Apple Maps vs. Google Maps • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#141

Post by throwaway284534 » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 6:08 PM UTC

My biggest issue with Apple Maps is that I know it has information that it isn’t telling me about, especially so when public transit is involved. Apple almost always picks the worst route when commenting through NYC’s subway, suggesting that you take the closest line and transfer in another station, rather than walking a block to the line directly. And it’s almost always the case that you’ll arrive at a mid-trip station just as your connecting train leaves the platform. You’ve just added a minimum 10 minute wait, plus the time and energy it took to walk through the station!

I would avoid Apple Maps entirely if they allowed Google Maps full access to the Watch OS.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#142

Post by tppiotrowski » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 6:08 PM UTC

Nobody mentioned the battery/heat issues with Google Maps. My iPhone on a sunny dashboard running Google Maps almost always overheats and drains the battery.

I've switched to Apple Maps on long drives because it uses significantly less battery and phone stays cooler. Has anyone else experienced this?

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#143

Post by websites2023 » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 6:13 PM UTC

okwubodu wrote: post #104

dimitrios1 wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think succumbing to defeatism is the correct response to the gross privacy invasion. Take the victories where you can, and fight who you can.

I don’t see how voluntarily letting a service see your location is an invasion of privacy.

“Voluntarily” is doing some heavy lifting there. Is it “voluntary” if it’s required to use the service — including aspects that don’t “need” it? Is it “voluntary” if the use of that data is governed by one-sided terms that the collecting party can change at any time, for any reason, with little notice or no notice at all? Is it “voluntary” if the technology is so complex that any average-intelligence user could not possibly weigh the pros and cons of such a decision in the face of a $1T company’s cabal of PhD holding ML scientists inventing new ways to exploit that information?

At this point, location tracking by companies is about as “voluntary” as using the web itself.

Or about as voluntary as actions which are performed with a pistol to one’s head.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#144

Post by adrr » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 6:14 PM UTC

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?

How do you use Apple Maps in rural areas? The lack of an offline mode makes it impossible to use without internet. Google maps I can download the area.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#145

Post by Cockbrand » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 6:14 PM UTC

Clampower wrote: post #22

komuher wrote: post #18

Google maps >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> apple maps here in Europe especially for medium sized cities (in big cities apple works fine but still a lot worse then google). For me it seems like fair exchange to give some data, for free and very good service that have no real competition :)

Apple Maps doesn’t even have cycling navigation in Amsterdam lol. Literally unusable.

Apple Maps doesn’t have cycling navigation anywhere, kinda strange for such a hip and (self proclaimed) environmentally conscious company. That renders it literally unusable anywhere, IMHO.

[Edit: I just learned from another comment that Apple Maps _does_ have cycling directions at least in London, which I didn’t know about]

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#146

Post by o_m » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 6:16 PM UTC

I use Apple Maps for navigation and Google Maps in the browser for everything else.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#147

Post by sukritikapoor » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 6:19 PM UTC

FlyingSnake wrote: post #79

komuher wrote: post #18

Google maps >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> apple maps here in Europe especially for medium sized cities (in big cities apple works fine but still a lot worse then google). For me it seems like fair exchange to give some data, for free and very good service that have no real competition :)

OpenStreetMap >>>>>>>>> Google maps pretty much everywhere in EU (and RoW). I had better data in Harz, Bohemian Switzerland, Girona, Laos, Indian jungles etc which was way better than what Google provides. I would rather give my data to the qualitatively better option OSM than a controversial foreign firm that has questionable stance on user privacy.

Google Maps has unmatched traffic data accuracy, especially here in India where it has literally hundreds of millions of Android devices moving on roads.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#148

Post by airpoint » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 6:20 PM UTC

cassianoleal wrote: post #21

komuher wrote: post #18

Google maps >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> apple maps here in Europe especially for medium sized cities (in big cities apple works fine but still a lot worse then google). For me it seems like fair exchange to give some data, for free and very good service that have no real competition :)

In London I find Apple Maps superior to Google Maps in almost every way. Apple's cycling routing is miles ahead of Google's.

For cycling in London, in my experience:

CityMapper >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Apple Maps >>>>> Google Maps

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#149

Post by pomian » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 6:22 PM UTC

post-factum wrote: post #119

komuher wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dunno about google maps in Germany (cause of German laws) but in Italy, Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Austria (all places that i visited in europe and use google maps) i found google maps to be excellent but i didnt use OSM for like last 3 years so cant speak about that :) * And still OSM was a lot better then Apple maps few years ago.

In .cz there's mapy.cz, BTW.

Mapy.cz works globally. It's excellent. Don't have to share anything.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#150

Post by smoldesu » Sat, Jul 10, 2021, 6:26 PM UTC

komuher wrote: post #18

Google maps >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> apple maps here in Europe especially for medium sized cities (in big cities apple works fine but still a lot worse then google). For me it seems like fair exchange to give some data, for free and very good service that have no real competition :)

Yeah. I've used OpenStreetMap too, and while it does tend to be more accurate than Apple Maps, Google Maps is still unmatched. If you're on an iPhone, I'd recommend you switch to OpenStreetMaps at the very least.