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Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

forbes.com

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Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#221

Post by wutbrodo »

abraham wrote: post #214
wutbrodo wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Google has sat on its hands the last couple years with Google Maps: it has hardly improved at all, and outside of their move to jack up prices for API users, I haven't heard of any real changes. It's a pretty mature product, so you'd expect the pace of signjificant change to be much slower. And large, noticeable change (like a redesign) is a poor metric, as it often feels like a PM getting their wings at the expens…

The Google Photos mobile apps have heatmaps of photos. https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/25/21301932/google-photos-re... Disclosure: I work for Google, not on Maps or Photos.

Thanks! I must've mixed them up. The Live View compass calibration is a better example, plus an idle Google search found a couple more examples of new useful features (like more AR-overlay info)

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#222

Post by johnday »

nextos wrote: post #123
hk__2 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? In my experience (Europe, mostly France/Italy), OpenStreetMap has a lot more details than Google on “long-term features”: roads, (hiking) paths, public toilets and fountains, etc; while Google is a lot better for POIs and restaurants/bars/museums/etc. On a given street, OSM will have the exact position of every tree but not so much about restaurants, while with GM you get their opening hours, ratings, menus,…

In brand new neighbourhoods, I've also found OSM much better than Google Maps. E.g., lots of new developments in Cambridge were extremely well annotated whereas Google Maps didn't even have streetnames. This is super helpful when you are shopping for a new property.

Cambridge is a special case - as I understand, it's the UK's hub for hobbyist mappers, ~all of which use OpenStreetMap as a base.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#223

Post by kevinventullo »

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.

They’re not really comparable. OSM on its own is basically a database, and an ecosystem with some apps of varying quality built on top.

Google Maps is a standalone end-to-end application with best-in-class POI search, POI metadata, reviews, routing based on live traffic, ETA based on live traffic, etc.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#224

Post by perfectstorm »

Apple maps still doesn’t support offline navigation which is a huge issue for me as someone who visits National parks. I used to have a Nokia windows phone back in 2014 which had terrific offline maps and navigation. I still can’t believe why apple hasn’t prioritized offline maps.

I use Google maps which gets its job done and has offline support. I just wish they cleaned up the UI a bit and allowed me to download more area because right now I’ve to do it 3-4 times to get a size able chunk of a state.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#225

Post by threatofrain »

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.

Are you able to plot multiple routes yet?

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#226

Post by threatofrain »

TheParkShark wrote: post #198
threatofrain wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still better than partnering with Yelp, I would think. Apple Maps puts Yelp front and center like one of its star performers.

Hopefully this is going away soon enough. This is from iOS 14 last year, https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/08/26/apple-maps-will-l... .

That's odd, I'm on iOS 15 and don't see it yet.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#227

Post by nuker »

kevinventullo wrote: post #223
FlyingSnake wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

They’re not really comparable. OSM on its own is basically a database, and an ecosystem with some apps of varying quality built on top. Google Maps is a standalone end-to-end application with best-in-class POI search, POI metadata, reviews, routing based on live traffic, ETA based on live traffic, etc.

> OSM on its own is basically a database, and an ecosystem with some apps of varying quality built on top.

MapOut is very good, paid but worth it. I tried many others before.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#228

Post by 2Gkashmiri »

toastal wrote: post #107
2Gkashmiri wrote: post #89

i would be in a minority here but i use osmand+ on my phone. in my city, openstreetmaps is still in its infancy relatively speaking so what i do is, if i go somewhere and i see problem spots, wrong turn or missing road or a point, intersection or something. I just mark it and once home, i update the map for everyone. while this might not be for everyone. It is time consuming for me but i find this a good exercise for…

100% this spirit. I like how I can take an active role in my community helping with this kinda stuff. I ask business owners all sorts of missing details you can't add to the other maps. Some people have laughed when my maps are appear empty in some places, but when I show them how easy it was to meaningfully contribute and the aforementioned details, I hear comments of jealousy.

Same thing. Marketting plays a big role. Everyone around me uses Google maps because why not? I showed a relative about offline tracks and camping and route mapping. He's like "well I can offline save Google maps".

I want to slowly build a robust network.

Re: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

#230

Post by jrnichols »

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?

Yes. We actually use Apple Maps for emergency vehicle routing. It is the default option for one of our call notification apps. A 911 call comes in, and we can map to it before dispatch even gives us the information.

At least in Northern California and where I worked in both Texas and Oklahoma, Apple has done a magical job of mapping.

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