Personally, I like the "feel" of Google Maps better than Apple Maps because I'm so used to it with my years of iPhone usage.
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Apple Maps Now Available on the Web
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I've found that Google Maps gives better driving directions. I asked both Google and Apple Maps to direct me to a restaurant on a busy street that has a central divider with few opportunities to make a U-turn. Apple directed me to the location across the street from the restaurant. In this case, that would have left me to figure out how to get to the other side to reach the restaurant's parking lot. Google correctly routed me through the residential area behind the restaurant so that I came out on the correct side of the street so I could park.
I asked both maps to direct me to a wildlife refuge in (very) rural California. I just used the refuge name. Apple led me to the boundary of the refuge, which is just a spot on a road with no entrance, no sign, no nothing. Google led me directly to the visitor center.
I certainly don't trust Google as far as privacy, but I find their directions almost always better than Apple's when there's a difference.
From me in America, it's the best. The photo quality is just better, and the UI is much smoother.
Google did a good job in gamifying map submissions and corrections early on, which was one of the reasons I stayed locked in to their app for years. "Local Guides" with enough earned trust can add/change things almost instantly, which then get reviewed by peers afterwards. Using paid staff to manually review every correction cannot practically scale.
For things like a wildlife refuge, I find that Google is way better about knowing where the actual entrances are. Same with parking lots and such. When Apple has a proper destination, though, I find it's quite good for navigation. I much prefer the quality of graphics and like the turn-by-turn directions better than what Google gives you -- for instance, I don't know what to do with "in 500 feet, turn right" which Google likes to spit out, but I can use "at the next light, turn right", which Apple Maps uses. Lane guidance is generally excellent on Apple Maps.
Look Around is higher quality than Street View, but the coverage is abysmal in the US, outside of a few major cities.
Look Around has excellent coverage in Canada, most Western European countries, and many other countries, so I don’t understand wha’s taking them so long in the US. Several years ago, I saw an Apple Maps van where I live, yet there is no Look Around within a couple hundred miles. We did recently get 3D coverage, though.
Your explanation makes sense - what doesn't make sense to me is how anyone could receive a dopamine hit from being a local guide on Google Maps. I just don't get the allure.
Yes. The USA is one of those few countries where apple maps does have the look around feature (equivalent to google’s street view). It’s not available in most of the world, though.
Look Around has NO COVERAGE AT ALL outside the US, UK, Canada, western European countries and maybe a few other countries. It isn’t available in most of the world. Google’s street view is available nearly worldwide even though it may not be as good. For example, I live in Mexico (which shares a 2000 mi border with the US, though americans often treat it the same as Tuvalu in the middle of the pacific) and Apple’s look around still isn’t available here, while Google’s street view has been available here for at least a decade.
Good for you. It’s still unavailable in the overwhelming majority of the world. Google’s street view has been available nearly everywhere for at least a decade.
What does "scroll" mean in this context? When I spin the scroll wheel on my mouse, Maps (the Mac desktop version) zooms in/out, and always has. Do you mean something else?
As you said about how quick Apple responds to reporting by users, I am skeptical of whether they use any kind of auto process rather than human curation to handle the report. I encountered a few cases that mishandled repeatedly for some exceptions of multiple faults that I reported to them, like placing shop at the driveway, displaying a shop that had been closed permanently, or showing duplicates of a POI in different languages in different locations. Cos the report dialog has to require the users to mark a new location of the POI to dismiss, though I described the fault in details in the remarks box, apple’s response would simply follow what I marked on the map for new location, which is simply mistaken.
In short, I am disappointed how they responded to users report though they did answer swiftly.
'congratulations, the restaurant you added to Google Maps has had over 100,000 views!'
'congratulations, the pictures you have uploaded have had over 5 million views!'*
Things like that help. Also, sometimes when you complain about service, if an owner is reading they might be prompted to take your report more seriously and respond when you have a high level badge, if for no other reason than because your complaint shows up higher in the relevancy sort for a lot longer. I was at a chain deli once and wrote that everything else was great, service, etc., but their new Reuben was a bit soggy. Within hours the local franchisee asked me to email them. I did, and said I don't want a refund or anything, not trying to act like an entitled Yelper, just please train people about the new item, etc. They've had a couple different store managers since then, but I think of it as "my" deli, even though they don't excel in anything, because they've been responsive.
