Another vote for Apple Maps: I keep the Google Maps app installed and assumed I'd need it at times while Apple Maps got through the earliest growing pains.
But I've never needed it, not even at the start. Once in a while I try it, to see that it's worse. (And of course there are cities where Google is better... but not mine.)
I assumed I'd use Street View at least, but Street View is soo blurry and SOOOO sloooow and so PAINFUL to navigate around a city, that I use Flyover instead. I find I can tell where I am just fine despite the elevated viewpoint. Not something the human brain has a problem with.
Transit is vital for me occasionally--and daily for others. So I hope Apple is indeed working on the rumored transit deals to get that data. A one-stop map app for driving and transit is a worthy goal.
Meanwhile, for transit directions, I use.... Apple Maps!
I do my search (WAY easier in Apple Maps--it knows where the transit stops are and it knows all my Contacts locations, so everything autocompletes without sharing any personal data with Google/advertisers). And then I hit the Transit button that Apple Maps still has, and it passes the search off to Google to show the routes. Works great.
I'd love to eliminate that last step, but even as it is now, I don't find transit directions any harder to get from Apple Maps than they were during the Google partnership. (Apple Maps never truly lost Google as a transit partner--rather, it gained the ability to choose from MULTIPLE apps as transit partners. Maybe your city has its own transit app, for instance. You choose.)
And I'm VERY glad Apple didn't give in to Google's demands for my personal data. That partnership HAD to end, because the two companies see the user very differently...
While Apple Maps have improved, it's still giving me routes like this:
The thing is, Google has errors too. You could spend a lifetime showing crazy screenshots of Google Maps. Or Apple. Or anything. What matters is what works where you live, and that all companies keep improving.
In my case, I see more craziness and mis-placed businesses in Google. (Yet I wish Apple could achieve Google's ability to correct a mis-typed search. Full credit to Google on that.)
And even the EARLY days of Apple Maps, the only DATA I ever saw published (which I think was for Canada?)--as opposed to local anecdotes--showed Apple's data to be more accurate. And that was BEFORE the huge improvements that have been ongoing. Obviously, this varies by region.
But when the media and blogs get a meme "Appul maps no gud!!!!" it gets repeated and people simply believe it. Evidence? Data comparing the two on a meaningful scale? Per region? Who needs it! People will believe what they're told. (Or in some cases, pretend to for trolling.)
I remember back when both Apple and Google were found to have some dangerous directions... and only the Apple story got any legs.
