathagasthya 8y ago
  > telling me to take a right where there was no road and into the ocean. Off topic, but this sounds exactly like the scene from The Office.
naravara 8y ago
I find Apple Maps to be more usable in terms of UX, how it gives directions, and how it displays information. Their data still isn't as good though. For the most part, as long as you're in/near a population center or sticking to major highways it's fine. But it still makes a lot of minor errors when you're out in the hinterland. When I'm going places I'm not familiar with I still default to Google Maps since it's more reliable. This is especially true in countries outside the US. Google also does a way better job at address verification. Apple Maps tends to take the names I type very literally while Google is pretty uncanny at being able to infer where I'm actually trying to go. For example, if I type the name of a local French restaurant, I can't count the number of times Apple Maps defaulted to showing me a restaurant by that name in Senegal or France or something. This is especially weird in light of the fact that it's Apple, not Google, who has access to my chat logs and calendar appointment data and I have location services on by default for Apple Maps.
arkades 8y ago
I’ve tried to transition from gmaps to Apple maps a couple times in the last few years. It’s not broken anymore, but it’s still sufficiently inferior that attempting to switch was painful and I ended up going back. This despite wanting google and it’s snoops firmly out of my digital life.
skrause 8y ago
It really depends on where you are. If you're using it for car navigation in the US, it's probably fine. When I need a map on a hike in rural Germany Apple Maps is completely unusable. Google Maps is much better and OpenStreetMap is even more accurate.
wlesieutre 8y ago
It's been mostly fine for me, but their database of places isn't as complete. I recently tried to look up a restaurant that opened two years ago and it was completely missing, had to use Google Maps to find it instead. If you're looking for walking/hiking trails, Apple Maps has pretty much nothing. Google certainly isn't as good as a dedicated trail map app, but at least they try sometimes.
codydh 8y ago
I always use Apple Maps first, and sanity check what it gives me. In my area most mapping solutions work, but Google Maps will frequently give me difficult (though not wrong) directions. Such as going down three blocks instead of two, skipping an intersection with a light, and instead asking me to turn left across 4 lanes of busy traffic, for no evident reason.
chipotle_coyote 8y ago
It seems to depend an awful lot on where you are in the world. I've rarely -- not never, but rarely -- had problems with Apple Maps, and I tend to prefer it to the Google Maps iOS application. But, I also live in the San Francisco Bay Area, which almost certainly makes a difference. To be fair, I've also had no problems with it in Portland, Seattle, Kansas City, Lawrence (Kansas), Eugene (Oregon), St. Louis, and around Tampa Bay. But it's not lost on me that all of those are not only in the United States, they're all pretty urban. (I've heard anecdotes of Apple screwing up in urban areas, too, but for me it hasn't behaved any worse than the other mapping apps -- Google has sent me to a few weird places.) I think on the whole it's good for Apple to be taking control of their mapping back end, although I suspect it would have been better for them if they'd started by, say, buying Here (the former Nokia mapping unit).
tomc1985 8y ago
It sucks enough that I avoid clicking address hyperlinks on iPhone, and instead copy-and-paste them into gmaps
baldfat 8y ago
> If it ain't broke (any more), don't fix it Something is showing Apple that it is broken. I am betting it is user rates. Google has taken over iPhones for so much of it and I am sure they don't like the fact that Google Maps are used more then Apple Maps. On my imperical evidence side, my daughter uses Apple Maps and I can tell you it gives back mapping when we are less then an hour away but more then 20 minutes. For example the way i drive isn't on Apple Maps and it adds 5 minutes to the trip and Google Maps has the trip 5 minutes faster. I don't know if Google is getting that data from my driving or from better algorithms but it has happened for then a few times.
heavymark 8y ago
Really depends where you live. We live North of Boston and still countless times run into issues where the dot is the wrong place, or the location data for the place going is wrong, or Google maps provides extra relevant info like it will be closing before I get there, or when the store has special hours google maps knows and Apple maps doesn't, and countless other differences. I still use Apple maps mostly because the integration with Apple Watch and iOS (getting back to the app) and notably using Siri make it for a better experience and if going somewhere new ( a long drive) I check with Google Maps first to avoid any major issues. If Google Maps on iOS was allowed to be deeply integrated like Apple Maps wouldn't touch maps with a 10 foot poll, but that will never happen. So any improvements to Maps data will be a welcome improvement and while hard to imagine them beating Google Maps they only have to be good enough to beat them in the long run.
drb91 8y ago
I realize this isn’t a problem for everyone, but apple maps has no offline maps support beyond your current route.
- kiwijamo 8y ago
