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Off topic, recently on holiday I needed to lookup an address. Google Maps and Apple Maps had very different results. One had the location about half a mile away

Off topic, recently on holiday I needed to lookup an address. Google Maps and Apple Maps had very different results. One had the location about half a mile away across the city and the other was right where I was standing. Apple Maps was the correct one. This is not an experience I’d have expected in 2024 for a large city in a Western country. With Googles apparent embrace of enshitification as a goal instead of a warning, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised anymore.

pompino 3y ago
Not usually a supporter of Google, but personally I'd cut them some slack for this. I do hold them responsible for not being able to go a few clicks without some google tech shoving a shitty ad in my face.
withinboredom 3y ago
If you look up “paper cities” google also has “paper public transportation” and it will give me a route from my house starting at a bus stop that doesn’t exist on a bus that doesn’t exist. It’s super annoying when inviting people over because I have to explain that they shouldn’t use Google maps because it will give impossible directions.
- shiroiushi 3y ago
  It depends on where you are; Google Maps is indispensable in some cities, and apparently somewhat useless in other locales. Here in Tokyo, it's a must-have app, and basically everyone uses it because it's so useful. Good luck trying to navigate the public transit system with some other navigation app, or find some very particular restaurant you want to eat at. Of course, one of Google's big locations for Maps development is here in Tokyo, so that might have something to do with why it works so well.
  - pooper 3y ago
    I'll give you another example: if you drive to the Dallas Fort Worth DFW airport with toll off, Google maps won't tell you there is no way to get to a terminal to pick up passengers without paying the toll.
    - withinboredom 3y ago
      Apple maps still doesn't have biking directions in the Netherlands, where most of the country gets around by bike. I find that one particularly funny.
      - shiroiushi 3y ago
        Yeah, from what I read in posts like these, it seems like Apple Maps is probably fine if you live in the USA and drive everywhere, but if you live in another country and don't typically use a car for transportation it's probably useless. Here in Tokyo, I've never even heard of anyone using Apple Maps. Everyone I've ever met either uses Google Maps or a local app like JapanTransitPlanner.
jim180 3y ago
My wife actually uses Google Maps a lot for restaurants and places to go when we are traveling outside our country, but not for navigation. I find that funny, since this is a Maps app after all. As for navigations it's either Apple Maps or Waze, depending on the country.
- Yeri 3y ago
  In a lot of cities (think Asia, Europe) GMaps is still significantly better. Especially for walking and in less common places. In Ghent, Belgium, Apple Maps wanted to let me walk a ~20min detour and follow car streets whereas GMaps correctly allowed me to walk on pedestrian-only roads.
  - simondotau 3y ago
    I found the opposite to be true in many European cities including Brussels, London, Cologne, and especially Antwerp where the metro tram network was fatally error-laden on Google Maps.
  - WinstonSmith84 3y ago
    GMaps is usually better for the social aspect: reviews at restaurants, places, etc. But for walking outside cities, both are really terrible. Mapy.cz (previously maps.me) is an order of magnitude better And for driving, Waze is usually the best. Police controls will be shown, and in some countries, especially outside EU + US, Waze is better at finding a car road, while GMaps may sugges a shortcut through a river.
  - bzzzt 3y ago
    It bugs me Apple still hasn't got cycling directions in the Netherlands.
basisword 3y ago
Apple Maps would be my preference too. UI is much better, map design much better, turn by turn is better etc. The only area it stumbles is business listings. For Google I can see lots of reviews, opening hours that are accurate even on holidays, how busy the location is, photos etc. Apple Maps doesn't even come close in this regard and sadly it's the main reason I use a mapping app. Apple should have started building this out from the start - integrating with Yelp which was a mistake (it was DOA even back then for countries outside the US).
- shiroiushi 3y ago
  That's one of the main values of Google Maps: it's not just a navigation app, it's a business directory. I don't need to know how to get to a set of GPS coordinates; I need to find an Italian restaurant, or a veterinarian, or whatever. Only then do I care about how I go there.
ben_w 3y ago
Google Maps has been weird lately. Not too long ago, I was looking for a shop which, it turned out, was at the next junction of a very short street. Like, I could've seen it but for a signpost and restaurant outdoor furniture blocking my view. Google Maps recommended I walked to that junction, turned left, walked halfway to the next junction, got on the underground, took the underground to the next stop, got off the underground, and then walked back.
KolenCh 3y ago
Well, not long ago I was searching for National Car Rental / Enterprise near the London Heathrow airport. As I was in a hurry, I chose the first one that looks right and start driving. And somehow I arrived in one of the terminal drop off/pick up zone and hence I need to pay £5 for that mistake. And then when I eventually got the right one, that’s another 15 min drive…

pompino 3y ago

Not usually a supporter of Google, but personally I'd cut them some slack for this. I do hold them responsible for not being able to go a few clicks without some google tech shoving a shitty ad in my face.

