As soon as Apple Maps will be able to show directions for bikes in my country (the Netherlands, feat. at least 25 million bikes) I will consider using the app. Until then Google wins.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Maps Gradually Winning Over Google Maps Users, Report Suggests
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm not aware of any "mapping culture", but didn't you know that we Germans generally love anything that allows us to keep things under control? (even if the promised amount of control turns out to be an illusion if analysed with a clear mind - but the aspiration is always there, especially in public discussions).
While of course exceptions confirm the rule, we generally are a nation of list keepers, rule makers (and rule inspectors / defenders), planners and - of course - map readers.
Unfortunately, Apple Maps are still way behind Google Maps in terms of terrain coverage using navigation. For example, in the city I live (Krakow, Poland) bike routes are unavailable. Plus, information about many places (restaurants, shops etc.) are out of date. Some of the places were closed few years ago, some were opened few months ago and I don’t see them in Maps. This is the Apple’s biggest flaw in general - they neglect smaller markets (it changes now, but very slowly)
Google Maps isn’t perfect, but Maps does something wrong almost every time I use it and most of my usage is in the capital city so it isn’t some small rural town.
“Apple Maps Gradually Winning Over Haters, Report Suggests”
What a bad tittle.
What a bad tittle.
too much going on on Waze for my liking, like there is a different symbol popping up every other second. It is also hardly used here. We tried advertising on it a while ago and we could not even spent our 30 euro daily budget because there was no volume 😅
Yeah it's much better than where it started but progress has been extremely slow recently. For navigation and road accuracy it's fine, better than Google Maps even. The Apple Watch nav integration is great with the little wrist taps it does to remind you a turn is coming. The graphics for displaying which exit to take are better than Google Maps too (I understand this is not the case outside of major parts of America).
One of the big areas that needs improvement is the ability to explore new locations, read/write reviews, see wait times, check out pictures, etc. Google wins in this department by a long shot. Yelp integration in Apple Maps is ok but booting me out of Apple Maps just to look at more pictures and reviews in detail on the Yelp app is ridiculous. I want all that stuff on Apple's own platform, I don't trust Yelp.
Overall the story of Apple Maps is the same as Apple Music and many of Apple's other native solutions vs. the competition. They are constantly chasing parity with those 3rd party platforms and when they're in the ballpark they stop trying altogether. There's little to no meaningful innovation applied to any of their own apps. How long do we have to wait before Apple Maps 3D view is revamped with little moving 3D models of cars and bikes to give a sense of current traffic, volumetric clouds to convey weather conditions, or realistic lighting? What about a brand new innovative review system that isn't just a barebones render of whatever Yelp's API is spitting out? Reviews and reviewers should be given first class tools to convey emotion and personality beyond a star rating, text description, and a profile pic (which btw isn't even visible in the native Apple Maps app).
Innovation is when something truly new comes along that changes the way you think about something. We haven't seen that in Apple's software department for a long time. We need that for maps. Deliver something that truly blows everyone away and changes how we think about Maps in general.
One of the big areas that needs improvement is the ability to explore new locations, read/write reviews, see wait times, check out pictures, etc. Google wins in this department by a long shot. Yelp integration in Apple Maps is ok but booting me out of Apple Maps just to look at more pictures and reviews in detail on the Yelp app is ridiculous. I want all that stuff on Apple's own platform, I don't trust Yelp.
Overall the story of Apple Maps is the same as Apple Music and many of Apple's other native solutions vs. the competition. They are constantly chasing parity with those 3rd party platforms and when they're in the ballpark they stop trying altogether. There's little to no meaningful innovation applied to any of their own apps. How long do we have to wait before Apple Maps 3D view is revamped with little moving 3D models of cars and bikes to give a sense of current traffic, volumetric clouds to convey weather conditions, or realistic lighting? What about a brand new innovative review system that isn't just a barebones render of whatever Yelp's API is spitting out? Reviews and reviewers should be given first class tools to convey emotion and personality beyond a star rating, text description, and a profile pic (which btw isn't even visible in the native Apple Maps app).
Innovation is when something truly new comes along that changes the way you think about something. We haven't seen that in Apple's software department for a long time. We need that for maps. Deliver something that truly blows everyone away and changes how we think about Maps in general.
I much prefer the uncluttered design of Apple Maps, but when I need to see live traffic, at least in Melbourne Australia, I have to use Google. Apple Maps currently doesn’t even seem to try to load the traffic around my area the way Google does amazingly well.
Whereas I very rarely have a problem with it.
