The state of Apple Maps in 2016...

[iGeek2014]

I find Apple Maps is getting better. It's not perfect (far from it) but it is slowly improving.

I just wish they'd follow Google Maps and intergrate more Public Transit options for areas outside of London etc.

Whenever I've submitted a correction (or stated a place is contactless/Apple Pay) they are usually pretty quick to modify it.

I do find it annoying, though, when you type Apple Pay into the app and it doesn't list places that accept it... Time consuming to keep looking around and see who is/isn't listed.

 

[JT2002TJ]

I find Apple Maps is getting better. It's not perfect (far from it) but it is slowly improving.

It is slowly getting better... Slowly.

I do find it annoying, though, when you type Apple Pay into the app and it doesn't list places that accept it... Time consuming to keep looking around and see who is/isn't listed.

Do you have the MasterCard nearby app? This does show some locations.

 

[TitanTiger]

Yeah it has no trouble understanding 'Costa Coffee' but I think it's quite telling that the very first basic test that I put Apple Maps through it fails spectacularly. I want the accuracy and reliability of Apple Maps to be good as I really like the fluidity and smoothness of the app thanks to Apple's use of the Metal API.

But Costa could mean anything. What if you'd been looking instead for places that sell Costa Del Mar sunglasses? Your results would have been useless with Google and Apple. You're cherry picking one use case that happened to work for you in Google and acting like that automatically extrapolates to some overall picture of how good each respective app is.

 

[TheIntruder]

Considering Google had a seven year head start (2005 vs 2012) Apple has done OK.

I wouldn't underestimate the enormity of the project; Google is said to have at least 7000 people working on Maps (even if the majority are doing "field" work), as well as being able to leverage the rich data from other parts of the company, which Apple cannot. And Google Maps had growing pains of its own, which make for an interesting story in itself.

Apple Maps was underbaked when it launched, which made the somewhat unfair comparisons to Google even more unflattering. But it's has improved since then, and more than usable now.

My beef with Apple (rumored internal turmoil/project management issues within the division notwithstanding) is that they seemingly could have prioritized or devoted more resources to features people are likely to have find useful, like transit directions and local content. Up until last year, it seemed every update to Maps consisted only of new flyover cities, which may be neat, but ultimately trivial.

I'm not a heavy nav user (I have a sense of direction and know how to use a paper map), but every app has its own issues. And as far advanced as technology is today, it is still far from perfect, and individual WTF moments still occur with all of them. To me, such apps as aids, not crutches. I allow them to help, but don't rely entirely on them.

Still, we've come a long way since having to spend a couple hundred bucks on a separate Garmin or Tom Tom that is never updated, never mind paper maps.

 

[JT2002TJ]

Considering Google had a seven year head start (2005 vs 2012) Apple has done OK.

I agree... I still think Apple should have just found a price to pay Google to license their Maps, or partner with Google to add value to both OS'.

I wouldn't underestimate the enormity of the project; Google is said to have at least 7000 people working on Maps (even if the majority are doing "field" work), as well as being able to leverage the rich data from other parts of the company, which Apple cannot. And Google Maps had growing pains of its own, which make for an interesting story in itself.

Like you said, they had a seven year head start, but they still blew away their competition at the time, yahoo maps and mapquest.

Apple Maps was underbaked when it launched, which made the somewhat unfair comparisons to Google even more unflattering. But it's has improved since then, and more than usable now.

I think it is a fair comparison... If you buy a new phone from manufacturer X which is their 1st, or even 2nd generation, do you go back and compare it to the 1st, or 2nd gen iphone? Or, do you compare it to what is on the market today? If you enter a market, you have to be better, there is no excuse for being less.

My beef with Apple (rumored internal turmoil/project management issues within the division notwithstanding) is that they seemingly could have prioritized or devoted more resources to features people are likely to have find useful, like transit directions and local content. Up until last year, it seemed every update to Maps consisted only of new flyover cities, which may be neat, but ultimately trivial.

I can agree with this. They did fix some of the other issues as well as add flyover cities, but they didn't do enough to catch up to Google.

Still, we've come a long way since having to spend a couple hundred bucks on a separate Garmin or Tom Tom that is never updated, never mind paper maps.

The thing is, Garmin is still in business, they still make great navi products, and they do offer lifetime maps and free traffic on almost all of their newer products. Every new navi they make is FAR ahead of apple maps, it just lacks iphone integration, which is a big deal.

Cell phone navi's are like cell phone cameras, not the best product (when compared to a stand alone product), but the best you have with you at all times.

 

[iTom17]

You know, I often hear these complaints about Apple Maps making me think about it. Why do people act like Google Maps is like a 100 times better? Because that is certainly not the case. It may differ from country as some stated. For example, Apple Maps in my area (Eindhoven, the Netherlands) is more reliable to use compared to Google Maps. Maps have been updated not a long time ago as well, which is something that Google falls a little behind on.

But apart from that, I think people should realize how good Apple is doing their job. Think about it, it took Google years to make their maps service useful. Same thing applies to Apple Maps. They're completely new to it, while Google has always been about data. Apple is more of a hardware company that develops software in-house. That's quite a difference there.