  I've found Apple Maps caches the maps around my area so I have been able to use it in areas where I have no wireless reception. Not as fully detailed but they seem to cache the main roads and landmarks at least. I recall Google Maps just failing to show anything but that was a long while ago, so it sounds like things have improved.
melling 8y ago
i use it occasionally when it opens as a default. The problem is that Waze and Google Maps are definitely better. Being the 3rd best solution means it’s not my go to option. Siri has the same problem.
thinkythought 8y ago
It's given me completely day ruining, terrible directions within the past month. Like "go to the street outside this complex" rather than "go to building 5" and them i'm stuck on the phone trying to find someone to explain this, when google maps finds it correctly instantly.
godzillabrennus 8y ago
The only two google products I still use are Gmail (for work) and Google Maps. Apple Maps has improved since it launched but its far less accurate for me than Google has been despite that its integration is far tighter including CarPlay. Your results may vary but I am very happy to hear they are doing a ground up rebuild. I won’t miss what they have today at all.
ridiculous_fish 8y ago
Google Maps has more accurate and up-to-date data, while Apple Maps has more accurate drive time estimates (Google always underestimates). However Google Maps has an incredibly obnoxious UI pushing me to enable more data collection. The largest text on the search surface is "You're missing out" (by not signing in). If I do sign in, a search for "Home" pops up a modal dialog "Turn on Web and App Activity to search for home and your other personal places". This occurs despite setting an on-device Home location, which GMaps supports. Apple Maps doesn't ask for sign-in, and a search for "home" uses the location stored on-device. Privacy is why I prefer Apple Maps.
- magduf 8y ago
  >while Apple Maps has more accurate drive time estimates (Google always underestimates). Not for me. It's always eerily accurate. Maybe you're a really slow driver.
  - ridiculous_fish 8y ago
    It's not just me: http://macdailynews.com/2018/02/22/apple-maps-vs-google-maps-vs-waze/ http://macdailynews.com/2018/02/22/apple-maps-vs-google-maps... Do you live in a low-traffic area? IME GMaps is least accurate when there's heavy traffic.
    - majormajor 8y ago
      IME Google is really bad at traffic drive time estimates when there are situations where different lanes have different traffic. E.g. two lanes of the road are moving fine, but the left turn lane is backed up like crazy. Or the fast lane is fine, but the freeway on-ramp and exits you need are horrible. I think whoever cracks lane-aware positioning, mapping, and routing could make some big improvements. But mainly I just want a big button that says "don't make me make unprotected turns across multiple lanes of traffic" - Apple Maps seems less aggressive in that regard than Google Maps, which is why I prefer it.
      - 8y ago
fpgaminer 8y ago
I haven't bothered to check in detail, but I assume that Apple Maps does a better job at respecting the user's privacy than Google Maps. That's an important point in its favor that doesn't seem echoed in sibling comments. (The article seems to echo my suspicion.) As of a year or two ago, Apple Maps now consistently performs as well as Google Maps (as measured by its ability to route around bad traffic). At least in my area. So given their equivalence I always opt for Apple Maps these days to help preserve my privacy. Of course, as other have already said, Google Maps has had a number of UX failings over the years (doesn't Google always?). But what really frustrated me was their handling of toll roads, at least a few years ago. They updated the app and then suddenly the Avoid Toll Roads setting was tucked away, hidden behind layers of obscure and opaque minimalist UI nonsense that Google so loves. As if that wasn't enough the setting would constantly revert. So there you are scrambling to bring up directions in the car while running late. If you're lucky you recognize that Google is routing you through the toll roads. So you burn precious time trying to remember the arcane recipe of nameless shapes that you have to press to find the setting. And then re-find directions. If you're not lucky, you forget to check the directions for toll roads, and now you're barreling down the highway, surprised to suddenly see the traffic cleared, only for horror to dawn on you shortly thereafter as you realize you're about to enter the toll road and there's no escape. Over the years Google has screwed with their handling of toll roads a number of times. Why they have such a penchant for dark patterns surrounding toll roads is beyond me. Maybe some Google employee is on the take with the toll road companies? (mild sarcasm) I have not experienced these issues with Apple Maps. Another point in its favor. P.S. It's interesting to have watched this evolution. Apple Maps came out it seems like forever ago. Wikipedia says ~6 years. The growth since then has been incredible, but I don't think any of us have forgotten that Apple Maps was, frankly, a laughing stock. The village idiot of mapping. I'm glad they stuck with it though. It's nice to have alternatives. Whether you're a fan of Google or Apple, I hope it's appreciated that options exist. Because let's be honest, before Apple Maps, was there a real competitor to Google Maps? (Though I'm always silently rooting for OpenStreetMaps.)
nilkn 8y ago
I also prefer it over Google Maps when I'm in an area where I know Apple's data is good enough. I simply find the UI simpler, easier to use, far less cluttered, and downright faster. Apple Maps is buttery smooth whereas sometimes Google Maps is pretty choppy (admittedly, its performance on iOS has improved a lot over the last year).
