4 ms·

Maps has been awful and getting worse for a long time. If it's not routing me 25+ miles further to save "1 minute" (really a multi-minute slowdown in the 90th

by nullc 8y ago

Maps has been awful and getting worse for a long time. If it's not routing me 25+ miles further to save "1 minute" (really a multi-minute slowdown in the 90th percentile) then its failing to give comprehensible directions in order to interpose business names. Maybe the monetization is finally makes competing with it attractive enough.

devoply 8y ago
You already have other mapping options like Garmin. And you don't have to pay much for them either. They are 100-300 bucks. They work pretty well... and could really use a boost in what seemed like a dying market.
- canada_dry 8y ago
  > mapping options like Garmin Except Garmin - having been decimated by Google and Apple maps - is getting pretty bad too. I've been using them for >15 years with multiple devices and every update lately seems to make their routing worse AND for some unfathomable reason makes the GPS reception less reliable (if I were a sceptic I'd suggest they are trying to force you to go for a new model via slowly crippling the device with every update).
puzzle 8y ago
Do you mean rerouting? Google Maps is tuned differently than Waze, which caters to drivers looking to shave off minutes or even seconds. It tries to keep directions simple and easier to follow (e.g. not making a large number of turns), even if that means a slightly slower route. That was a deliberate product decision, at least until a few years ago. What kind of incomprehensible directions and business names are you referring to?
- rootusrootus 8y ago
  Waze feels more like the R&D app for maps. It doesn't shave seconds or minutes off my time, but what it does do is constant A/B testing to see if another route could be faster. I know the area fairly well and I routinely ignore the route Waze wants to send me unless there is a clearly identified problem on the normal route, and when it re-routes to the path I chose, it's a minute or two shorter. Why did it try to send me down the slower route in the first place? Waze pulls this crap routinely.
  - antsar 8y ago
    > testing to see if another route could be faster [...] and when it re-routes to the path I chose, it's a minute or two shorter Anecdotes != data, but I'm pretty sure I've experienced this with Google Maps as well.
Gene_Parmesan 8y ago
And the app has become absolutely atrocious performance-wise. It used to load nearly immediately, but starting ~1.5 years ago I began noticing extreme slowdowns. Now it's barely functional for me. Every part of the UI is appallingly unresponsive -- taps that take 5 seconds to register, hitches in animation, etc. From tapping on the icon to being able to get underway (including typing in an address) used to be about five seconds or less. Now it's upwards of thirty. This coming change to their monetization (really? mining our location data isn't enough?) is just going to be the final impetus I need to find some other solution.
- jandrese 8y ago
  On my old iPhone the performance is still fine, but the volume controls have been broken for ages. Basically you can only change the volume while it is speaking (otherwise it changes the ringer volume). So you have to guess when the phone is speaking and then smash the volume up button in the hopes that you guessed correctly. And of course you have to do this blind because you're driving at the time to trigger the turn prompt. Very annoying.
  - fortybillion 8y ago
    Settings -> Sounds & Haptics -> Change With Buttons: OFF. Now the volume controls will only ever change the audio volume and never the ringer volume.
- mrep 8y ago
  FYI, if you are using an android, you can try google maps go which is designed to run on devices with limited memory [0]. [0]: https://support.google.com/maps/answer/7566112?hl=en https://support.google.com/maps/answer/7566112?hl=en
  - degenerate 8y ago
    Thanks, I remember seeing this before but assumed it was a junk copy-cat app. The list of features it doesn't support is exactly the same list of things I don't care about. Nice! I just installed, and it seems to be a minimal app using a chrome wrapper. So it's basically a webpage... I will have to see how its navigation works.
Rafuino 8y ago
What I wonder is why Google spends tons of CPU resources to calculate routes that would take me much longer to get where I'm going.
rootusrootus 8y ago
What killed GMaps for me was the dogged insistence that the correct route through the city involves making left turns onto busy multilane roads at rush hour from a side street with a stop sign, just to avoid a half-block of stopped traffic waiting for a left turn signal.
- pas 8y ago
  Interestingly I started using GMaps instead of Waze exactly for this. Waze loves sightseeing and meeting new people on cozy little streets.
  - grumblez 8y ago
    This is configurable in Waze at least. There's a "Avoid difficult intersections" option in the Navigation settings.
  - bduerst 8y ago
    Waze will take you on the shortest route - every time - even if that means cutting through a suburb taking the least amount of time to get to the destination. GMaps sticks to main roads as much as possible.
- jonknee 8y ago
  On the other hand I was on the interstate the other day and it told me to get off and take a detour, I ended up avoiding a massive backup. I don't always take the advice, but man I like having the opportunity.
  - bduerst 8y ago
    Same. I ignored it once and got stuck in a traffic jam with construction that was there the week before.
  - moftz 8y ago
    Waze tells me that stuff too. About an hour before I would have arrived at a major accident, it had notified me about a detour onto a parallel highway I should take. As I got closer, it told me to take an earlier exit because the original one was starting to get backed up from people trying to detour. I got off the highway and got back on with only a minute delay in my ETA. I usually switch between Google Maps and Waze depending on where I'm going and how soon I want to get there. Google Maps if I'm in no hurry and want to take the "normal" way. Waze for if I'm trying to get there sooner (speed trap alerts and shortcuts help) and I'm either somewhat familar with the route or don't care about the stupid shortcuts. Waze has had me cut through neighborhoods and drive down gravel access roads to shave minutes off the travel time. Most of the time it pays off, sometimes you just end up wasting more time at intersections

by nullc 8y ago

devoply 8y ago

You already have other mapping options like Garmin. And you don't have to pay much for them either. They are 100-300 bucks. They work pretty well... and could really use a boost in what seemed like a dying market.