I'm happy about Apple Maps. I really am, not overreacting at all. Google Maps is fine too. Both of them have their pros and cons, but I prefer Apple Maps by a large margin.

 

[JT2002TJ]

You know, I often hear these complaints about Apple Maps making me think about it. Why do people act like Google Maps is like a 100 times better? Because that is certainly not the case. It may differ from country as some stated. For example, Apple Maps in my area (Eindhoven, the Netherlands) is more reliable to use compared to Google Maps. Maps have been updated not a long time ago as well, which is something that Google falls a little behind on.

It is 100% depends on country and area within country. When I and many others here are talking, we are talking about the US, where both companies are based. If you go to Google maps there are street views of almost every neighborhood within 60 miles of me (Long Island, NY), which is the most populated part of the US. I use google street views when going anywhere in the 3 big states (NY, NJ, and CT) to identify the building I need to go in before I even leave my house. Google is FAR better in at least this area if the US.

But apart from that, I think people should realize how good Apple is doing their job. Think about it, it took Google years to make their maps service useful. Same thing applies to Apple Maps. They're completely new to it, while Google has always been about data. Apple is more of a hardware company that develops software in-house. That's quite a difference there.

They are doing a good job considering... I personally think Apple should focus on their hardware and their OS', not maps. Leave Maps to companies that do it better. Maybe Apple would be able to make a X.0 iOS that isn't buggy on release date.

I'm happy about Apple Maps. I really am, not overreacting at all. Google Maps is fine too. Both of them have their pros and cons, but I prefer Apple Maps by a large margin.

Like you said, it is by where you are. The thing is, Google has done a good job of hitting the major cities worldwide, which addresses majority of maps customers, with everything else, if you live in a smaller area, you get screwed. I do not think Apple maps is garbage, I just think it is years behind Google maps. Apple maps has come a log way, in a short amount of time, but I just do not see them ever catching up to Google (Google just has a head start, and keeps improving their product).

 

[jpn]

One place where Apple Maps works better ... China. Because of licensing deals, it seems to be as good as local map providers.

Google maps is not bad, but it's blocked by the authorities.

since google is completely blocked in china, apple maps is certainly better than looking at an empty, non-resolving screen. have to agree with that.
on the other hand, Baidu is much much better. period.

 

[iGeek2014]

It is slowly getting better... Slowly.



Do you have the MasterCard nearby app? This does show some locations.

If it's available in the UK I'll be sure to check it out...be easier if that data was in the Maps app rather than having to rely on another third party, that's all.

 

[DanielDD]

I agree... I still think Apple should have just found a price to pay Google to license their Maps, or partner with Google to add value to both OS'.

Like you said, they had a seven year head start, but they still blew away their competition at the time, yahoo maps and mapquest.

I think it is a fair comparison... If you buy a new phone from manufacturer X which is their 1st, or even 2nd generation, do you go back and compare it to the 1st, or 2nd gen iphone? Or, do you compare it to what is on the market today? If you enter a market, you have to be better, there is no excuse for being less.

I can agree with this. They did fix some of the other issues as well as add flyover cities, but they didn't do enough to catch up to Google.

The thing is, Garmin is still in business, they still make great navi products, and they do offer lifetime maps and free traffic on almost all of their newer products. Every new navi they make is FAR ahead of apple maps, it just lacks iphone integration, which is a big deal.

Cell phone navi's are like cell phone cameras, not the best product (when compared to a stand alone product), but the best you have with you at all times.

Sorry but that analogy is false because mapping is a totally different business environment than smartphone manufacturing. A new smartphone manufacturer has easy access to the most up to date chip from Qualcomm, the most advanced display from LG, the fastest SSD from Samsung, and so on. In the mapping business, you're on your own. Companies won't lend you data even if you're willing to pay huge royalties for them. So, you need to collect it yourself.

since google is completely blocked in china, apple maps is certainly better than looking at an empty, non-resolving screen. have to agree with that.
on the other hand, Baidu is much much better. period.

Still, Apple Maps data of china is more reliable than Google Maps'

 

[JT2002TJ]

Sorry but that analogy is false because mapping is a totally different business environment than smartphone manufacturing. A new smartphone manufacturer has easy access to the most up to date chip from Qualcomm, the most advanced display from LG, the fastest SSD from Samsung, and so on. In the mapping business, you're on your own. Companies won't lend you data even if you're willing to pay huge royalties for them. So, you need to collect it yourself.'

Remember Apple bought themselves access to a major mapping company tomtom, which owns Tele Atlas. So...

 

[Kobbr]

Had to use google maps over Apple the other day as it couldn't find the address to the place I needed to go.

 

[BeeGood]

Yeah, but it ususally does very little. When the street outside my old apartment was rebuilt and turned straight instead of curved, I tested reporting that to Google Maps, Bing Maps and Apple Maps the same day.

About a week later I got an email from Google saying "You were right! They changed the street, we've fixed that now, thanks!".