adrr 8y ago
I use Apple maps because my car has Carplay and apple doesn't allow any other map provider. It still has issues finding locations and maps me to the wrong location. In LA, being a mile off can easily result in 1/2 hour delay or more. It also lags on construction closures updates(eg: exit closure) which are common in LA, unlike google products which gets up-to-date data from Waze. Apple maps needs to be perfect all the time to be viable. Until Apple fixes all their issues, they need to allow other map providers for Carplay.
- mrpippy 8y ago
  iOS 12 has an API that 3rd-party maps apps can use to show up in CarPlay
- jeffbax 8y ago
  They literally just announced that at WWDC
zakk 8y ago
I also prefer Apple Maps over Google Maps. Google Maps are slightly more detailed, probably since Google is generating the maps automatically from satellite imagery, but for going to one point of the city to another I feel that the two apps are essentially equivalent!
draw_down 8y ago
I don’t even bother with it, because whenever I’ve tried it has been so inaccurate.
crgwbr 8y ago
I have to use Apple maps regularly due to the iOS<12 CarPlay restrictions, and it regularly gives me bad instructions. Even though I have “avoid tolls” turned on, it consistently tells me to take the Triboro bridge in NYC (an $8 toll) rather than the Queensboro. It also frequently tries to send me the wrong way down one-way streets in the Bronx.
- joombaga 8y ago
  Wait, does Google Maps work in CarPlay for iOS=>12? Edit: Yep, announced at WWDC. https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-carplay-ios-12-will-finally-let-you-use-google-maps-waze/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-carplay-ios-12-will-fina...
adthomsen 8y ago
It might depend on where you live. I've been driving around Copenhagen with a group of colleagues and we had to ask the one with the map to switch to Google maps because Apple maps seemed determined to give us a city tour rather than lead us to our destination.
jrowley 8y ago
I've deleted Google Maps and Waze from my phone (moving away from Google products) and now only use Apple Maps. Works pretty well for me but occasionally has some bad data (freeway exits that didn't exist due to construction). I'm in the bay area so I can't speak for other areas.
TomVDB 8y ago
Well, yesterday I filled in <so and so restaurent>, street, miliptas. Apple Maps guided me to <so and so restaurant> somewhere in the North Bay...
Eric_WVGG 8y ago
If a map is correct 95% of the time, then one in twenty leads most people to feel like its "always" broken. Edge cases are so frequent that I think it's impossible to get right without a "team on the ground," which it sounds like Apple had finally accepted.
winrid 8y ago
Last year it took my on the interstate and said I reached my destination - there wasn't another exit for 45mins.
- winrid 8y ago
  *took me on
amyjess 8y ago
It still puts my address in the wrong location. I even walked into an Apple Store, found an iPad, and submitted a correction request once. That was almost two years ago. For a long time, every time I'd pass that Apple Store, I'd walk in, go to an iPad, and search my house on Apple Maps to see if they accepted my request. They never ever fixed it. I don't think they ever did, though it's been a few months since I gave up checking so who knows. Until Lyft banned Apple Maps, I'd have to call drivers in advance to make sure they weren't using Apple, and if they said they were, I'd cancel on them (I still do this for Waze users, because Waze can't path to my house).
chapium 8y ago
I used it a year ago and it still sucked. From an stability standpoint it was fine, except it had plenty of terrible ui decisions. Take driving in manhattan for example. A driver would like to glance at the directions and see turns and the directions the road is turning. However, this is not possible. 3d renderings of the new york skyline block the roads on the map so you cannot see in the app any further than you can outside your front window.
rootusrootus 8y ago
I resisted for a long time, but when I got my newest car it came with CarPlay and so I started using Apple Maps because I had no alternative. Now I see that iOS 12 is going to relax that restriction ... and I am going to stay with Apple Maps. Works fine for me, and nice to know Apple is not tracking my every move.
euxneks 8y ago
Meh, I usually look at my route ahead of time with both google maps and apple maps. Sometimes one is better, sometimes the other is better. Apple Maps is good enough for what I use it for, and it does integration with iOS better.
stevenwoo 8y ago
I tried using Apple Maps on my iPhone to navigate to WeWork in San Francisco last week and it sent me three blocks off target with the exact street address entered. I switched to Google maps to find it correctly with the same street address. YMMV, single data point and all that. I've also used Google directions going through Los Angeles (from San Diego to San Jose) and it told me to exit the freeway for some reason in Los Angeles and get back on, which I followed blindly but wasn't too bad a diversion.
dionian 8y ago
I loved it even when it launched and everyone was complaining about data and it was hyped up. A brand new app had data problems but the user experience was, in comparison to its peers, quite excellent. I still find it my preferred map especially on iOS/MacOS, even though nobody beats Google in certain aspects (functionality for one)

