I just tried searching for a contact, no luck. You're right, if it can't get my list of places, it's useless. Ok. Both apps are useless..... except, I live in Dallas, where the Apple data is really good, so, congrats Apple, you win this round.
Pretty noble of Google, stepping in and saving Apple's ass after all that has happened in the last couple of years. Kudos!
here's the bottom line:
1. google maps is better than apple maps, and frankly it always will be. read in the plex and you will understand how no company will ever be able to out do google on search, maps, and big data.
2. the maps fiasco was apple's fault, they didn't want to let google call the maps app "google maps" so google didn't want to give them voice nav. to those of you who think apple won, they didn't.. google got its app, its branding, its data collection, requires everyone who wants to use the app to have a gmail/google+ account and will be able to display ads eventually.. and google comes out looking like a savior. what did apple get? they didn't get anything.. they lost the google maps engine for their app, they didn't get googles voice nav, they spent a fortune developing their own maps app, a massive backlash, an avalanche of bad press, a corporate shake up, and they look incompetent to boot.
3. ultimately we win, we get one of the best features of android on our iphones and ipads. unfortunately though because of apples hardline stance on app integration we can't get stuff like google now we just get google voice search. we can't use google voice recognition (which blows siri out of the water) for core apps like phone, messages, calendar, reminders, music, etc.. but thats only because apple won't let it!
How do you partner with a company who has made itself your biggest competitor - by supplying free arms to Asian hardware companies to attack your core business (hardware sales)?
Google can't have things both ways.
so many of you seriously don't get it, apple did not get their way, google did. apple wanted google to provide voice navigation in the APPLE app. google said no, it wanted branding (ie for the app to be called Google Maps instead of Maps) and wanted to be able to display revenue generating ads in the app. basically google wanted its own ios app. APPLE did not agree to these conditions and instead developed their own app, which failed, and paved the way for google to release their app with everything they wanted (and more), bathed in a tsunami of positive press and thanks from iphone users. google could not have played this better, apple could not have played this worse.
google got what it wanted and the most positive press its gotten in years. apple got nothing it wanted and the most negative press it's gotten in years. it's mind boggling to me that some people don't understand this.
Yes. Apple called Google's bluff frankly - give us Turn-by-turn, and all features that you provide other hardware, or we will go it alone. Less than half a year later, Google has their Maps App back on the iPhone with all the features that Apple desired and it is better than the Android version. If anyone chose not to buy an iPhone for absence of Google Maps, this omitted that failing. No one out there is choosing not to buy an iPhone because there has been a revamping of Apple's management structure. And Apple developing a mapping structure is a very good thing. They will continue to develop their Map application, in parallel, with no impact on sales. And 5 years from now, they will have a backup plan and capability in case there is another falling out with Google. It is too important of a feature in a smart phone for Apple not to create an in-house capability, and have it ready and polished.
Hands down.
This app really shows what Google has to offer in terms of software capabilities. The interface is absolutely beautiful and highly intuitive. It's much smoother than iOS Maps on my 4S.
The only grip I have is that everything done within iOS still defaults to one of Apple's apps, so clicking on an address will open up iOS Maps instead of Google Maps.
The amount of fanboyism going on in this forum is laughable. No one really knows how the deal with Apple and Google went down...so stop speculating. Don't be mad how things ended up. Be thankful that we now have the best Maps App ever, and another formative backup (iOS maps).
so many of you seriously don't get it, apple did not get their way, google did. apple wanted google to provide voice navigation in the APPLE app. google said no, it wanted branding (ie for the app to be called Google Maps instead of Maps) and wanted to be able to display revenue generating ads in the app. basically google wanted its own ios app. APPLE did not agree to these conditions and instead developed their own app, which failed, and paved the way for google to release their app with everything they wanted (and more), bathed in a tsunami of positive press and thanks from iphone users. google could not have played this better, apple could not have played this worse.
google got what it wanted and the most positive press its gotten in years. apple got nothing it wanted and the most negative press it's gotten in years. it's mind boggling to me that some people don't understand this.
Your convenient omission is in the fact that Google always could've provided a stand-alone Map and Nav App that complied with the same rules every other developer uses. They deliberately did not chose that option. Now they have brought the same, and even better capability (by their admission) to the iPhone. The best Google mapping is on the iPhone now, not an Android. That press is certainly not negative for Apple.You are misinformed. Google was perfectly willing to provide turn-by-turn direction for an Apple-created Maps app that uses Google's data. However, there was a disagreement over which company would benefit from the USER DATA created by using that feature (as well as general mapping user data) going forward.
So, here we are... two competing Maps apps. The Google app will prove to be the most popular (by a HUGE margin) and Apple STILL won't be getting the amount of user data it needs. And Apple has a big black eye over the whole mess to boot.
Sometimes, it's ridiculous to try to reinvent the wheel. Particularly when the existing wheel is a really really good wheel!
Mark
Sure it actually takes me where I want to go, but it's butt ugly. The street labels are as small as Gollum's loin cloth, but at least the streets are labeled. The interface is entirely non-intuitive but I usually manage to perform the right gesture to reveal the secret hidden panel with the feature I want within 4 or 5 tries. In the end, Gollum's goal isn't to help you destroy the ring, but to get it back, and Google's goal isn't to improve your iPhone, it's to get you to buy android, other-wise, they would have designed an iOS app instead of using entirely Android-isms in the UI. Fortunately, Android UI is awful so I think people are gonna realize why they keep their iPhones. End lesson: Google knows location data and Apple knows interfaces. Too bad the Lady of the Wood couldn't have been Frodo's guide to Mordor.
Edit: Can't find my contacts? Seriously?
Try to search for directions to someone in your contact list and let me know how that goes. Pretty is nice, but if it can't even perform basic functions it's useless.Hands down.
How do you partner with a company who has made itself your biggest competitor - by supplying free arms to Asian hardware companies to attack your core business (hardware sales)?
Google can't have things both ways.
...3) To access contacts, you can't. You must be logged in to Google and store contacts there...
Nice try.
We still have Google's maps on one older iPhone (a 3GS) and the maps clearly say "Google" at the bottom of every map image. There was never any mystery as to the source.
You should check out the rest to forum before you make that statement.
Most US people don't have issues with Apple maps.
But the LAST thing you do is make your product the laughing stock of forums, blogs, Facebook and late-night television shows. And that's EXACTLY what Apple did by releasing its crappy Maps app. The loss of Street View alone should have been enough to tell any Apple executive (that was paying any attention at all) that it was a big mistake.