Got nothing from Apple or Microsoft, and it took them a year to change their maps.

I just used it to correct the hours for a medical clinic nearby. Apple corrected it in 4 days. It looks like they're getting much better at updating their map data.
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Had to use google maps over Apple the other day as it couldn't find the address to the place I needed to go.

I'd encourage you to drop a pin where the address should be and report the issue. Apple can't fix what they don't know about.

 

[LordQ]

Not sure if this has been mentioned before but I just noticed Apple Maps borrowing data from Foursquare now rather than Yelp. This is awesome.

 

[iGeek2014]

Not sure if this has been mentioned before but I just noticed Apple Maps borrowing data from Foursquare now rather than Yelp. This is awesome.

I notice they also source data from Booking.com and Trip Advisor. Not a bad thing; here in the UK a lot of Yelp reviews were outdated from when they acquired Qype some years ago.

 

[dannyyankou]

Heres another experiment

Go to both apps and put directions from your location to the white house.

apple maps has the worse directions. it just not good enough. they should have paid google more and used their services until they could create their own that met Apple standards .

Just tried this and they both gave me the same exact route. I'm from New York.

 

[Khalanad75]

But Costa could mean anything. What if you'd been looking instead for places that sell Costa Del Mar sunglasses? Your results would have been useless with Google and Apple. You're cherry picking one use case that happened to work for you in Google and acting like that automatically extrapolates to some overall picture of how good each respective app is.

Don't you know, the app should know what he's thinking, not what he is saying.

Around here it could have pulled up Costa Vida, a Mexican restaurant.

 

[Ulenspiegel]

I like Apple Maps, though I lack only one feature: offline use.

 

[AsherN]

Don't you know, the app should know what he's thinking, not what he is saying.

Around here it could have pulled up Costa Vida, a Mexican restaurant.

And in the context of a navigation map, it would have been valid. If I type "Costa" in a nav app, I expect to pull up places near me that have "Costa" in their name. Not some defunct province name half way around the world.

 

[tann]

I think google's app is a lot better than the apple one still, even if the underlying map data is similar now.

 

[M. Gustave]

The last two highway road trips this year I used Google Maps, it directed us to an endless loop of local roads in really bad industrial neighborhoods. And this was from NYC to major upstate NY cities.

I used to rely completely on Google Maps, but they're now messing up even simple navigation in major metropolitan areas. Something has changed.

 

[JT2002TJ]

Was in my friends jeep (no navi) last night, trying to get around Astoria (Queens, NY). Started with Apple maps, it took forever to even load, just showed that grid screen. Finally gave up and Google maps loaded right up. I have a consistent problem with Apple maps not loading maps, it sits there. Every time I go to Google maps it is quick.

Driving around NYC, there is no time for slow loading maps...

The last two highway road trips this year I used Google Maps, it directed us to an endless loop of local roads in really bad industrial neighborhoods. And this was from NYC to major upstate NY cities.

I used to rely completely on Google Maps, but they're now messing up even simple navigation in major metropolitan areas. Something has changed.

I have been in and out, and deep into every are of NYC, and do motorcycle trips from Long Island through upstate NY all the way to Maine, never once has Google maps steered me wrong.

You do have to remember all maps pick directions based on a few inputs, none of which are "avoid bad neighborhoods".

 

[M. Gustave]

I have been in and out, and deep into every are of NYC, and do motorcycle trips from Long Island through upstate NY all the way to Maine, never once has Google maps steered me wrong.

You do have to remember all maps pick directions based on a few inputs, none of which are "avoid bad neighborhoods".

I love the replies that are basically, 'you're an idiot, cause it can't be Google'.

When you ask for directions from Brooklyn to Syracuse NY, and you end up in the industrial wastelands of Newark, never once deviating from Google's directions, something's wrong, and it isn't me.

 

[JT2002TJ]

I love the replies that are basically, 'you're an idiot, cause it can't be Google'.

When you ask for directions from Brooklyn to Syracuse NY, and you end up in the industrial wastelands of Newark, never once deviating from Google's directions, something's wrong, and it isn't me.

If it routed you through the holland tunnel, that is not Google or Apple maps fault. That is the ongoing construction/closures with 1&9. And once you come out of the tunnel, you have 2 directions when the road splits after all the gas stations. If you did not go the correct way (78), you would get routed downtown industrial Newark because the Pulaski Skyway is closed.

Going through holland or Lincoln tunnels are less miles, and both maps send you there. In big cities, only residents of the city know the best way, which for you would have been RFK (Triborough) up to the George Washington Bridge. As much as I think Apple maps is behind Google maps, they all have this flaw.

I live in Long Island, and own a home I used to live in, in Newark. I have used Apple maps, Google maps, yahoo maps, and many others, they all do not understand the best options for travel around the city, or NE New Jersey.

 

[M. Gustave]

I have used Apple maps, Google maps, yahoo maps, and many others, they all do not understand the best options for travel around the city, or NE New Jersey.

Fair enough, and you're right about the whole Holland Tunnel thing.