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Apple maps is still a poor competitor to Google Maps. Yesterday I went to the beer store( that is what it's called in Ontario). Being at a new house I used ap

Apple maps is still a poor competitor to Google Maps. Yesterday I went to the beer store( that is what it's called in Ontario). Being at a new house I used apple maps on my phone. The first 3 results it showed had no beer store there. I finally found it using google maps.

drpgq 13y ago
I've had problems with Apple maps in Ontario too. I'm wondering if the performance versus Google Maps in Canada is different than the US.
- pyre 13y ago
  I'll bet that Apple Maps performs competitively around 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA (or in the Bay and Valley areas generally), but it's not like Apple has the equivalent of the Google Maps SUVs driving all around.
  - fpgeek 13y ago
    Why not? Apple can certainly afford to, and if they're serious about maps...
    - pyre 13y ago
      I never said that they couldn't afford to. I just said that they didn't. If Apple was serious about maps, then they wouldn't have partnered with Google in the first place. If it wasn't for Android, I'm sure that they would still be partnered with Google. Apple doing their own maps is just something that they need to complete the platform, not something they plan to put serious weight behind.
- deong 13y ago
  I'm in Iceland, and Apple Maps just punts here. It can't find anything at all, and about 50% of the time, it doesn't even try. You just get a UIAlertView that says "No Results Found". I did a comparison of about 30 sample lookups when it was brand new, and Google correctly responded to about 27 of them; Apple got two. I repeated the test about six months ago, and the only thing that had changed was that Google got one more right.
jfoutz 13y ago
And that's the beauty of comscore's metric. Spend 10 minutes dicking around with Apple maps, then 30 seconds in Google maps to find what you are looking for. Apple comes out way ahead, because their app is more engaging.
- rm999 13y ago
  Your scenario isn't supported by ComScore's results, they state that the vast majority of iphone users aren't using google maps at all. From the article: >ComScore's data suggests though that comparatively few iPhone owners actually take the trouble to use Google's maps
  - jfoutz 13y ago
    ComScore's data is great for advertisers, it gives user counts and time spent in the app. It's pretty much worthless for determining how effective the app is at finding locations. My hyperbolic statement can't be justified by the data provided. Perhaps apple users spend their time looking up hundreds of locations and google users are only able to find one. There's an obvious selection bias, and i don't know what the effect is. I'd claim smartphone users aren't all that different, they just want to look stuff up, and they'd look it up at comparable rates. If that's true, it takes apple maps users longer to find stuff.
demallien 13y ago
I'm guessing that many Apple Maps users don't use Maps in that way, but more for finding a specific address. Personally, on my iPhone if I want to find a business I do it through Yelp, which comes with the added bonus of being integrated with Siri. You can ask for an itinerary from there and it shows it in Maps, it's all very easy as a workflow. For example, living in Paris, if I want to go to the CNIT (a shopping centre located at La Defense), Apple Maps itself refuses to give me the address. But if I ask the Yelp app, it points me straight to it, and from there I click on a link and I have my itinerary in Maps. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the remaining flaws in Apple Maps are so easy to route around now that they just aren't much of an issue.
- potatolicious 13y ago
  I look up specific addresses via Apple Maps, it still sucks. Hell, let's try this right now. I'm sitting at work in Brooklyn. I just typed in "20 Jay St", the address of my building. Apple Maps has my location, this should be a piece of CAKE. ... And now I'm at "20 Main Tavern" near Plattsburg, NY, by the Canadian border. I also just searched for my home address, which is a 5 minute subway ride away in Manhattan. I ended up at "3rd St & Baker Springs Rd" in Wickes, AK. Or searching for "161 Canal" takes me to "161 Canal Lane" in Jackson, NJ, as opposed to the much more obvious "161 Canal Street" in Manhattan. Apple Maps is full of nonsense, either searching via POI or via address, or via intersection. It's practically useless. At this point I'm pretty sure I need to memorize Lat/Long just to use this thing, or be absurdly specific every time I use it. "Empire State Building, the one in Manahttan, if you please"
  - lemma 13y ago
    Could be worse, I just typed a full home address in Miami and got a result in Australia...
  - rzt 13y ago
    The funny thing is, is that when you use Siri, Apple Maps seems to be more accurate. I can say, "Directions from home to 123 Main Street, Hometown" and the directions will be perfect. If I type that same query out, I get "Directions Not Found." I don't get it.
eknkc 13y ago
I always use Foursquare to find places and tap "Get Directions" to open up the location in Apple Maps. Pretty happy with this. Apple Maps can not find shit in my hometown by itself but it's pretty fine with strict addresses and navigation.

