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Apple Maps Gradually Winning over Google Maps Users, Report Suggests

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Re: Apple Maps Gradually Winning over Google Maps Users, Report Suggests

#111

Post by jwestbury »

ajross wrote: post #15
starbugs wrote: post #8

In my experience, the following things are notably better in Apple Maps vs. Google Maps: * No dangerous shortcuts where I risk to damage my car * Routes make much more sense in general and are nearer to what someone who knows their way around locally would suggest * Voice instructions are clearer, easier to understand and timed better * Walking directions are easier to understand * The UI is less annoying. In Google…

> * No dangerous shortcuts where I risk to damage my car Can you elaborate on this? This seems like a personal anecdote and not a software feature. How does one even define that? You're saying that there are special roads that Apple knows not to travel bug Google does? That seems odd, since the real world doesn't really mark its roads like that.

Two examples with Google Maps:

1. In the US, driving in a rural area, Google took me down a five-mile stretch of gravel road between two farms. It's questionable whether this was actually a public road, as I got an odd look from a farmer on his tractor. Admittedly, this saved about 30 minutes.

2. In the UK, Google Maps routinely tries to lead me down narrow country lanes to save 1-2 minutes. In many cases, it will take me off an A road (read: main route) onto a single-lane country lane flanked by hedges. It's bad enough that when I'm using Google Maps, I specifically look at the map at each turn it suggests to see if it has an alternate route highlighted that keeps me on the main road, and I choose that route instead.

I don't experience these things as much with Apple Maps, which seems tuned to keep me on main routes.

Re: Apple Maps Gradually Winning over Google Maps Users, Report Suggests

#112

Post by xamuel »

Apple Maps is great, one thing they could improve though (on iPhone) would be to nail down the location of the input boxes. Currently they jump around when content finishes loading, which often leads to the user pressing the wrong button.

Google Maps when you're driving in Brooklyn: Instead of "Take a right on Avenue Q", it'll say something like: "Take a right on Thomas L. Jefferson Remembrance Honorary Memorial Boulevard Avenue Q"

Re: Apple Maps Gradually Winning over Google Maps Users, Report Suggests

#113

Post by theshrike79 »

Google Maps a) uses the wrong source language for street names, preferring the minority language over the majority b) butchers the street names pronunciation so badly I don't have clue what it's saying 80% of the time

For me Apple Maps is the clear winner, just because I like to have my phone in english - doing voice commands in my native language feels silly and is more error prone.

Additionally Apple Maps UI and voice is clearer on when to swap lanes, which is a life-saver in busy intersections where you haven't been before.

As a hack I use the Irish english voice for Siri, it pronounces street names correctly about 95% of the time and the rest is still legible.

Re: Apple Maps Gradually Winning over Google Maps Users, Report Suggests

#114

Post by dagmx »

OGWhales wrote: post #110
dagmx wrote: post #52

Anecdotal but recently my partner and I were driving in an unfamiliar place. We tried google maps on the way there and Apple Maps on the way back. I expected Apple Maps to be worse but here’s what stood out to me: 1. Apple does a better job at showing vertical height. So when tons of routes go over and under each other, the map is much clearer about it whereas Google maps requires you to look for the thin breakup lin…

> if you needed to make a right and then a left. Google maps seemed to only care about the immediate next step whereas Apple cared about some distance. Something I really enjoy about Google Maps is being able to swipe to see the next move, which is not possible on Apple Maps. This is helpful in exactly the scenario you describe. On the same note, I can think of many times where Apple Maps did not tell me the next mov…

Swipe down from the top shows the next few steps for Apple Maps on iPhone. Not sure about CarPlay.

Re: Apple Maps Gradually Winning over Google Maps Users, Report Suggests

#115

Post by theshrike79 »

agundy wrote: post #56
starbugs wrote: post #8

In my experience, the following things are notably better in Apple Maps vs. Google Maps: * No dangerous shortcuts where I risk to damage my car * Routes make much more sense in general and are nearer to what someone who knows their way around locally would suggest * Voice instructions are clearer, easier to understand and timed better * Walking directions are easier to understand * The UI is less annoying. In Google…

Two more things that annoy me about Google Maps - Related to the routes make more sense, Google seems to prefer side streets to save one minute but then you get dumped back on the main road not at the light and need to cross traffic and might lose your minute back just waiting for a chance to cross. I'd much prefer a main route with a light that guarantees a safe turn. - Google Maps advertisements on the map. No I do…

> Google Maps advertisements on the map.

Ad company puts ad on product. News at 11. =)

Re: Apple Maps Gradually Winning over Google Maps Users, Report Suggests

#117

Post by croutonwagon »

starbugs wrote: post #8

In my experience, the following things are notably better in Apple Maps vs. Google Maps: * No dangerous shortcuts where I risk to damage my car * Routes make much more sense in general and are nearer to what someone who knows their way around locally would suggest * Voice instructions are clearer, easier to understand and timed better * Walking directions are easier to understand * The UI is less annoying. In Google…

One thing to add.

Google Maps supports Satellite mode on Apple Carplay.

Apple Maps does not.

Its a personal preference thing, but thats 99% where we use maps apps in my house. My wife prefers Sat view. I dont care.

Re: Apple Maps Gradually Winning over Google Maps Users, Report Suggests

#118

Post by starbugs »

frantathefranta wrote: post #45
starbugs wrote: post #8

In my experience, the following things are notably better in Apple Maps vs. Google Maps: * No dangerous shortcuts where I risk to damage my car * Routes make much more sense in general and are nearer to what someone who knows their way around locally would suggest * Voice instructions are clearer, easier to understand and timed better * Walking directions are easier to understand * The UI is less annoying. In Google…

> * Re-route when an Autobahn is closed completely (I am located in Germany). It's a hot mess for some reason, while that's working relatively fine when there are accidents/congestions. Apple Maps are pretty good about that in the US I think, just today the app was making me avoid a construction closure which hasn't been there last week. However there is still the human error of me thinking that the app couldn't poss…

I was assuming this was a Europe thing. It seems as if they don’t have correct and complete data of the closed entries and exits. The closure itself was on the map, but the algorithm still failed to plan an appropriate detour. I have had multiple times where I was routed to closed entries over and over to the point where I’d have to park the car and ask a local for directions.

Always tried both apps in those cases and they both didn’t seem to get it.

Re: Apple Maps Gradually Winning over Google Maps Users, Report Suggests

#120

Post by radicality »

victor106 wrote: post #16

I was a little hesitant to switch to Apple Maps but after I did, I cannot go back to using Google Maps. Everything from the UX to the clarity indicating street names is far superior on Apple Maps. One thing I always hater about Google Maps is that it doesn’t show you street names when you need them. I was in NYC a while back and I wanted to see the street name and I had to do lot of scrolling to find it. I also wish…

Not only street names, but business names too.

Sometimes I’ll zoom in to max zoom to a particular building where I know some business/restaurant is at (for example to check opening hours), and gmaps shows an empty rectangle.

The only way to get it to show what I was looking for is to search for it in the search box, and then it magically appears in the rectangle that was completely empty a moment before.

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