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Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

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Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#81

Post by ehsankia »

mr-ron wrote: post #29

I opened up my settings to allow Google maps to have access to my location all the time, even when not using the app. I have found the Timeline feature in Google maps to be a huge game changer in terms of 'where ive been' and 'what Ive done'. I can look back months, see exactly what routes I went down, where I was at a given time. It will even match pictures with the locations. Especially for journaling vacations (so…

That's the thing, to me, the fact that the information is connected to me is the reason I use Google maps. I understand it's not for everyone, but to me it's a feature, not a bug.

The issue with privacy labels also is that you have to list the worst possible scenario, whereas through options, you can possibly reduce that list quite a bit.

Google Maps now has an incognito mode which unless I'm wrong would be equivalent if not more privacy centric than Apple Maps. But again, the privacy labels can't show that, they only show labels for the worse case.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#82

Post by rdiddly »

voisin wrote: post #12
steve_adams_86 wrote: post #3

I’m curious - does anyone reading this agree with the notion that Apple maps is becoming comparable to Google maps? I haven’t given it a fair shot in almost a decade I guess, and it was almost unusable then. Does anyone here use it as a daily driver? What are the strong and weak points?

I use Apple Maps as my primary GPS in my vehicle. I have spent the last few years on the road driving across North America and Google Maps repeatedly made objectively incorrect decisions in rural areas that would take me in quasi-off road situations. After I got frustrated being led astray I started comparing routes on both and found that it seems to be a logic issue for Google Maps, where it would save 5 km of dista…

Yep there are many private roads and driveways being shown as part of the road network. Google treats private roads as just roads. (Which is a pretty good analogy for how they treat private information as just information, but I'm being flippant.) I'm waiting for the wrongful-death suit by the family of the shot trespasser.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#83

Post by stickfigure »

beagle3 wrote: post #65
dreamcompiler wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can look back months, see exactly what routes I went down, where I was at a given time. So can Google. I'd love to have these features but the price is just too high. The price would be too high even if I trusted Google (which I don't), because every company that collects personal information will be hacked because no company is properly incentivised to protect users' data.

You know your phone service provider has that location information in resolution that’s almost as good, right? The only way to opt out is to turn your phone off (equivalently, leave it at home). For some people, the fact that google also knows it is no big deal. For some it is. But if you are worried about your whereabouts being leaked, how can you justify using a phone in the first place? Verizon and AT&T are more l…

...not to mention they whip out a credit card to make every purchase. And let's not get started on what their ISP records.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#84

Post by chipotle_coyote »

wutbrodo wrote: post #48
post_break wrote: post #35

I've tried to use Apple Maps but it just straight up cant find normal places that have existed for ages. I don't know what the deal is.

Outside of niche cases, every user I've ever talked to, here or in-person, has only ever used brand loyalty as their reason for using it. With a userbase like that, why bother making a good service, particularly when you don't have the institutional competency to do so?

Okay, in a comment you left literally three minutes before this you were accusing someone else of being "stuck in a 2010 Apple vs Google fanboy-war view of the world," and now you're saying, in so many words, only people who are fanboys use Apple maps because Apple fans are sheep so why should Apple bother. Pick a lane.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#85

Post by stickfigure »

voisin wrote: post #12
steve_adams_86 wrote: post #3

I’m curious - does anyone reading this agree with the notion that Apple maps is becoming comparable to Google maps? I haven’t given it a fair shot in almost a decade I guess, and it was almost unusable then. Does anyone here use it as a daily driver? What are the strong and weak points?

I use Apple Maps as my primary GPS in my vehicle. I have spent the last few years on the road driving across North America and Google Maps repeatedly made objectively incorrect decisions in rural areas that would take me in quasi-off road situations. After I got frustrated being led astray I started comparing routes on both and found that it seems to be a logic issue for Google Maps, where it would save 5 km of dista…

> objectively incorrect decisions in rural areas that would take me in quasi-off road situations

I would pay money for this feature.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#86

Post by siva7 »

heliodor wrote: post #39
voisin wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Apple Maps as my primary GPS in my vehicle. I have spent the last few years on the road driving across North America and Google Maps repeatedly made objectively incorrect decisions in rural areas that would take me in quasi-off road situations. After I got frustrated being led astray I started comparing routes on both and found that it seems to be a logic issue for Google Maps, where it would save 5 km of dista…

The bad choices in rural areas for Google Maps seems to be a recent thing. My guess is that it's a result of a new approach of combining computer vision of satellite imagery with phone location data from ranchers driving on their private dirt roads.

i've also experienced this in a major german city. it's awful how bad google has become since this update. apple maps works as expected

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#87

Post by chalst »

ghaff wrote: post #9
olivertaylor wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I almost entirely use Apple Maps. I live in a large city so the data is very accurate. And I only really use it for driving, so I can't compare transit, hiking trails, etc. When I travel to less populated parts of the country Google Maps is far more accurate and complete. That's the only difference I've noticed.

Google Maps is pretty good for transit and pretty bad for hiking trails. Can't speak to Apple Maps. While imperfect, OpenStreetMaps is fairly reliable for hiking trails, including unofficial ones, in populated areas of the US at any rate.

Exactly the same experience in Germany. I use Google Maps for driving directions and OSM for everything else.

I recently had GM tell me to go the wrong way up a one-way street; OSM knew better.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#88

Post by voisin »

rdiddly wrote: post #82
voisin wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Apple Maps as my primary GPS in my vehicle. I have spent the last few years on the road driving across North America and Google Maps repeatedly made objectively incorrect decisions in rural areas that would take me in quasi-off road situations. After I got frustrated being led astray I started comparing routes on both and found that it seems to be a logic issue for Google Maps, where it would save 5 km of dista…

Yep there are many private roads and driveways being shown as part of the road network. Google treats private roads as just roads. (Which is a pretty good analogy for how they treat private information as just information, but I'm being flippant.) I'm waiting for the wrongful-death suit by the family of the shot trespasser.

An apt analogy, and I think your discussion of private roads / driveways is accurate as to what the problem is.

I will never forget being led from a highway, to a side road, to a gravel road, to a rougher gravel road, to a one lane gravel road, to something that looked like a washed out river at best, only to be blocked by a large steer standing in the middle of the "road" that appeared to be as stunned by my presence there as I was. I ended up having to reverse quite a bit before I could find somewhere to turn around. I deleted Google Maps shortly thereafter.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#89

Post by 2Gkashmiri »

i would be in a minority here but i use osmand+ on my phone. in my city, openstreetmaps is still in its infancy relatively speaking so what i do is, if i go somewhere and i see problem spots, wrong turn or missing road or a point, intersection or something. I just mark it and once home, i update the map for everyone.

while this might not be for everyone. It is time consuming for me but i find this a good exercise for myself. i use streetcomplete (android app) often to update the streets and that is a good feature of openstreetmaps

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#90

Post by saurik »

sbuk wrote: post #67
saurik wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why did you switch?

> I was very happy when Apple "finally" added cycling directions in London. That was the only reason why I used Google Maps.

Yes: I absolutely understood the catalyst, but not the reason. I will rephrase my question: why did you want to switch? Is that less confusing? The person I am responding to seemed eager to leave Google Maps, but couldn't because of one critical feature; once that critical feature was there, removing the reason they had not to switch... but, there still had to be some remaining reason why the person switched: a reason that had caused them to be waiting to switch this whole time (and while I have some ideas as to what that reason might be, it isn't at all obvious which one and I didn't want to bias the answer by suggesting any). Is this really such a strange concept? :(
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