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Google Maps for iPhone
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- kirinan 14y agoI don't have an issue with signing in with my Google Creds because I get direct benefit. It saves all my searches, and can quickly pull up previous searches (unsure if the App does this already). and can auto fill the fields. When typing on a virtual keyboard (which cripples me compared to a slide out), things that allow me to reduce typing make me happy.
- untog 14y agoIt does seem a little hypocritical when the entire iPhone requires you to sign in with an Apple account. You think they're not tracking search data in the Maps app?
- czhiddy 14y agoHow so? You can use the phone just fine without an Apple account - you just won't be able to download any apps. Bookmarks in Maps works without having to sign into anything.
- toksaitov 14y agoGoogle wins, Apple wins, users win (not right after the release of iOS 6, but still). In general, the decision to remove the old Maps app was good.
- chucknelson 14y agoAgreed. The only losers here are the sub-par map app developers who will now see much fewer downloads.
- mikeryan 14y agoBetween this and the turn by turn introduced by Apple, it might have completely killed the turn by turn directions mobile app market on iOS. Even quality (as opposed to sub-par) are going to have a hard time competing against free.
- reidmain 14y agoGarmin and TomTom must be shitting themselves. I can't imagine how many people are just going to be using their smartphones in the next few years. Even built in nav consoles for the latest BMWs can't hold a candle to these apps.
- baddox 14y agoAnd everything could have been avoided by Apple choosing to wait a few months (or, more realistically, by working with Google starting much earlier) to make sure a Google Maps app was on the market when iOS 6 was released.
- FireBeyond 14y agoLeave it to Gruber to try to spin this pro-Apple: "This iOS 6 mapping saga has been a source of tremendous controversy, but here we are three months after iOS 6 was released and iPhone users now have a better Google Maps experience than they did when Google was providing the back-end data for the built-in Maps app. It all worked out." Almost like Apple planned it that way is the implication. Except the reality is that his last sentence should end ", no thanks to Apple". "I consider Apple’s new Maps the better-designed app, but this new Google Maps is very good. And Google’s advantage in search accuracy goes without saying." You can almost hear him gritting his teeth as he types this, not quite able to give up Apple just yet. "Apple wins (for me) in design, but everything else is Google. But I can't bring myself to explicitly say 'this is the better app'."
- pohl 14y agoAlmost like Apple planned it that way is the implication. That may be what you infer, but I don't agree that it's what he implies.
- Osmium 14y ago>Leave it to Gruber to try to spin this pro-Apple: "This iOS 6 mapping saga has been a source of tremendous controversy, but here we are three months after iOS 6 was released and iPhone users now have a better Google Maps experience than they did when Google was providing the back-end data for the built-in Maps app. It all worked out." But it's true. In iOS 5 I had Google Maps but no vector tiles, no turn-by-turn or voice navigation, and Apple tried to get Google to work with them on that but (regardless of whose fault it was) negotiations failed. Now, here we are, and as an iPhone user I now have a Google Maps that not only has those features but is arguably, currently, better than the Android version(!) Furthermore, there's now been an explosion of map apps on the app store: Nokia's Here, Waze, etc. Competition is good. In iOS 5, there weren't viable alternatives (or they weren't advertised?), but now I have four good map apps on my phone. And when one of them fails, and it will (even Google, which was useless for me when I visited Japan recently) I now have several alternatives. As a user, for me, it's a win win.
- untog 14y ago
- jonknee 14y ago> ... here we are three months after iOS 6 was released and iPhone users now have a better Google Maps experience than they did when Google was providing the back-end data for the built-in Maps app. It all worked out. Gruber's feats of mental gymnastics are second to none.
- untog 14y agoAgreed. He talks as if the old Maps app was some kind of immovable object. Obviously, we'll never know the details of the negotiation, but it could have worked out considerably better by upgrading the old Maps app to the current Google Maps app. Of course, there are many reasons why that might not the case, but the suggestion that somehow everything has worked out the best it could have possibly done is laughable.
- reidmain 14y agoI'm not sure upgrading was possible. The old maps app was actually made entirely by Apple while this new one is made entirely by Google. I can't imagine Apple would give a third-party a system level app. Just look at YouTube. The same reasons why Apple wouldn't package Google Maps with iOS are the same reasons Google wouldn't package iTunes with Android. You don't want to concede ground to your competition. Now if they want to fight for it that is a entirely different story.
- Steko 14y agoI don't use nav apps daily like many do but it seems to be a given that most heavy users will move to Google Maps as their permanent solution. This can only bring more and more focus onto iOS's most glaring weakness: the lack of contracts/intents/services. If the next version of iOS doesn't have it I think you will see jailbreaking go mainstream.
- reidmain 14y agoJailbreaking will never go mainstream. It has never been easy and/or safe enough for that. Just like how a small percentage of Android users root their phones. However "remote controllers" in iOS 6 are definitely the precursor to the Android intents. It will be interesting to see if they make it into iOS 7 as a public API.
- Steko 14y ago"Jailbreaking will never go mainstream" My understanding is that it's already mainstream for carriers to jailbreak phones for customers in many countries.
- reidmain 14y agoReally? I think you mean unlocking. Carriers are usually content producers and jailbreaking is mostly done for piracy reasons so I'd be surprised if carriers are onboard.
- Steko 14y agoMaybe I meant "that guy at the phone shop". My understanding is that jailbroken phones are widespread in, e.g. China.
- taylodl 14y agoPermanent solution? That's hard to say. No one should expect Apple to rest on their laurels for Maps though - they can't afford to admit defeat. They must continue to strive to make their Maps app as-good-as or even better than Google Maps. It'll be interesting to see what Apple does next.