anothergoogler 8y ago

If you like Apple Maps, empirically there is no consensus that it sucks.

daeken 8y ago
What? Consensus means a general or overwhelming agreement, not unanimous agreement.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

tjr225 8y ago

I dunno- this might be an edge case but I was going hiking and was trying to get to a trailhead a month or so ago using Apple maps, and I ended up quite lost in the fireroads of the buckhorn wilderness. Spooky.

mikestew 8y ago
I would never trust Apple or Google maps to get me anywhere more complicated than a local restaurant. If you're wandering out amongst the logging trucks (or anything that isn't paved, for that matter), try something like Gaia GPS. Gaia allows you load whatever maps you want, including USGS Topo maps. On the dirt-road-loving motorcycle, I paid the $50 (or whatever it cost) to get the topo dataset on the Garmin that rides on the dashboard. EDIT: BTW, if you're on anything that might be labelled "fireroad" you don't want to be depending on a map app that needs a connection to begin with.

glial 8y ago

I like the usability of Apple Maps a lot, but just this weekend it took me to the wrong part of town. I put the same address into Google Maps and it took me to the correct place.

sfotm 8y ago

I also find it perfectly usable. Does it sometimes suggest a longer route than Google Maps does? Sure. That could be partially attributed to the sheer number of drivers Google Maps has, though. I think search is almost certainly better on Google Maps, but that's no surprise. I think Apple Maps is the better choice for iOS users, though, if only for the tighter integration with the OS itself and reportedly better battery life.

EpicEng 8y ago
>if only for the tighter integration with the OS itself and reportedly better battery life. So, gmaps is more accurate and overall better in execution, but you recommend an inferior product because of OS integration and battery usage? Makes no sense to me. The number one priority is getting the best directions to where you want to go.
- toasterlovin 8y ago
  The google UI paradigm is utterly bewildering and foreign to me. I would probably give Google Maps a chance, but every time I open it, I feel lost. When the maps are good enough, the other stuff matters.
  - EpicEng 8y ago
    I suppose I just don't understand that at all. I open it, enter an address, and it takes me there. Every time.
    - toasterlovin 8y ago
      The Google Maps app doesn't follow any of the iOS UI paradigms, so any time I want to do anything beyond what you described (like transit directions, bike directions, etc), I have have a hard time figuring out how to do that.
bitpush 8y ago
Honest question - How does the tighter integration with OS help when you're trying to do directions?

lucasverra 8y ago

Ios user Maps is no bad (and clean), Gmaps is better-ish from a features POV (but noisy). for directions and in selected cities https://citymapper.com https://citymapper.com rocks

pier25 8y ago

I don't know about the US, but I live in Mexico and here iOS users either go for Waze or Google Maps.