drpgq 13y ago

I've had problems with Apple maps in Ontario too. I'm wondering if the performance versus Google Maps in Canada is different than the US.

pyre 13y ago
I'll bet that Apple Maps performs competitively around 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA (or in the Bay and Valley areas generally), but it's not like Apple has the equivalent of the Google Maps SUVs driving all around.
- fpgeek 13y ago
  Why not? Apple can certainly afford to, and if they're serious about maps...
  - pyre 13y ago
    I never said that they couldn't afford to. I just said that they didn't. If Apple was serious about maps, then they wouldn't have partnered with Google in the first place. If it wasn't for Android, I'm sure that they would still be partnered with Google. Apple doing their own maps is just something that they need to complete the platform, not something they plan to put serious weight behind.
deong 13y ago
I'm in Iceland, and Apple Maps just punts here. It can't find anything at all, and about 50% of the time, it doesn't even try. You just get a UIAlertView that says "No Results Found". I did a comparison of about 30 sample lookups when it was brand new, and Google correctly responded to about 27 of them; Apple got two. I repeated the test about six months ago, and the only thing that had changed was that Google got one more right.

jfoutz 13y ago

And that's the beauty of comscore's metric. Spend 10 minutes dicking around with Apple maps, then 30 seconds in Google maps to find what you are looking for. Apple comes out way ahead, because their app is more engaging.

rm999 13y ago
Your scenario isn't supported by ComScore's results, they state that the vast majority of iphone users aren't using google maps at all. From the article: >ComScore's data suggests though that comparatively few iPhone owners actually take the trouble to use Google's maps
- jfoutz 13y ago
  ComScore's data is great for advertisers, it gives user counts and time spent in the app. It's pretty much worthless for determining how effective the app is at finding locations. My hyperbolic statement can't be justified by the data provided. Perhaps apple users spend their time looking up hundreds of locations and google users are only able to find one. There's an obvious selection bias, and i don't know what the effect is. I'd claim smartphone users aren't all that different, they just want to look stuff up, and they'd look it up at comparable rates. If that's true, it takes apple maps users longer to find stuff.

demallien 13y ago

I'm guessing that many Apple Maps users don't use Maps in that way, but more for finding a specific address. Personally, on my iPhone if I want to find a business I do it through Yelp, which comes with the added bonus of being integrated with Siri. You can ask for an itinerary from there and it shows it in Maps, it's all very easy as a workflow. For example, living in Paris, if I want to go to the CNIT (a shopping centre located at La Defense), Apple Maps itself refuses to give me the address. But if I ask the Yelp app, it points me straight to it, and from there I click on a link and I have my itinerary in Maps. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the remaining flaws in Apple Maps are so easy to route around now that they just aren't much of an issue.

potatolicious 13y ago
I look up specific addresses via Apple Maps, it still sucks. Hell, let's try this right now. I'm sitting at work in Brooklyn. I just typed in "20 Jay St", the address of my building. Apple Maps has my location, this should be a piece of CAKE. ... And now I'm at "20 Main Tavern" near Plattsburg, NY, by the Canadian border. I also just searched for my home address, which is a 5 minute subway ride away in Manhattan. I ended up at "3rd St & Baker Springs Rd" in Wickes, AK. Or searching for "161 Canal" takes me to "161 Canal Lane" in Jackson, NJ, as opposed to the much more obvious "161 Canal Street" in Manhattan. Apple Maps is full of nonsense, either searching via POI or via address, or via intersection. It's practically useless. At this point I'm pretty sure I need to memorize Lat/Long just to use this thing, or be absurdly specific every time I use it. "Empire State Building, the one in Manahttan, if you please"
- lemma 13y ago
  Could be worse, I just typed a full home address in Miami and got a result in Australia...
- rzt 13y ago
  The funny thing is, is that when you use Siri, Apple Maps seems to be more accurate. I can say, "Directions from home to 123 Main Street, Hometown" and the directions will be perfect. If I type that same query out, I get "Directions Not Found." I don't get it.

eknkc 13y ago

I always use Foursquare to find places and tap "Get Directions" to open up the location in Apple Maps. Pretty happy with this. Apple Maps can not find shit in my hometown by itself but it's pretty fine with strict addresses and navigation.