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Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

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Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#151

Post by andylynch »

Cockbrand wrote: post #145
Clampower wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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]

It does as part of the ‘New Maps’ but very limited geographically unless you’re in China, California, or a few other cities- see https://www.apple.com/ios/feature-availability/#maps-cycling

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#152

Post by andylynch »

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.

It is, though one thing apple could improve is the feedback on errors- it’s routing thinks some major streets are one way here and that others aren’t which seems hard to fix.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#153

Post by theshrike79 »

bjohnson225 wrote: post #45
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, the data on Apple Maps is just not good enough here. The opening hours are frequently just wrong and can’t be trusted. Part of the reason for that is they use Yelp as a data source which is pretty much non-existent here. If I look at a popular local restaurant on Apple Maps (one which has thousands of reviews on both Google and TripAdvisor) then the opening hours are just wrong and seemingly pulled from Yelp wh…

Yeah, over here most Yelp reviews are utter crap. Maybe 1-4 reviews and the average is around 2 stars for really good places.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#154

Post by theshrike79 »

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 prefer the driving and lane instructions on Apple Maps.

With a few notable exceptions it has gotten me where I'm going every time.

The few exceptions are places near me where the address is a bit wonky on Apple Maps and the driving instructions are either completely bonkers (routes around a house through a parking lot instead of directly) or off by one street. The address is correct, but the access road doesn't have a name, so it gets confused.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#155

Post by cianmm »

woadwarrior01 wrote: post #99
cassianoleal wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Same in Dublin, Ireland. Here, the quality of Apple Maps improved significantly about a year ago.

Their shop/restaurant opening times are still totally useless though. I live in Stoneybatter (next effectively 15 min walk from the city centre for those not from Dublin) and I’d estimate that at least 1/3rd of the correct waypoints, opening times, and associated data in the area is from me slowly correcting stuff over the last few years.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#156

Post by Maxburn »

Apple maps has a lot of weaknesses, particularly the search along route limitations that I bump into all the time. Mostly in the US it's "good enough" though.

BUT when I started seeing so many obvious advertising things going on in google maps the writing was on the wall. Lately the advert items started looking an awful lot like my starred places, that's some dark patterns I'm not going to put up with.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#157

Post by kccqzy »

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…

I've used the app Arc for the same purpose: recording my location all the time even when not running so I know where I've been. But Arc has an excellent privacy policy: all location data stored and processed locally. This is a compromise: local processing means the app can be slow, but IMO the privacy aspects far outweigh a sluggish UI.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/arc-app-location-activity/id10...

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#158

Post by hackmiester »

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.

And that is absolutely what I would expect from Google: clueless, heavy-handed of the latest shiny technology rather than using existing methods and data that were working perfectly.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#159

Post by lotsofpulp »

cdubzzz wrote: post #93
nixy wrote: post #31

But a map app is so much more than street maps and navigation. I have tried to switch to Apple Maps, and it works great for navigation or getting an overview of the streets. But I cannot use Apple Maps to explore! With Google maps, I just fire it up and search “sights” to find places near that are worth a visit. “Public beaches” to find where I can go for a swim. If I try the same with Apple Maps, more often than not…

I agree with you but to be fair I just tapped “public beaches” in to Apple Maps and got a bunch of nearby public beaches. The Yelp integration is what annoys me. I don’t care much about the stars or anything in Google Maps but the photos and sometimes comments be can very instructive. On Apple Maps this information is hidden behind a third party service I don’t use or want to use.

I assume they are working on getting rid of Yelp and only use it as a stop gap until they get their own sufficient data.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#160

Post by Angostura »

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 the UK Apple Maps is my preferred choice for Navigation. Google wins over finding actual places, though Apple Maps is getting better fast> I also use Apple Maps driving in France with no problems.
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