plopz 8y ago

Here's some discussion comparing the two that got a lot of attention on here. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15965653 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15965653

bitpush 8y ago
Article linked in the discussion - https://www.justinobeirne.com/google-maps-moat https://www.justinobeirne.com/google-maps-moat

GuardianCaveman 8y ago

One of the most frustrating things for me with Apple maps is having a view of the city I’m in and searching for something like ramen restaurant and it takes me to another country like Singapore and says there’s a restaurant named “the ramen restaurant “. I won’t use it now because of this.

vole 8y ago
The same thing is a huge problem in OpenStreetMaps for me .
- thinkingemote 8y ago
  OpenStreetMap is just a data project. It sounds like you are using a third party application (often by a commercial provider) which uses OSM data? Or you might be using the osm.org website which itself uses 3rd party search applications. The search on the project website is designed to find data and is not designed to be a competitor for google maps.
bobwaycott 8y ago
I have never experienced this, and I almost exclusively use Maps for this very purpose (never for directions; only for finding places nearby of a specific type).
mikec3010 8y ago
Makes me wonder how stuff like this makes it past QA. I bet there was a low-paid QA engineer or college intern who pointed this out to their supervisor and they were ignored.
- matt4077 8y ago
  I don't understand the point you're making. Are you saying that we have it all backwards, and that the wrong people get promoted, while the smart prolem-solvers get stuck in low level position and ignored? Because in that case I have sympathy for your plight, but would still like to ask: Are you actually trying to make that argument by pointing out how counter-intuitive a story is you just made up? As to the actual problem: It is both well known and not as easy as some low-level interns think: Fundamentally, Maps only does this when it finds absolutely nothing relevant at the user's location–these are almost always (really bad) typos. In that case, the only alternative is to completely ignore the far-away match, frustrating users' #1 expectation of how a search engine works. Or to present the user with some dialog "oh but that's far away!" The latter doesn't help anybody, because the user can return with the back button, just as easily as by declining the notification. Yet the user who actually intended the search gets inconvenienced.

jeffreylees 8y ago

For me Maps is consistently less accurate than Google Maps. However, the Google Maps UI bothers me just the same as everyone else here. I'm hoping that the improvements continue to roll in on Apple's version, because I'd much rather just use theirs.

BurningFrog 8y ago

Last time I tried it (~2 years ago) it took me on a circular route instead of my destination.

ebikelaw 8y ago

They still don't have bicycling directions or transit directions in many cities. They still show businesses that were demolished years ago. They don't have indoor maps of anywhere near the number of places that Google has.

Teckla 8y ago

I was recently on vacation and Apple Maps provided a poor experience, including but not limited to telling me to take a right where there was no road and into the ocean. Google Maps to the rescue; it gave me 100% accurate directions 100% of the time.

chipotle_coyote 8y ago
What city/country was this, out of curiosity? (I'm not disbelieving you, I'd just like to know where Apple Maps may be trying to murder me.)
- Teckla 8y ago
  Maui, Hawaii
rajathagasthya 8y ago
> telling me to take a right where there was no road and into the ocean. Off topic, but this sounds exactly like the scene from The Office.

naravara 8y ago

I find Apple Maps to be more usable in terms of UX, how it gives directions, and how it displays information. Their data still isn't as good though. For the most part, as long as you're in/near a population center or sticking to major highways it's fine. But it still makes a lot of minor errors when you're out in the hinterland. When I'm going places I'm not familiar with I still default to Google Maps since it's more reliable. This is especially true in countries outside the US. Google also does a way better job at address verification. Apple Maps tends to take the names I type very literally while Google is pretty uncanny at being able to infer where I'm actually trying to go. For example, if I type the name of a local French restaurant, I can't count the number of times Apple Maps defaulted to showing me a restaurant by that name in Senegal or France or something. This is especially weird in light of the fact that it's Apple, not Google, who has access to my chat logs and calendar appointment data and I have location services on by default for Apple Maps.

arkades 8y ago

I’ve tried to transition from gmaps to Apple maps a couple times in the last few years. It’s not broken anymore, but it’s still sufficiently inferior that attempting to switch was painful and I ended up going back. This despite wanting google and it’s snoops firmly out of my digital life.

skrause 8y ago

It really depends on where you are. If you're using it for car navigation in the US, it's probably fine. When I need a map on a hike in rural Germany Apple Maps is completely unusable. Google Maps is much better and OpenStreetMap is even more accurate.

