Google Maps has become an eyesore • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#21

Post by resolutebat » Mon, Aug 07, 2023, 4:59 AM UTC

foobarbecue wrote: post #16

joshxyz wrote: post #6

so true. on mobile the interface of waze is just cleaner.

It's interesting that Google has kept the Waze brand around. I expected them to merge it into maps when they bought it.

It's happening, it just took a while.

https://arstechnica.com/google/2023/06/waze-googles-other-ma...

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#22

Post by tananaev » Mon, Aug 07, 2023, 4:59 AM UTC

Probably not a popular opinion here, but I like Google Maps. Sure there's some clutter, but it's pretty good at navigation, public transit and searching for places. I don't know any better alternative.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#23

Post by browningstreet » Mon, Aug 07, 2023, 5:00 AM UTC

moomoo11 wrote: post #3

Love Apple Maps. It has progressively gotten so much better and awesome. I don’t think I ever use my iPhone and get frustrated. Leaving android in 2015 was the best decision I made.

I often open Apple Maps and google maps in the same location, just for fun. Google Maps is sinfully ugly and cluttered now in comparison. Whatever the merits or demerits of Material Design are, its cleanliness and elegance hasn’t made it down to Google Naps. And while I’d grant that maps is a hard problem to solve, Apple’s example has been out there for a bit now.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#24

Post by jeffbee » Mon, Aug 07, 2023, 5:00 AM UTC

moomoo11 wrote: post #3

Love Apple Maps. It has progressively gotten so much better and awesome. I don’t think I ever use my iPhone and get frustrated. Leaving android in 2015 was the best decision I made.

Apple Maps has a good UI and bad data. Their problem is the same problem people face when anyone tries to unseat an incumbent platform: they don't have the audience, so people don't contribute to their knowledge base. Apple Maps shows an Indian restaurant in my neighborhood as open on Saturdays, but they haven't been open on Saturdays in years. They didn't even update their hours on their own website, but the hours are correct on Google Maps. Why? Because business owners maintain their info on Google Maps, because it reaches their customers. And the customers do their own editing of business data as well. So Apple is stuck at a point with not enough users to edit the data, and they are either not climbing out of that rut or they are climbing out very slowly.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#25

Post by bluefinity » Mon, Aug 07, 2023, 5:01 AM UTC

drpixie wrote: post #15

I find that it is often difficult/immpossible to get a sense of scale. The width and detail of streets is adjusted such that it is not obvious if I'm looking at things a few hundred metres apart, or a few kilometers! And there is no scale indication on the screen! I guess they want a "clean" look but it's not so helpful. Take a look at Garmin aviation maps. You're offered only a specific set of scales (not an infinit…

Most maps do that, even print ones. It's not about a "clean look", but about readability. There is also a scale, in the bottom right corner.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#26

Post by joecool1029 » Mon, Aug 07, 2023, 5:02 AM UTC

I've commented on this before[1] as have others[2] but Google Maps is willfully malicious software that I am certain has killed cyclists and motorcyclists by re-routing onto dangerous routes after navigation has started. Why this dangerous 'feature' cannot be disabled is infuriating.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31333754

[2] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#27

Post by ks2048 » Mon, Aug 07, 2023, 5:04 AM UTC

moomoo11 wrote: post #3

Love Apple Maps. It has progressively gotten so much better and awesome. I don’t think I ever use my iPhone and get frustrated. Leaving android in 2015 was the best decision I made.

I want to use Apple Maps more, but in some parts of the world, the amount of info on Apple Maps (locations of places, restaurants, etc) is TINY compared to Google.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#28

Post by zbrozek » Mon, Aug 07, 2023, 5:04 AM UTC

tananaev wrote: post #22

Probably not a popular opinion here, but I like Google Maps. Sure there's some clutter, but it's pretty good at navigation, public transit and searching for places. I don't know any better alternative.

My wife and I prefer navigating with Apple maps after Google Maps stagnated for years and years. Apple's voice instructions are incomparably better.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#29

Post by sentientslug » Mon, Aug 07, 2023, 5:07 AM UTC

resolutebat wrote: post #21

foobarbecue wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting that Google has kept the Waze brand around. I expected them to merge it into maps when they bought it.

It's happening, it just took a while. https://arstechnica.com/google/2023/06/waze-googles-other-ma...

I’m not sure you read that article. The separate Waze division has been rolled into the Geo (maps) team but the apps are not merging.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#30

Post by sytelus » Mon, Aug 07, 2023, 5:07 AM UTC

Big issue with Google Maps is that it doesn’t zoom in properly when you are complex turn. Number of times I miss the turn on Google Maps is so high compared to Apple Maps. Apple Maps even integrates with Apple Watch and taps on your wrist to ensure you don’t miss turn. More recently I also found Google Maps is not keeping up with closed roads in real time. Gradually but surely, I have moved on to Apple Maps. I never thought this would happen.