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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

#101

Post by xethos »

exabrial wrote: post #96

I use Apple maps because I'm tired of Google's bullshit, not because Apple Maps is a better product. * Google just "has to have" _Web And Search History_ enabled to enable some features. Really? How did we possibly exist before this? * I'm tired of typing in stuff into Google Maps and seeing ads across the entire fucking internet for bass fishing of I time bass (as in guitar) into Google Maps * There is no reason I s…

> Android phones are superior in hardware

At least regarding choice in hardware. I'm tapping this out from the last BlackBerry handset ever produced (albeit by a third party), and I can hang on to it indefinitely because I can replace the parts as they break. The hardware isn't gated to what the OEM allows.

For maps, OSM works well enough. And when I find a place I want to go that's not mapped, Google Maps in a mobile browser works just fine - no account or app needed.

Hell, at least one time (visiting in Germany) OSM had the correct opening hours for a shop that Google Maps had wrong. Google is not all-knowing, or even required for modern life.

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

#102

Post by piebro »

DHPersonal wrote: post #95
piebro wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is a map to see where people affiliated with apple are contributing to openstreetmap: https://piebro.github.io/openstreetmap-statistics/#e19b it seems they use OSM data everywhere but in North America and most of Europe.

Apple Maps also credits TomTom as a data source, so could it be OSM > TomTom > Apple in terms of the data flow?

Accorinding to wikipedia they have many different sources (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Maps#Features):

> The main provider of map data is TomTom, but data is also supplied by Automotive Navigation Data, Getchee, Hexagon AB, IGN, Increment P, Intermap Technologies, LeadDog, MDA Information Systems, OpenStreetMap, and Waze.

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

#103

Post by dagmx »

meling wrote: post #89

“Forced” to use Google Maps in the car because it’s on the big screen, and recently I’ve been disappointed by how bad it is at navigation in the Bay area, taking me down pothole and slow streets with lots of turns. Even taking me to crossings without traffic lights making it difficult and slower to cross when traffic is heavy. And then as others have already explained, there are virtually no street names on the map (…

Importantly, Tesla’s maps is not Google Maps. It’s powered by it sort of as a data provider but it does its own rendering, map management and some routing adjustments.

It’s actually one reason why I wish Tesla had CarPlay because even though their maps is okay, it’s quite far behind the first party Apple or Google Maps implementation .

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

#104

Post by dagmx »

DHPersonal wrote: post #81
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…

Google Maps is much better at encouraging and rewarding user interaction. Google Maps has gamification and rewards for updating store and road information, while Apple Maps treats it a bit more like a bug report.

Yeah that’s true. Google built a community around Google Maps and Google Reviews.

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

#105

Post by bediger4000 »

Is it my imagination or is Google Maps app the single flakiest android app?

Some piece of it tends to freeze, parts keep working.

It regularly decides not to do voice directions for a few minutes after starting.

Touching the screen anywhere causes unintuitive things to happen. Like around the edges of the screen, where no UI design would ever put anything.

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

#106

Post by idlephysicist »

One thing that I love about Apple Maps apart from getting directions in an Irish accent, is that it gives directions like a normal person.

As an example "go through these lights and at the next set turn left" rather than "in 600m turn left". It is a night and day difference.

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

#107

Post by presbyterian »

hbn wrote: post #58
presbyterian wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a professional driver (high school bus, so a lot of longer-distance sports trips and stuff), and I swear by Apple Maps for up-to-date traffic info. Google Maps has given me under construction exits, backed up freeways, and just plain inefficient routes too many times for me to rely on it anymore. Sometimes I'll bring it up just because the satellite imagery is newer and I want to see they layout of a parking lot…

Are you in a big city?

Kinda? I'm in a rural area outside of Phoenix, but I travel around the entire state for trips

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

#108

Post by nsavage »

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…

Another set of things annoying about Google Maps: - Google shows pins for locations on the map. Often if I try to click one, it zooms in on a new pin on a random lat/lon next to it. This mostly happens when zoomed out with a wide view of the city. Obviously I was going for that random location, not the ad you were trying to show me. - It routinely shows me illegal routes, some of which I don't notice until I'm well on my way to the route. I know some of this is a data problem, but I don't think the cops will care that Google told me to turn at a "no turns during rush hour" place.

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

#109

Post by nsavage »

Graziano_M wrote: post #72
wombat-man wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the street name thing is super irritating when I run into it.

Agreed. Is it so hard to render the street names most relevant to your route? It seems to always render the most important names last as you zoom in, when they should be first.

I wonder if its a cultural thing. In my area of Not-California, roads will often have a local municipal name, but also be a county highway. For a while, navigation was unaware of this and would tell you "turn on highway 48" while driving downtown. As a driver, you go "wtf is highway 48". YIou have to zoom all the way in on the map to see that its Bank Street. Now it usually says "Bank Street", but will only display the 48 on the map. Very frustrating.

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

#110

Post by OGWhales »

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 move like you describe and I had no way to check it myself like I can with google maps. This is one of my biggest gripes with Apple Maps. Similarly, this feature is not possible when using Google Maps with Apple CarPlay which is very annoying.

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