wlesieutre 8y ago

It's been mostly fine for me, but their database of places isn't as complete. I recently tried to look up a restaurant that opened two years ago and it was completely missing, had to use Google Maps to find it instead. If you're looking for walking/hiking trails, Apple Maps has pretty much nothing. Google certainly isn't as good as a dedicated trail map app, but at least they try sometimes.

codydh 8y ago

I always use Apple Maps first, and sanity check what it gives me. In my area most mapping solutions work, but Google Maps will frequently give me difficult (though not wrong) directions. Such as going down three blocks instead of two, skipping an intersection with a light, and instead asking me to turn left across 4 lanes of busy traffic, for no evident reason.

chipotle_coyote 8y ago

It seems to depend an awful lot on where you are in the world. I've rarely -- not never, but rarely -- had problems with Apple Maps, and I tend to prefer it to the Google Maps iOS application. But, I also live in the San Francisco Bay Area, which almost certainly makes a difference. To be fair, I've also had no problems with it in Portland, Seattle, Kansas City, Lawrence (Kansas), Eugene (Oregon), St. Louis, and around Tampa Bay. But it's not lost on me that all of those are not only in the United States, they're all pretty urban. (I've heard anecdotes of Apple screwing up in urban areas, too, but for me it hasn't behaved any worse than the other mapping apps -- Google has sent me to a few weird places.) I think on the whole it's good for Apple to be taking control of their mapping back end, although I suspect it would have been better for them if they'd started by, say, buying Here (the former Nokia mapping unit).

tomc1985 8y ago

It sucks enough that I avoid clicking address hyperlinks on iPhone, and instead copy-and-paste them into gmaps

baldfat 8y ago

> If it ain't broke (any more), don't fix it Something is showing Apple that it is broken. I am betting it is user rates. Google has taken over iPhones for so much of it and I am sure they don't like the fact that Google Maps are used more then Apple Maps. On my imperical evidence side, my daughter uses Apple Maps and I can tell you it gives back mapping when we are less then an hour away but more then 20 minutes. For example the way i drive isn't on Apple Maps and it adds 5 minutes to the trip and Google Maps has the trip 5 minutes faster. I don't know if Google is getting that data from my driving or from better algorithms but it has happened for then a few times.

heavymark 8y ago

Really depends where you live. We live North of Boston and still countless times run into issues where the dot is the wrong place, or the location data for the place going is wrong, or Google maps provides extra relevant info like it will be closing before I get there, or when the store has special hours google maps knows and Apple maps doesn't, and countless other differences. I still use Apple maps mostly because the integration with Apple Watch and iOS (getting back to the app) and notably using Siri make it for a better experience and if going somewhere new ( a long drive) I check with Google Maps first to avoid any major issues. If Google Maps on iOS was allowed to be deeply integrated like Apple Maps wouldn't touch maps with a 10 foot poll, but that will never happen. So any improvements to Maps data will be a welcome improvement and while hard to imagine them beating Google Maps they only have to be good enough to beat them in the long run.

drb91 8y ago

I realize this isn’t a problem for everyone, but apple maps has no offline maps support beyond your current route.

kiwijamo 8y ago
I've found Apple Maps caches the maps around my area so I have been able to use it in areas where I have no wireless reception. Not as fully detailed but they seem to cache the main roads and landmarks at least. I recall Google Maps just failing to show anything but that was a long while ago, so it sounds like things have improved.

melling 8y ago

i use it occasionally when it opens as a default. The problem is that Waze and Google Maps are definitely better. Being the 3rd best solution means it’s not my go to option. Siri has the same problem.

thinkythought 8y ago

It's given me completely day ruining, terrible directions within the past month. Like "go to the street outside this complex" rather than "go to building 5" and them i'm stuck on the phone trying to find someone to explain this, when google maps finds it correctly instantly.

godzillabrennus 8y ago

The only two google products I still use are Gmail (for work) and Google Maps. Apple Maps has improved since it launched but its far less accurate for me than Google has been despite that its integration is far tighter including CarPlay. Your results may vary but I am very happy to hear they are doing a ground up rebuild. I won’t miss what they have today at all.