withinboredom 3y ago

If you look up “paper cities” google also has “paper public transportation” and it will give me a route from my house starting at a bus stop that doesn’t exist on a bus that doesn’t exist. It’s super annoying when inviting people over because I have to explain that they shouldn’t use Google maps because it will give impossible directions.

shiroiushi 3y ago
It depends on where you are; Google Maps is indispensable in some cities, and apparently somewhat useless in other locales. Here in Tokyo, it's a must-have app, and basically everyone uses it because it's so useful. Good luck trying to navigate the public transit system with some other navigation app, or find some very particular restaurant you want to eat at. Of course, one of Google's big locations for Maps development is here in Tokyo, so that might have something to do with why it works so well.
- pooper 3y ago
  I'll give you another example: if you drive to the Dallas Fort Worth DFW airport with toll off, Google maps won't tell you there is no way to get to a terminal to pick up passengers without paying the toll.
  - withinboredom 3y ago
    Apple maps still doesn't have biking directions in the Netherlands, where most of the country gets around by bike. I find that one particularly funny.
    - shiroiushi 3y ago
      Yeah, from what I read in posts like these, it seems like Apple Maps is probably fine if you live in the USA and drive everywhere, but if you live in another country and don't typically use a car for transportation it's probably useless. Here in Tokyo, I've never even heard of anyone using Apple Maps. Everyone I've ever met either uses Google Maps or a local app like JapanTransitPlanner.

jim180 3y ago

My wife actually uses Google Maps a lot for restaurants and places to go when we are traveling outside our country, but not for navigation. I find that funny, since this is a Maps app after all. As for navigations it's either Apple Maps or Waze, depending on the country.

Yeri 3y ago
In a lot of cities (think Asia, Europe) GMaps is still significantly better. Especially for walking and in less common places. In Ghent, Belgium, Apple Maps wanted to let me walk a ~20min detour and follow car streets whereas GMaps correctly allowed me to walk on pedestrian-only roads.
- simondotau 3y ago
  I found the opposite to be true in many European cities including Brussels, London, Cologne, and especially Antwerp where the metro tram network was fatally error-laden on Google Maps.
- WinstonSmith84 3y ago
  GMaps is usually better for the social aspect: reviews at restaurants, places, etc. But for walking outside cities, both are really terrible. Mapy.cz (previously maps.me) is an order of magnitude better And for driving, Waze is usually the best. Police controls will be shown, and in some countries, especially outside EU + US, Waze is better at finding a car road, while GMaps may sugges a shortcut through a river.
- bzzzt 3y ago
  It bugs me Apple still hasn't got cycling directions in the Netherlands.

basisword 3y ago

Apple Maps would be my preference too. UI is much better, map design much better, turn by turn is better etc. The only area it stumbles is business listings. For Google I can see lots of reviews, opening hours that are accurate even on holidays, how busy the location is, photos etc. Apple Maps doesn't even come close in this regard and sadly it's the main reason I use a mapping app. Apple should have started building this out from the start - integrating with Yelp which was a mistake (it was DOA even back then for countries outside the US).

shiroiushi 3y ago
That's one of the main values of Google Maps: it's not just a navigation app, it's a business directory. I don't need to know how to get to a set of GPS coordinates; I need to find an Italian restaurant, or a veterinarian, or whatever. Only then do I care about how I go there.

ben_w 3y ago

Google Maps has been weird lately. Not too long ago, I was looking for a shop which, it turned out, was at the next junction of a very short street. Like, I could've seen it but for a signpost and restaurant outdoor furniture blocking my view. Google Maps recommended I walked to that junction, turned left, walked halfway to the next junction, got on the underground, took the underground to the next stop, got off the underground, and then walked back.

KolenCh 3y ago

Well, not long ago I was searching for National Car Rental / Enterprise near the London Heathrow airport. As I was in a hurry, I chose the first one that looks right and start driving. And somehow I arrived in one of the terminal drop off/pick up zone and hence I need to pay £5 for that mistake. And then when I eventually got the right one, that’s another 15 min drive…