Kirkville:
I’ve been using Google Maps for years, since before Apple released its own map apps. When Apple Maps was first released, I found it very hard to read; there wasn’t enough contrast between roads and backgrounds, and texts were tiny. That’s improved a bit since the initial release, but not much.
Every now and then I try out Apple Maps, when looking for a certain location or a specific type of business. I tried again recently, to see if Apple had improved things with the releases of iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra.
I can’t disagree. I did the same iOS search for “Pubs near me” in Apple Maps, Waze and Google Maps. Apple Maps found none within two kilometers, Waze found three and Google Maps found all four.
Can’t say I disagree. How is it possible with an essentially bottomless bank account can’t hire the right people to fix this? I also think that there is too much Jony Ive in the design of Apple Maps. He should stay out of it.
I have found Apple Maps to be superior to Goole at finding locations that are placed on state routes, however other than that, Google is much more accurate. It’s a damn shame though that CarPlay will only let you use Apple Maps. 🙁
There is a difference between searching for “pubs” and “bars”, FWIW. Apple Maps displays different results for those search terms, at least for me.
I started using Apple Maps almost exclusively a few months ago. I used it during our six-week trip to Italy. It performed very well both at home, in Canada and in Italy.
I’ve stopped using Google Maps for privacy reasons. I’m trying to swear off all Google products for the same reason. They’re just too greedy with user data.
What I found better with Google Maps at times, was the data about businesses, like hours of operation.
Other than that, Apple Maps was actually better at getting me to my destination.
Sounds like their natural language processor can use some improvements. Hope the Apple ML blog talks about handling colloquial/ebonics soon!
In Apple Maps, searching for “Bars” comes up with Mahonys Pub – 25 kilometers away.
Well, I didn’t say it was better…
Siri thinks you need to get out more Shawn…
Actually, I’ve had Siri misunderstand some edge words (for example a rather fanciful restaurant name) and then find something in another state. That’s not so much a language processing issue as bad logic. “Hey, he’s in Washington… is it really likely that he wants a place in Nebraska?”
I tried the “pub test” and got mixed results. Google returned more of the close by bars, but also other bars across town and a county courthouse. Apple had only a few results and none in my immediate vicinity.
Personally I use Yelp for finding business so that’s not a big deal for me, but I’ve also noticed that both services lack when it comes to road closures and routing around traffic as well.
Google maps has cycling directions; Apple doesn’t.
Couldn’t disagree more. Apple Maps is just an all around better mapping application. I use it everyday. And when I try and use Google maps, it always lets me down.
I’m with you on the Google avoidance, but not to the degree of becoming a martyr when they really do have a better experience. I’ve become a recent Waze convert for the fairly infrequent times I drive somewhere not already familiar. Apple doesn’t have anything to compete with Waze’s crowdsourcing of traffic data and alerts, and it really does make a difference.
Yes, could you please source your claim that Ive is working on the design of maps? I believe that is bullshit. thanks!
Considering Google’s historic core business of being the best web directory, it doesn’t surprise me that their POI database is better than Apple’s. still, i dont care. I want a good looking maps app that gets me where I want to go, and Maps does that. I don’t rely on it for POIs. I use Yelp most often for stuff like that anyway.
Agreed. As a motorcyclist, if I need to use an iPhone based map app (I usually use a dedicated GPS box), I always turn to Waze for the crowdsourced traffic info.
“thanks!” lol
I didn’t say he was, I said I thought there was too much Ive in it. Whether it’s him or his influence it’s all the same to me. Just feels very “flat”. My opinion, that’s all.
This is to be expected. Everybody knows, if you want to be found on the internet, you better configure Google My Business page. It is essential for any SEO. So they use that to populate their map data. In a way, we feed it into Google. What Apple needs to do is somehow tap into that resource.
I prefer Maps slightly for its less-cluttered, cleaner look. But GM has Street View, which we find invaluable when researching neighborhoods.
I just tried the “pub” local search in Apple Maps on the Mac, and yeah, the classification seems to be letting it down.
Google happily finds the Llandoger Trow, near me in Bristol, which shouldn’t be difficult, since it’s been there since before Stephenson modelled the Admiral Benbow in Treasure Island on it, and it’s still a pub.
Apple Maps completely misses it in the search. But if I search for “bar”, it finds it. Gawd knows why, as the two terms are basically synonymous in England, plus the Llandoger Trow is definitely a pub. It’s been a pub for literally hundreds of years, and even its Wikipedia entry tells you it’s a pub. But I guess Apple aren’t crawling that, and Google are 😀
I think there’s too much Jony Ive in lots of stuff these days: minimalism and simple designs at the expense of usability. That said, I use Apple maps and for the most part, like it although I agree, some text is ridiculously small and can’t be enlarged that I know of.
Google has a more mature database, no doubt, but in both Mac and iOS Apple’s maps is well integrated and that integration and ease of use because of it goes a long way to making maps useful. I agree, there are times it messes up but at least for me, it’s gotten a lot better over the recent years and hasn’t led me astray.
I find Apple Maps to be equal to, or superior to, Google Maps now in major US cities. In fact, for the most part I actually prefer it and rarely use Google except when cross checking directions or traffic to find alternate routes.
However, once you get out of major US cities, Google takes the lead, in some cases by a huge margin. People can bitch about Apple and money and Ive and all that till they’re blue in the face. The fact is you don’t erase the multiyear lead Google had in this field quickly. It’ll take a long time before Apple Maps has the same depth of knowledge worldwide as Google Maps and it ain’t like Google is standing still while Apple catches up.
Agree. Never use Google Map since Apple launched their own and still didn’t use it (or Waze) to this day. Apple Map serves me well enough. They haven’t take me to wrong location yet lol.
Offline maps! I travel and my cell connection comes and goes. Apple maps seems to cache the route, but stray from it just a tad and it quickly gets lost and doesn’t show the route back, and won’t sync up unless you get back to the route itself. Google maps just reacts normally. So if your connection tends to go, Google does much better.