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Google Maps now requires WiFi scanning to use navigation

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Google Maps now requires WiFi scanning to use navigation

#51

Post by can16358p »

bkovacev wrote: post #3

What are some reliable alternatives for both iOS and Android? I'm unsure how are Apple Maps, but they were hideous a while back for Eastern Europe at least.

Apple Maps was terrible and Google was ok.

Fast forward a few years and Apple Maps is now ok (not super but definitely usable) and Google Maps tried to kill me a few times by guiding me to go opposite direction into a highway or into buildings or other wrong directions. The data is super inaccurate on Google Maps.

In Apple Maps it at least shows no road instead of generating roads with completely wrong data.

(I live in Turkey, YMMV)

Re: Google Maps now requires WiFi scanning to use navigation

#52

Post by can16358p »

nkrisc wrote: post #7
bkovacev wrote: post #3

What are some reliable alternatives for both iOS and Android? I'm unsure how are Apple Maps, but they were hideous a while back for Eastern Europe at least.

I've used Apple Maps for a while now and haven't noticed any real difference in from when I used to use Google Maps. So for me: Google Maps and Apple Maps are utterly interchangeable.

When that's the case Apple Maps would be a better choice as it doesn't try to suck all your privacy into its ad ecosystem.

Re: Google Maps now requires WiFi scanning to use navigation

#53

Post by jonas21 »

Are you sure they're not doing this to get approximate location for use with A-GPS? Sure, GPS will work without it, but your time to first fix is going to be much longer, and your phone will have no idea where you are while you're waiting for that fix.

There's a good overview of A-GPS in module 5 here [1]. This is just how people expect GPS to work on modern mobile phones, to the point where they'd probably consider it a bug if they had to wait a while to get a fix.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CBINyC3NWU&list=PLGvhNIiu1u...

Re: Google Maps now requires WiFi scanning to use navigation

#54

Post by causality0 »

I have regarded the entire Google Maps dev team with utter contempt since they first combined maps and navigation into one app, thereby preventing you from using both at the same time.

At this point I'd rather use a paper map then let Google wardrive using my phone 24 hours a day.

Re: Google Maps now requires WiFi scanning to use navigation

#55

Post by mtmail »

bkovacev wrote: post #3

What are some reliable alternatives for both iOS and Android? I'm unsure how are Apple Maps, but they were hideous a while back for Eastern Europe at least.

https://organicmaps.app/ for iOS and Android. It's a fork of maps.me codebase. Maps.me added a crypto wallet and removed features.

Re: Google Maps now requires WiFi scanning to use navigation

#56

Post by 6LLvveMx2koXfwn »

Schiendelman wrote: post #15
bkovacev wrote: post #3

What are some reliable alternatives for both iOS and Android? I'm unsure how are Apple Maps, but they were hideous a while back for Eastern Europe at least.

There are still places in the world where Apple Maps isn't great, but for 90% of people they're now as good for navigation, if not better (since they've built a data gathering operation). Last year I used Apple Maps for a 34,000 mile road trip. No significant issues.

That's nearly 1.5 times around the globe.

Re: Google Maps now requires WiFi scanning to use navigation

#57

Post by Geonode »

causality0 wrote: post #54

I have regarded the entire Google Maps dev team with utter contempt since they first combined maps and navigation into one app, thereby preventing you from using both at the same time. At this point I'd rather use a paper map then let Google wardrive using my phone 24 hours a day.

My biggest pet peeve is that when you search for something, your starred places disappear.

Hey, I'm actually trying to see if this is close to somewhere I go! What's the closest post office to my daughter's school? Oh, wait, where'd the school go? Insane.

Re: Google Maps now requires WiFi scanning to use navigation

#59

Post by can16358p »

notacoward wrote: post #50
can16358p wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a law regarding which names you can't use for hotspots/APs? Even if there is, I doubt anyone will go after that unless the "attacker" involves some serious crime with that combined. Attacking innocent people with rogue SSIDs would be definitely wrong, but if done only to trick Google it would be a fun experiment - and they deserve it (maybe not for this particular change but as a company in general).

It doesn't have to be a case they can win to be extremely troublesome for you (though they probably could win if their trademark is embedded in your code). Unless you can afford to make your own lawyers rich, it's a bit unwise to go "I dare you" to large US companies. Better to ship something less incriminating, and leave the spicier suggestions for anonymous comments on web forums.

Just another idea popped. What if your code doesn't include any bitstream that contains "Starbucks" but has some ML driven mechanism of passively listening to Wifis around the city, noting them and using those names dynamically? Since Starbucks McDonalds etc would (probably) be the highest quantity of signals found your code will be mimicking those names without having a single bit in the code.

What would be the legality of that (as long as the intention is not to attack the public)?

Re: Google Maps now requires WiFi scanning to use navigation

#60

Post by M4v3R »

jonas21 wrote: post #53

Are you sure they're not doing this to get approximate location for use with A-GPS? Sure, GPS will work without it, but your time to first fix is going to be much longer, and your phone will have no idea where you are while you're waiting for that fix. There's a good overview of A-GPS in module 5 here [1]. This is just how people expect GPS to work on modern mobile phones, to the point where they'd probably consider…

AGPS works with cellular, Wi-Fi is not required. So no, it’s not only for this reason.
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