Apple Maps versus Google Maps: My week with them.

TwitchyPuppy

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Hi!

Kathleen here, aka TwitchyPuppy. I'm a (pretty awesome) Ambassador here and I was asked to review those two pretty good, yet very different apps. I've owned an iPhone since the 4S so I'm very familiar with Apple Maps. Google's, not so much since I rarely used it on my iPhone and even less on my business' Android phone. So, grab some popcorn because here it goes :D
(Please note that I tested both apps on iOS)

Apple Maps Pros:

- iOS/Siri Integration.
- Pretty good spoken directions when used as a GPS (even with street names in French*). *If phone language is set to English.
- Good choice of means of transportations and alternate routes, along with options like "Avoiding highways" and such.
- As good on iPhone than iPad.
- Very fluid and easy to use.

Apple Maps Cons:

- Almost nonexistant shops location when zooming on a shopping mall (or sometimes a block away).
- Siri doesn't always cooperate with Apple Maps, requiring more user manipulation.
- Lacking a street view.
- Not available via a website (like maps.google.com).

Google Maps pros:

- Decent choice of alternate route and transportation.
- Google integration (from within a website, ie).
- Accurate shops location when zooming on a street or shopping mall.
- Street View
- Offers inside view of some shops.
- Possibility to save a defined part of a map on your device, for offline use.

Google Maps cons:

- Not optimized for iPad.
- Lags.
- Lacking Siri integration.
- Awful default directions and alternate routes.
- Mediocre spoken directions when used as a GPS (especially with street names in French*). *If phone language is set to English.

After a week, I still prefer Apple Maps (the fact that I'm used to it does help) even if I believe there's room for improvement. Would Google Maps results have been different if I used it on an Android phone? Maybe. Maybe not!

I hope you guys enjoyed my first review (and definitely not last) as much as I did testing and writing it! Since your mileage may vary, see that review more like a guide, a base to know what to expect.

Thanks :D
 
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gordol

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My experience with Apple Maps is not and never has been positive. It's slower than Google Maps. It is less accurate on address locations. It misses most places I look for. Its routing is sub-standard for navigation.
 

pkcable

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My experience with Apple Maps is not and never has been positive. It's slower than Google Maps. It is less accurate on address locations. It misses most places I look for. Its routing is sub-standard for navigation.

Have you tried it more recently or are you basing that on a try from several years ago? The current Apple Maps is MUCH improved upon previous versions! You might want to give it another look. Of course Google Maps is NEVER a bad choice either, I just couldn't get beyond the OS integration issues. That being said, when I use my Pixel I ALWAYS use Google Maps, and think its great! :)
 

gordol

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Have you tried it more recently or are you basing that on a try from several years ago? The current Apple Maps is MUCH improved upon previous versions! You might want to give it another look. Of course Google Maps is NEVER a bad choice either, I just couldn't get beyond the OS integration issues. That being said, when I use my Pixel I ALWAYS use Google Maps, and think its great! :)
Is last week recent enough? :)
 

Ecm

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I suspect the area in which we're getting navigation assistance will colour our views. In the areas outside the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), Google Maps beats Apple Maps hands-down in my experience. Inside the GTA, there's far less of a difference. There it's down to what options and features are required at the moment. I use both. Coming from Android, I still find Google Maps meets my overall needs best -- though that could be largely due to my familiarity with it.
 

gordol

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I suspect the area in which we're getting navigation assistance will colour our views.

Possibly, but in every location I've tried it, Apple Maps has been wrong in one way or the other: misplaced destinations is the usual, but also wonky non-optimal routing, or slow performance. I haven't tried it in someplace like NYC, but I have in fairly reasonable metro areas of Portsmouth NH, Portland ME and Boston MA.

The only thing it has going for it, IMO, is integration. But as far as that goes, the contact list integration is one-way only: Look up someone in your contact list and you can launch the address in Apple Maps, but you cannot seem to go in the other direction, open Maps and then do your lookup. Google Maps does, point to Google. And in any case, the place I'm most looking for that inter-app integration is handled by the calendar app I use, Calendars 5 by Readdle, it has a setting to select Apple or Google Maps.
 

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