canada_dry 8y ago
> mapping options like Garmin Except Garmin - having been decimated by Google and Apple maps - is getting pretty bad too. I've been using them for >15 years with multiple devices and every update lately seems to make their routing worse AND for some unfathomable reason makes the GPS reception less reliable (if I were a sceptic I'd suggest they are trying to force you to go for a new model via slowly crippling the device with every update).

puzzle 8y ago

Do you mean rerouting? Google Maps is tuned differently than Waze, which caters to drivers looking to shave off minutes or even seconds. It tries to keep directions simple and easier to follow (e.g. not making a large number of turns), even if that means a slightly slower route. That was a deliberate product decision, at least until a few years ago. What kind of incomprehensible directions and business names are you referring to?

rootusrootus 8y ago
Waze feels more like the R&D app for maps. It doesn't shave seconds or minutes off my time, but what it does do is constant A/B testing to see if another route could be faster. I know the area fairly well and I routinely ignore the route Waze wants to send me unless there is a clearly identified problem on the normal route, and when it re-routes to the path I chose, it's a minute or two shorter. Why did it try to send me down the slower route in the first place? Waze pulls this crap routinely.
- antsar 8y ago
  > testing to see if another route could be faster [...] and when it re-routes to the path I chose, it's a minute or two shorter Anecdotes != data, but I'm pretty sure I've experienced this with Google Maps as well.

Gene_Parmesan 8y ago

And the app has become absolutely atrocious performance-wise. It used to load nearly immediately, but starting ~1.5 years ago I began noticing extreme slowdowns. Now it's barely functional for me. Every part of the UI is appallingly unresponsive -- taps that take 5 seconds to register, hitches in animation, etc. From tapping on the icon to being able to get underway (including typing in an address) used to be about five seconds or less. Now it's upwards of thirty. This coming change to their monetization (really? mining our location data isn't enough?) is just going to be the final impetus I need to find some other solution.

jandrese 8y ago
On my old iPhone the performance is still fine, but the volume controls have been broken for ages. Basically you can only change the volume while it is speaking (otherwise it changes the ringer volume). So you have to guess when the phone is speaking and then smash the volume up button in the hopes that you guessed correctly. And of course you have to do this blind because you're driving at the time to trigger the turn prompt. Very annoying.
- fortybillion 8y ago
  Settings -> Sounds & Haptics -> Change With Buttons: OFF. Now the volume controls will only ever change the audio volume and never the ringer volume.
mrep 8y ago
FYI, if you are using an android, you can try google maps go which is designed to run on devices with limited memory [0]. [0]: https://support.google.com/maps/answer/7566112?hl=en https://support.google.com/maps/answer/7566112?hl=en
- degenerate 8y ago
  Thanks, I remember seeing this before but assumed it was a junk copy-cat app. The list of features it doesn't support is exactly the same list of things I don't care about. Nice! I just installed, and it seems to be a minimal app using a chrome wrapper. So it's basically a webpage... I will have to see how its navigation works.

Rafuino 8y ago

What I wonder is why Google spends tons of CPU resources to calculate routes that would take me much longer to get where I'm going.

rootusrootus 8y ago

What killed GMaps for me was the dogged insistence that the correct route through the city involves making left turns onto busy multilane roads at rush hour from a side street with a stop sign, just to avoid a half-block of stopped traffic waiting for a left turn signal.

pas 8y ago
Interestingly I started using GMaps instead of Waze exactly for this. Waze loves sightseeing and meeting new people on cozy little streets.
- grumblez 8y ago
  This is configurable in Waze at least. There's a "Avoid difficult intersections" option in the Navigation settings.
- bduerst 8y ago
  Waze will take you on the shortest route - every time - even if that means cutting through a suburb taking the least amount of time to get to the destination. GMaps sticks to main roads as much as possible.
jonknee 8y ago
On the other hand I was on the interstate the other day and it told me to get off and take a detour, I ended up avoiding a massive backup. I don't always take the advice, but man I like having the opportunity.
- bduerst 8y ago
  Same. I ignored it once and got stuck in a traffic jam with construction that was there the week before.
- moftz 8y ago
  Waze tells me that stuff too. About an hour before I would have arrived at a major accident, it had notified me about a detour onto a parallel highway I should take. As I got closer, it told me to take an earlier exit because the original one was starting to get backed up from people trying to detour. I got off the highway and got back on with only a minute delay in my ETA. I usually switch between Google Maps and Waze depending on where I'm going and how soon I want to get there. Google Maps if I'm in no hurry and want to take the "normal" way. Waze for if I'm trying to get there sooner (speed trap alerts and shortcuts help) and I'm either somewhat familar with the route or don't care about the stupid shortcuts. Waze has had me cut through neighborhoods and drive down gravel access roads to shave minutes off the travel time. Most of the time it pays off, sometimes you just end up wasting more time at intersections