ridiculous_fish 8y ago

Google Maps has more accurate and up-to-date data, while Apple Maps has more accurate drive time estimates (Google always underestimates). However Google Maps has an incredibly obnoxious UI pushing me to enable more data collection. The largest text on the search surface is "You're missing out" (by not signing in). If I do sign in, a search for "Home" pops up a modal dialog "Turn on Web and App Activity to search for home and your other personal places". This occurs despite setting an on-device Home location, which GMaps supports. Apple Maps doesn't ask for sign-in, and a search for "home" uses the location stored on-device. Privacy is why I prefer Apple Maps.

magduf 8y ago
>while Apple Maps has more accurate drive time estimates (Google always underestimates). Not for me. It's always eerily accurate. Maybe you're a really slow driver.
- ridiculous_fish 8y ago
  It's not just me: http://macdailynews.com/2018/02/22/apple-maps-vs-google-maps-vs-waze/ http://macdailynews.com/2018/02/22/apple-maps-vs-google-maps... Do you live in a low-traffic area? IME GMaps is least accurate when there's heavy traffic.
  - majormajor 8y ago
    IME Google is really bad at traffic drive time estimates when there are situations where different lanes have different traffic. E.g. two lanes of the road are moving fine, but the left turn lane is backed up like crazy. Or the fast lane is fine, but the freeway on-ramp and exits you need are horrible. I think whoever cracks lane-aware positioning, mapping, and routing could make some big improvements. But mainly I just want a big button that says "don't make me make unprotected turns across multiple lanes of traffic" - Apple Maps seems less aggressive in that regard than Google Maps, which is why I prefer it.
    - 8y ago

fpgaminer 8y ago

I haven't bothered to check in detail, but I assume that Apple Maps does a better job at respecting the user's privacy than Google Maps. That's an important point in its favor that doesn't seem echoed in sibling comments. (The article seems to echo my suspicion.) As of a year or two ago, Apple Maps now consistently performs as well as Google Maps (as measured by its ability to route around bad traffic). At least in my area. So given their equivalence I always opt for Apple Maps these days to help preserve my privacy. Of course, as other have already said, Google Maps has had a number of UX failings over the years (doesn't Google always?). But what really frustrated me was their handling of toll roads, at least a few years ago. They updated the app and then suddenly the Avoid Toll Roads setting was tucked away, hidden behind layers of obscure and opaque minimalist UI nonsense that Google so loves. As if that wasn't enough the setting would constantly revert. So there you are scrambling to bring up directions in the car while running late. If you're lucky you recognize that Google is routing you through the toll roads. So you burn precious time trying to remember the arcane recipe of nameless shapes that you have to press to find the setting. And then re-find directions. If you're not lucky, you forget to check the directions for toll roads, and now you're barreling down the highway, surprised to suddenly see the traffic cleared, only for horror to dawn on you shortly thereafter as you realize you're about to enter the toll road and there's no escape. Over the years Google has screwed with their handling of toll roads a number of times. Why they have such a penchant for dark patterns surrounding toll roads is beyond me. Maybe some Google employee is on the take with the toll road companies? (mild sarcasm) I have not experienced these issues with Apple Maps. Another point in its favor. P.S. It's interesting to have watched this evolution. Apple Maps came out it seems like forever ago. Wikipedia says ~6 years. The growth since then has been incredible, but I don't think any of us have forgotten that Apple Maps was, frankly, a laughing stock. The village idiot of mapping. I'm glad they stuck with it though. It's nice to have alternatives. Whether you're a fan of Google or Apple, I hope it's appreciated that options exist. Because let's be honest, before Apple Maps, was there a real competitor to Google Maps? (Though I'm always silently rooting for OpenStreetMaps.)

nilkn 8y ago

I also prefer it over Google Maps when I'm in an area where I know Apple's data is good enough. I simply find the UI simpler, easier to use, far less cluttered, and downright faster. Apple Maps is buttery smooth whereas sometimes Google Maps is pretty choppy (admittedly, its performance on iOS has improved a lot over the last year).

adrr 8y ago

I use Apple maps because my car has Carplay and apple doesn't allow any other map provider. It still has issues finding locations and maps me to the wrong location. In LA, being a mile off can easily result in 1/2 hour delay or more. It also lags on construction closures updates(eg: exit closure) which are common in LA, unlike google products which gets up-to-date data from Waze. Apple maps needs to be perfect all the time to be viable. Until Apple fixes all their issues, they need to allow other map providers for Carplay.

