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Anecdotal but recently my partner and I were driving in an unfamiliar place. We tried google maps on the way there and Apple Maps on the way back. I expected
by dagmx 3y ago
Anecdotal but recently my partner and I were driving in an unfamiliar place.
We tried google maps on the way there and Apple Maps on the way back.
I expected Apple Maps to be worse but here’s what stood out to me:
1. Apple does a better job at showing vertical height. So when tons of routes go over and under each other, the map is much clearer about it whereas Google maps requires you to look for the thin breakup line.
2. Apple directions are more human friendly. Things like “take a right at the next light” instead of “take a right at XYZ street”. Also telling you to skip an exit and take the next one. It’s minor but that’s how most drivers I know prefer to be given directions.
3. When we’re walking, it does a better job at showing where the crosswalks are.
4. It did a better job at telling you which lane to be in if you needed to make a right and then a left. Google maps seemed to only care about the immediate next step whereas Apple cared about some distance.
5. Vibrating your watch when an action is coming up is great. On the way there, my partner missed a couple turns on Google Maps because they were hyper focused on the road, whereas that little watch nudge helped on the way back with Apple Maps.
6. Last one is purely subjective, but aesthetically Apple Maps is much nicer to my eyes. Things are better delineated and information is presented a little bit clearer.
That said, whereas I think Apple Maps is better for navigating, Google maps is much better for up to date information about an area. I presume that has to be just down to more users correcting things , but things like “this store is shut today unexpectedly” is much better reflected.
- DHPersonal 3y agoGoogle Maps is much better at encouraging and rewarding user interaction. Google Maps has gamification and rewards for updating store and road information, while Apple Maps treats it a bit more like a bug report.
- dagmx 3y agoYeah that’s true. Google built a community around Google Maps and Google Reviews.
- OGWhales 3y ago> if you needed to make a right and then a left. Google maps seemed to only care about the immediate next step whereas Apple cared about some distance. Something I really enjoy about Google Maps is being able to swipe to see the next move, which is not possible on Apple Maps. This is helpful in exactly the scenario you describe. On the same note, I can think of many times where Apple Maps did not tell me the next move like you describe and I had no way to check it myself like I can with google maps. This is one of my biggest gripes with Apple Maps. Similarly, this feature is not possible when using Google Maps with Apple CarPlay which is very annoying.
- dagmx 3y agoSwipe down from the top shows the next few steps for Apple Maps on iPhone. Not sure about CarPlay.