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All Devices Updated Apple Maps
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I just wish AM had the option in the US to show Green if desired.
I did some shopping last eve and took the main streets to Sam’s Club. AM showed it clear with no red/orange. GM showed it with significant red/orange. Turns out that GM was correct.
Not sure how AM is processing street traffic data but I am finding that there are significant blank spots.
btw - Waze was pretty much a match to GM.
AM is getting better. Depending on your personal use, it has a ways to go.
I did some shopping last eve and took the main streets to Sam’s Club. AM showed it clear with no red/orange. GM showed it with significant red/orange. Turns out that GM was correct.
Not sure how AM is processing street traffic data but I am finding that there are significant blank spots.
btw - Waze was pretty much a match to GM.
AM is getting better. Depending on your personal use, it has a ways to go.
Which begs the question where google is getting their info from, such that it is apparently more plentiful and accurate than data sourced from the vast majority of iphones in use.
Agreed.
BUT! I will add that, in response to AM and GM showing different traffic data and routing accordingly (not sure how relevant my comment can be without having actually experienced this Sam's Club evening traffic), it seems from past personal and anecdotal experience that AM prefers to keep you on the main/tried-and-true roads or freeways even if there is some traffic, so long as it doesn't drastically affect the ETA. On the other hand -- and I can only speak to Waze, having not really ever used GM -- other maps may have a greater tendency to route you to clearer roads that may feel like you're getting somewhere faster. It's hard to tell which is actually more efficient without having a buddy use a different map app to get to the same place, but if the rerouting to other clearer roads adds stoplights, both routing styles may have the same end result, even if one puts you in some traffic and feels like it's taking longer. Anyone have a similar or opposite experience?
I've always wondered how their algorithms account for speeding...I prefer Apple Maps routing as I am more likely to drive say 80 mph on a highway where the speed limit is 70 versus back roads where speeding may be more dangerous as well as more opportunity to be slowed by turns, intersections, lights, etc.
Either way, when I use all three maps at the same time and follow the same route (despite which one may say is faster or slower), the Apple Maps ETA is always better than Google or Waze in my experience.
I used to use Waze more often when I was commuting daily and just found that the ETA when I left my house would always creep up to a longer time as I drove...was very frustrating. Google was a little beter at sticking to it's ETA, but Apple Maps always seemed to be dead on or at worst, under estimated the arrival time just slightly and improving the ETA ever so slightly as I hit green lights or drove faster. Typically never more than a few minutes though.
FYI: Both Apple and Google don't just rely on device location tracking, they all buy traffic data from various sources. Pretty sure Apple even bought data from Waze.
Just head over to the individual ToS of either and you'll find more info on where the data comes from.
Thinking all traffic data is only provided by the respective devices running the individual OS is... gullible to say the least. I highly doubt Apple has enough iPhones running on my daily commute to get traffic info that accurate.
Just head over to the individual ToS of either and you'll find more info on where the data comes from.
Thinking all traffic data is only provided by the respective devices running the individual OS is... gullible to say the least. I highly doubt Apple has enough iPhones running on my daily commute to get traffic info that accurate.
I think everyone realizes that, but nothing has more coverage than nearly every single iPhone out there transmitting movement data. The disagreement here is more around how (and when) they show it.
The data listing page isn’t clear on this either with just generic “map data,” “business listings,” and “transit data” categories.
Waze was specifically listed as providing traffic data when Maps was first introduced, but changed a few years back to just “Map Data.”
If that is the case that may explain why the city street traffic data is so bad.
Still, it has to be more than that. There are not enough on the road at any one time to do anything other than supplement traffic info.
By my rough reckoning, there are nearly 100 million iPhones in use in the United States. I think that is more than enough to provide a fairly good estimate of traffic flow in most areas, especially in urban / suburban / interstate areas, especially when used in conjunction with in road and off road sensors.
Every article I have ever read on traffic data for both Google Maps and Apple Maps says that this phone data is the number one indicator of traffic. They only grab government supplied data where available...which actually isn’t actually much outside of large urban areas.
Google’s edge in high traffic areas seems to lean on their ability to use past data to predict future patterns. Probably why sometimes they show traffic (or not) incorrectly....actual data doesn’t catch up to their predictions fast enough.
How many of those are in the hands of actual drivers on the road at any one time? How many miles of roads are in the US? And number of those that are also set to be used for road data.
Statistically immaterial.
I’m going to disagree with you on this one. Even if only a third are on the road at any given time, that’s still 30 million phones. I would guess that on roads worth monitoring, there are probably 10+ iPhones per mile, which would be more than enough. You don’t need coverage on 90% of road miles because there are few vehicles there.
Every iPhone sold is set to be used for road data...you have to turn that off, not on.
One of Google’s benefits here is that get get data from iPhones as well that have Google Maps open.
Think about. I mean really think about it.
Corporate phones ususally ahve any and all data collection off.
Many turn that stuff off (I do).
How many phones on a given stretch of road do you need to gather the required volume of data for this to work. Sorry - a couple of phones per mile don’t cut it.
Of those phones sold, how many are actually in a car at this moment? How many are owned by drivers? How many use alternative transportation?
If you had every single iphone active on the road and all had data collection turned on you are still looking at 25 phones per mile. A third? You are seriously dreaming. I look at it from an engineering perspective (my skillset) and this does not work as a primary info source.
Meanwhile, there is a serious gap in how Apple is feeding their traffic data.