mrpippy 8y ago
iOS 12 has an API that 3rd-party maps apps can use to show up in CarPlay
jeffbax 8y ago
They literally just announced that at WWDC

zakk 8y ago

I also prefer Apple Maps over Google Maps. Google Maps are slightly more detailed, probably since Google is generating the maps automatically from satellite imagery, but for going to one point of the city to another I feel that the two apps are essentially equivalent!

draw_down 8y ago

I don’t even bother with it, because whenever I’ve tried it has been so inaccurate.

crgwbr 8y ago

I have to use Apple maps regularly due to the iOS<12 CarPlay restrictions, and it regularly gives me bad instructions. Even though I have “avoid tolls” turned on, it consistently tells me to take the Triboro bridge in NYC (an $8 toll) rather than the Queensboro. It also frequently tries to send me the wrong way down one-way streets in the Bronx.

joombaga 8y ago
Wait, does Google Maps work in CarPlay for iOS=>12? Edit: Yep, announced at WWDC. https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-carplay-ios-12-will-finally-let-you-use-google-maps-waze/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-carplay-ios-12-will-fina...

adthomsen 8y ago

It might depend on where you live. I've been driving around Copenhagen with a group of colleagues and we had to ask the one with the map to switch to Google maps because Apple maps seemed determined to give us a city tour rather than lead us to our destination.

jrowley 8y ago

I've deleted Google Maps and Waze from my phone (moving away from Google products) and now only use Apple Maps. Works pretty well for me but occasionally has some bad data (freeway exits that didn't exist due to construction). I'm in the bay area so I can't speak for other areas.

TomVDB 8y ago

Well, yesterday I filled in <so and so restaurent>, street, miliptas. Apple Maps guided me to <so and so restaurant> somewhere in the North Bay...

Eric_WVGG 8y ago

If a map is correct 95% of the time, then one in twenty leads most people to feel like its "always" broken. Edge cases are so frequent that I think it's impossible to get right without a "team on the ground," which it sounds like Apple had finally accepted.

winrid 8y ago

Last year it took my on the interstate and said I reached my destination - there wasn't another exit for 45mins.

winrid 8y ago
*took me on

amyjess 8y ago

It still puts my address in the wrong location. I even walked into an Apple Store, found an iPad, and submitted a correction request once. That was almost two years ago. For a long time, every time I'd pass that Apple Store, I'd walk in, go to an iPad, and search my house on Apple Maps to see if they accepted my request. They never ever fixed it. I don't think they ever did, though it's been a few months since I gave up checking so who knows. Until Lyft banned Apple Maps, I'd have to call drivers in advance to make sure they weren't using Apple, and if they said they were, I'd cancel on them (I still do this for Waze users, because Waze can't path to my house).

chapium 8y ago

I used it a year ago and it still sucked. From an stability standpoint it was fine, except it had plenty of terrible ui decisions. Take driving in manhattan for example. A driver would like to glance at the directions and see turns and the directions the road is turning. However, this is not possible. 3d renderings of the new york skyline block the roads on the map so you cannot see in the app any further than you can outside your front window.

rootusrootus 8y ago

I resisted for a long time, but when I got my newest car it came with CarPlay and so I started using Apple Maps because I had no alternative. Now I see that iOS 12 is going to relax that restriction ... and I am going to stay with Apple Maps. Works fine for me, and nice to know Apple is not tracking my every move.

euxneks 8y ago

Meh, I usually look at my route ahead of time with both google maps and apple maps. Sometimes one is better, sometimes the other is better. Apple Maps is good enough for what I use it for, and it does integration with iOS better.

stevenwoo 8y ago

I tried using Apple Maps on my iPhone to navigate to WeWork in San Francisco last week and it sent me three blocks off target with the exact street address entered. I switched to Google maps to find it correctly with the same street address. YMMV, single data point and all that. I've also used Google directions going through Los Angeles (from San Diego to San Jose) and it told me to exit the freeway for some reason in Los Angeles and get back on, which I followed blindly but wasn't too bad a diversion.

dionian 8y ago

I loved it even when it launched and everyone was complaining about data and it was hyped up. A brand new app had data problems but the user experience was, in comparison to its peers, quite excellent. I still find it my preferred map especially on iOS/MacOS, even though nobody beats Google in certain aspects (functionality for one)