A lot of the differences come down to the looks, like the massive arrow or toy car on Google Maps that looks amateur. I I also don’t like how busy it looks. If I want to see the local shoe shop on the map, I will ask for it. #googleadvertising. But I guess it's what you get used to.
My biggest gripe with Apple Maps nowadays is that the restaurants in my town seems to be 50% correct / 50% either missing or put in a another part of town for some god forsaken reson.
Also, big minus points for the clickbait title. Could you at least pretend to be a serious website? *edit better now, used to include the word haters... */edit*
Also, big minus points for the clickbait title. Could you at least pretend to be a serious website? *edit better now, used to include the word haters... */edit*
Last edited:
Most reasons why Apple Maps is on par with or even better than Google Maps are already summed up in this thread, but one major reason for me to pick Apple Maps over Google Maps isn't: Siri. I just can't stand the robotic Google voices.
The improvements are welcome but as a cyclist in Australia, Apple Maps has a long way to go before it replaces Google
iPhone users are increasingly finding reasons to choose Apple Maps over Google Maps, with some customers commending its clear public transport directions and visually appealing design.
That's according to anecdotal reports collected by The Wall Street Journal (paywalled). While Apple Maps comes preinstalled on all iPhones, the overwhelming majority of iPhones in the U.S. have Google Maps downloaded as an alternative, according to Canalys.
But that hasn't stopped some users becoming particularly impressed by how far Apple's transit route information has come. The app is often recommended by users for its cleaner view versus the more cluttered design of Google Maps.
For example, Jane Natoli, a Google Maps "power user" told WSJ she finds herself using Apple Maps more in her everyday life after her iPhone prompted her to use it in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The app knew she was at the airport and offered recommendations for shops and restaurants in her terminal. It had clearer information that was easier to interact with than Google Maps, said the 42-year-old.
A recent graduate from Georgia Tech shared a similar sentiment. At night while driving, she said she finds that the roads are easier to look at on Apple Maps, and there are fewer points of interest cluttering her view. "Apple's really good at making things look pretty," she told the outlet.
Apple Maps launched in 2012 and was quickly criticized for having incomplete and inaccurate mapping data, which led some iPhone users on dangerous routes. Apple CEO Tim Cook offered a rare public apology for the frustration it caused customers, and then iOS chief Scott Forstall was ousted just one month later.
Since then, Apple has made significant improvements to Apple Maps, building in new features and correcting lingering errors. Real-time traffic information and navigation options for pedestrians were added to Maps in 2013, which is also the same year Maps was extended to OS X. In 2015, Maps was updated with "Nearby," a feature that offers up local points of interest and transit directions in a handful of cities.
In early 2020, Apple completed a complete overhaul of its maps in the United States, featuring significantly greater detail including updated building massing, parks, sports field, pools, and more. A new Look Around feature in select cities is similar to Google's Street View, and the updated maps have been rolling out to more countries in the time since. In iOS 17, coming in the fall, users will be able to download maps for offline use in Apple Maps – something Google Maps users have been able to do now for quite some time.
Praise for Apple's offering isn't by any means universal. One user told WSJ she was frequently led astray by Apple Maps as she walks around Boston, while another user said his experience with Apple Maps via CarPlay had often added time on to his commute by taking him through neighborhoods with stop signs in an effort to avoid gridlock.
Apple Maps still gets a bad rap among some users, but Apple's continued efforts to improve the app appear to have helped reverse some of those opinions. "Maps has come a long way, and people have noticed," Craig Federighi, Apple's head of software, said during WWDC in June. Are you more or less likely to use Apple Maps these days? Let us know in the comments.
Article Link: Apple Maps Gradually Winning Over Haters, Report Suggests
I have used Apple Maps for the last couple of years and I find it really good. However, I am currently in Liberia and Google Maps takes the cake here. Apple Maps can do the roads just fine. But it is terrible at locating stores, shops, ect...Once back home I will be switching back to Apple again. For now, I am thankful for Google.
Never had any problem using apple maps. Can’t say the same for google maps.
Nowadays seems to be a matter of personal preference. However, as has happened in the past with apple products, the problem was releasing the product half baked. In the collective memory remain the many problems apple maps had the first year or so, and became a joke.
Reminds me of the glorious release of final cut pro x.
Nowadays seems to be a matter of personal preference. However, as has happened in the past with apple products, the problem was releasing the product half baked. In the collective memory remain the many problems apple maps had the first year or so, and became a joke.
Reminds me of the glorious release of final cut pro x.
Yeah, I've noticed that as well that in Poland Apple Maps isn't really good. It doesn't even show all the shops and businesses that exist around me. Google shows everything and you can find everything with ease. I was looking for a tobacco shop one day and I couldn't find it on Apple Maps, but Google Maps instantly showed me where it is at.