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Even Google only uses phone data as a secondary crowd source and they have significant Android info also.
What I am saying is there is no way for iphone live data to be the primary source. Apple does use it, just not as the “be all”.
Find ONE article for me...just one....where user data isn’t listed as the MAIN source for traffic data. Almost every point you are making is wrong...even from a logic standpoint. What you THINK is irrelevant.
Google hasn’t relied on government traffic data as a main source for more than TEN YEARS. I stated the reasons above...that data simply doesn’t cover enough roads.
Corporate provided phones are irrelevant. For Android they CAN’T turn the feature off. If you are using Google Maps on ANY phone, location services are on and you are sending data to Google. On iPhones, iT departments would never waste their time turning off the traffic data feature as it has ZERO effect on corporate privacy.
Do you really think YOU represent the majority of iPhone users? Every iPhone user, no matter what the age, is sending traffic data to Apple...doesn’t matter if they’re in the car with mommy on their way to school, can’t afford a car or take mass transportation due to convenience...they are ALL sending traffic data if they are in a vehicle going down a road. And I’ll say I just flat out disagree with you on this one, my guess would be that 99.99999% of people do NOT dive into the catacombs of the settings to find the button to turn off traffic data. They are too busy Snapchatting, Instagramming and Facebooking to care. And I don’t mean that as a bad thing...I use all those apps too.
Here are just a handful of articles on the subject.
Google Maps Data
https://amp.businessinsider.com/how-google-maps-knows-about-traffic-2015-11
https://www.quora.com/Where-does-Go...there-any-research-paper-that-I-can-reference
https://bgr.com/2017/01/11/google-maps-real-time-traffic/amp/
https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/how-does-google-maps-predict-traffic.htm
https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/how-does-google-maps-know-about-traffic-conditions.html
Apple Maps Data
https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/29/apple-is-rebuilding-maps-from-the-ground-up/amp/
One article is enough for Apple Maps because it basically says they are doing the identical thing Google Maps does...straight from the source.
From the TechCrunch article:
If you’re driving, walking or cycling, your iPhone can already tell this. Now if it knows you’re driving, it also can send relevant traffic and routing data in these anonymous slivers to improve the entire service. This only happens if your Maps app has been active, say you check the map, look for directions, etc. If you’re actively using your GPS for walking or driving, then the updates are more precise and can help with walking improvements like charting new pedestrian paths through parks — building out the map’s overall quality.
So you need to have the Maps app opened? This somewhat disadvantages Apple against Google...
If you’re driving, walking or cycling, your iPhone can already tell this. Now if it knows you’re driving, it also can send relevant traffic and routing data in these anonymous slivers to improve the entire service. This only happens if your Maps app has been active, say you check the map, look for directions, etc. If you’re actively using your GPS for walking or driving, then the updates are more precise and can help with walking improvements like charting new pedestrian paths through parks — building out the map’s overall quality.
So you need to have the Maps app opened? This somewhat disadvantages Apple against Google...
You do not...only for "more accurate" representation as you are actually telling the phone "yes, I am walking from here to here" or driving or taking transit.
The iPhone comes standard with Routing and Traffic support turned on...you can find it in settings/privacy/location services...go to the very bottom of the list and open "system services"...then go down to "Routing & Traffic".
It's always checking, but without the Map app opened, it takes a little more work to figure out that you are moving fast enough or in a pattern for it to know you are in a vehicle moving down a road....but it is doing that.
EDIT: From Apple's website
By enabling Location Services, location-based system services such as these will also be enabled:
- Traffic — If you are physically moving (for example, traveling in a car), your iPhone will periodically send GPS locations and travel speed information in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple, to be used for augmenting a crowd-sourced road traffic database.
- Popular Near Me — Your iPhone will periodically send locations of where, and when, you have purchased or used Apps in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple, to improve a crowd-sourced database that may be used to offer geographically-relevant Apps and other Apple products and services.
- Significant Locations — Your iPhone will keep track of places you have recently been, as well as how often and when you visited them, in order to learn places that are significant to you. This data is encrypted and stored only on your device and will not be shared without your consent. It is used to provide you with personalized services, such as predictive traffic routing, and to build better Photos Memories.
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One final time and we really should make this a separate thread:
There are not enough iphones with maps / routing active and on the road at any one time in a given area to be the primary traffic data source AND have that be accurate across whatever area / country this is active. Like Google, it is an ADDITIONAL data point.
For Google Maps: "Google Maps uses a few sources for traffic data: Local highway authorities (road sensors), car, and taxi fleets [1] Crowd-sourced, anonymized traffic data from people using Google maps apps on certain smartphones, including Android and Palm webOS devices, but excluding the iPhone." This is as of Jan 2018.
Explain one thing to me then, how is Waze even a thing if what you are saying is true? How does Waze tell me when there is traffic? Are there sensors on the road now telling me when there is a car broken down on the side of the road? Sensors tell me where police are hiding? Where construction starts/ends? The whole app is crowdsourced...and it's not even the number one navigation app in use!!
I gave you a link to an article that states as fact that Google has been using the phone data as it's primary traffic indicator for 10 years. Quoted from people that lead Google Maps!
Where is your statement listed above from? Are you assuming that since "local highway authorities" is mentioned first that it is the main source of data?
Please...just provide one source to back up your claims without it being just what you believe.
EDIT: Another nice article.
https://www.lifewire.com/how-google-traffic-works-4176990
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