I was having lunch at a very tiny restaurant in an out of the way strip mall much more recently, because I'd had to take an elderly relative to a nearby medical appointment. I had seen it on the map, but it was empty at the tail end of lunch, so I made a point of writing some nice things about the place. Right after I walked out, the guy I'd seen at the cash register (but who disappeared while another person made the food and brought it to me, so I think the owner) came running out and said, 'hey, are you __? I really liked what you said, please try a birria taco before you go.' I was in a hurry to pick up my relative so promised him I'd be back another time to try it, but it was a big reminder how encouraging a good review can be to small owners. I was smiling for a while on what had been a boring, down day.
I'm also a guide because I wish people would do stuff like post pictures of the menus or parking lot information. I figure I should do what I want to see. It saves me a lot of time if I see a place is out of my price range or is hard to find parking near. (Satellite maps help so much with the latter, so I was glad to see through DDG that Apple has those just like Google). A lot of my most popular pictures are just entrances, so people have an idea when they're driving down the street what to look for, what they're next to, etc. I also write about staff friendliness, crowds and excessive noise because I'm an introvert and those things have a huge effect.
I would probably do all of these things for Apple if they come up with something similar. My iPad is only wifi, though, so it won't be as easy until I get something like an actual iPhone.
*I have to admit to getting a little grumbly when I get picture view updates, because I think if they gave me a tenth of a penny for every picture view, heh.
'congratulations, the pictures you have uploaded have had over 5 million views!'*
Things like that help. Also, sometimes when you complain about service, if an owner is reading they might be prompted to take your report more seriously and respond when you have a high level badge, if for no other reason than because your complaint shows up higher in the relevancy sort for a lot longer. I was at a chain deli once and wrote that everything else was great, service, etc., but their new Reuben was a bit soggy. Within hours the local franchisee asked me to email them. I did, and said I don't want a refund or anything, not trying to act like an entitled Yelper, just please train people about the new item, etc. They've had a couple different store managers since then, but I think of it as "my" deli, even though they don't excel in anything, because they've been responsive.
I was having lunch at a very tiny restaurant in an out of the way strip mall much more recently, because I'd had to take an elderly relative to a nearby medical appointment. I had seen it on the map, but it was empty at the tail end of lunch, so I made a point of writing some nice things about the place. Right after I walked out, the guy I'd seen at the cash register (but who disappeared while another person made the food and brought it to me, so I think the owner) came running out and said, 'hey, are you __? I really liked what you said, please try a birria taco before you go.' I was in a hurry to pick up my relative so promised him I'd be back another time to try it, but it was a big reminder how encouraging a good review can be to small owners. I was smiling for a while on what had been a boring, down day.
I'm also a guide because I wish people would do stuff like post pictures of the menus or parking lot information. I figure I should do what I want to see. It saves me a lot of time if I see a place is out of my price range or is hard to find parking near. (Satellite maps help so much with the latter, so I was glad to see through DDG that Apple has those just like Google). A lot of my most popular pictures are just entrances, so people have an idea when they're driving down the street what to look for, what they're next to, etc. I also write about staff friendliness, crowds and excessive noise because I'm an introvert and those things have a huge effect.
I would probably do all of these things for Apple if they come up with something similar. My iPad is only wifi, though, so it won't be as easy until I get something like an actual iPhone.
*I have to admit to getting a little grumbly when I get picture view updates, because I think if they gave me a tenth of a penny for every picture view, heh.
This is the standard behaviour in half or more cities where google maps work. It's not specific to the web version. But it's an improvement point nonetheless.
Same hit one gets from regularly posting one's opinions here.
"Oooo I've helped someone. Aren't I super smart!" or "I'm hilarious, look at all these smily face reactions!" are my main two drivers for here (I'm not a maps guide).
I don't really use maps that often anyway, I don't drive, so it is only if I am being nosy.
Google Maps does the job, so I stick with it. Bing maps or what ever it is called is a waste of time. It would be nice to have some more competition, I suppose.