Apple Maps has been great for me for a few years now, far less glitches than Google Maps, but I do have a few small gripes. A 15 minute route with 8 turns is NOT more efficient than the 17 minute route with 2 turns. I hate turning, there's a lot of traffic where I live and I can't always make a right then quickly scootch right over 3 lanes to take the next left. I really wish there was a "fewest turns" preset so I don't have to manually select the straightest route every time. I also wish they'd hurry up and implement user reviews instead of linking to stupid Yelp.
And if you ask that of Maps you get a store that closed 5 years ago which defeats the entire purpose of using it.
My biggest problem with everything Apple is their terrible approach to localization / internationalization and lack of support for languages.
I speak four languages, usually have my systems set to English, since most of my work and daily communication is in English, but live in Denmark and receive messages in English, Danish and German.
After all this time, Apple does not allow you to set map language to a local language and different from your system language. Neither does it detect messages’ language to read it out in that language.
Drive by voice is therefore useless since Danish, German, Swedish etc streets would be pronounced with English gibberish and so would any message read out loud for you. And so while driving, iOS only serves me to play music, listen to audio books or call people.
Unless I want to constantly check guidance on screen, I have to use other services such as “Here” maps which always had the feature to switch spoken guidance to any language. And since typing and reading are often prevented in the Car Play versions to keep you focused, searching for locations requires you to go to your device, since even user spoken words are interpreted in English. So I would have to talk the same mangled gibberish. This might work for people who are not able to speak the local language and would pronounce places like Apple, but come on …
Why is something like that so difficult for you Apple? Why can Google and Microsoft do it but not you?
Or maybe I miss something? Have overlooked a fantastic switch in settings?
I speak four languages, usually have my systems set to English, since most of my work and daily communication is in English, but live in Denmark and receive messages in English, Danish and German.
After all this time, Apple does not allow you to set map language to a local language and different from your system language. Neither does it detect messages’ language to read it out in that language.
Drive by voice is therefore useless since Danish, German, Swedish etc streets would be pronounced with English gibberish and so would any message read out loud for you. And so while driving, iOS only serves me to play music, listen to audio books or call people.
Unless I want to constantly check guidance on screen, I have to use other services such as “Here” maps which always had the feature to switch spoken guidance to any language. And since typing and reading are often prevented in the Car Play versions to keep you focused, searching for locations requires you to go to your device, since even user spoken words are interpreted in English. So I would have to talk the same mangled gibberish. This might work for people who are not able to speak the local language and would pronounce places like Apple, but come on …
Why is something like that so difficult for you Apple? Why can Google and Microsoft do it but not you?
Or maybe I miss something? Have overlooked a fantastic switch in settings?
The entire purpose of using a Sat Nav Mapping system is to find a store that hasn’t been open for 5 years? Maybe I’m using maps wrong, or maybe you are.
If you talk to any business, it’s a nightmare on a phone call to change things like opening hours for google maps. For usability, Apple looks better and easier to navigate. The 3D City view is amazing. Yet Google has more function. They both have issues.
Agreed, Apple has been making huge announcements every time they make a minor improvement to Maps only to find out that it's only working in a few cities in the US. In the mean time, features that were announced years ago never fully roll out in Europe. In the mean time, Google is miles ahead. In The Netherlands we still don't have Cycling routes, No plane or boat travel suggestions, and third party integrations such a Uber never work, and Public transfer suggestions are always minutes longer because their services are not real time and behind. I want to use Apple Maps, but every time I try it, I find out that I'm better of using Google.
Having an alternative maps app on my phone isn’t any indication that I don’t like Apple maps. It just means that I have multiple maps apps on my device.
For example, I do have google maps installed, and I do sometimes use it (like when I am in a country where Apple services aren’t as prevalent, like Indonesia), but otherwise, I still default to Apple Maps, and it works well enough for my needs here in Singapore.
What’s probably more accurate is the power of “good enough”. Google maps having more features than the competition doesn’t necessarily mean anything if it’s not giving the user more of what they want. It’s just more bloat at the end of the day.
For example, I do have google maps installed, and I do sometimes use it (like when I am in a country where Apple services aren’t as prevalent, like Indonesia), but otherwise, I still default to Apple Maps, and it works well enough for my needs here in Singapore.
What’s probably more accurate is the power of “good enough”. Google maps having more features than the competition doesn’t necessarily mean anything if it’s not giving the user more of what they want. It’s just more bloat at the end of the day.
Last edited:
Almost nobody would have Apple Maps on their phone if it didn't come pre-installed.