Apple Maps Now Used Three Times More Than Google Maps on iPhone

[arturmeireles]

Last week I was running late for a workshop. BTW I live in Portugal. The workshop was on my iPhone calendar so I opened up on Apple Maps. Damn took me to a total different place 10 miles away and I ended up even more late to the workshop! I got furious!!! Copy/paste the same address to Google Maps and worked perfectly! Like someone here wrote before: I give a chance to Apple Maps once in a while but it is still not as good as Google Maps.
The traffic on Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps are not very accurate BUT "Nokia" HERE Maps works very well in all the ways: traffic and ETA are very accurate... at least in Portugal.
I´m impressed that nobody commented abut HERE Maps till now.
Once in a while I launch 4 apps simultaneously: HERE Maps, Apple Maps, Google Maps and Waze and HERE Maps is by far the more accurate and Google comes is second place.

 

[reygza]

I use Apple Maps exclusively. I'ts always steered me in the right direction. I uninstalled Google Maps long ago.

 

[Zwhaler]

Google Maps satellite imagery in almost all cases pwns Apple.

 

[richpjr]

A lot of potential reasons have been mentioned, but one big one is that I've noticed Apple maps automatically giving me an estimate on how long it should take me to drive home from work.

I used that tonight. Apple maps told me it would take 56 minutes to drive home. I checked Google and it said 42 minutes. It took me 43 minutes to make it home. Apple maps always seems to lag behind on traffic where I commute.

 

[sudo1996]

So a stock app is used more than one you have to download???

Shocking!

I've definitely seen more OS X users using Chrome than those using Safari. But I'm among college students, most of whom know how to download different browsers. Not that I understand why they use Chrome in OS X...

So I believe the reason for the error in this article is a misinterpretation of the number of search requests. I would guess that there are 3x more search requests on Apple Maps because people are trying different searches to find what they want, whereas on Google Maps with the better search they find what they need on the first search. Just because Apple has more search requests does not mean it has more users.

You're probably right. Apple Maps rarely finds POIs and is pickier about how you input addresses. I find myself making more requests per driving session on it.

 

[NickD73]

People are mindless sheep, so what did you expect?

 

[tann]

Yet there are so many little things that are ridiculously annoying on Apple maps which causes me to stick to a combination of Waze and Google maps!

 

[tuna9720]

Google Maps is always the first app that I download on every iPhone I get.

 

[Mildredop]

Because Apple Maps is the default mapping app and that cannot be changed. Laziness means Apple Maps we'll get used more.

It's one of the reasons I returned my iPhone 6S and returned to Android.

 

[sarcastor]

are you serious? Apple maps is like 10 years behind Google maps in San Francisco. Just look at the level of detail. There literally streets missing in Apple Maps

Also I drive for Uber and the Uber driver app on the Iphone uses Apple maps. Look at their shoddy driving directions. I've reported the first mistake several times over the past 5 months and it still hasn't been fixed:

If an Uber driver had no knowledge of SF streets, they would be totally fubared.

 

[inscrewtable]

Many users opted not to upgrade to iOS 6 due to the app's flaws...

Well that is obviously completely fabricated nonsense. Why? Because the google map app still worked on iOS6 didn't it.

 

[Michael Goff]

are you serious? Apple maps is like 10 years behind Google maps in San Francisco. Just look at the level of detail. There literally streets missing in Apple Maps

Also I drive for Uber and the Uber driver app on the Iphone uses Apple maps. Look at their shoddy driving directions. I've reported the first mistake several times over the past 5 months and it still hasn't been fixed:

If an Uber driver had no knowledge of SF streets, they would be totally fubared.

Good thing a majority of users don't live in San Francisco. :|

 

[oldmacs]

I use it, but somehow 3 years on, it is still so very very poor at searching. I'll often search for a suburb or street nearby and I'll get a result from another country. I defended Apple Maps a lot, but google maps is still so much more accurate and it consistently loads the right results where Apple maps does something stupid.

 

[Abazigal]

Using Apple Maps exclusively here. It's good enough for getting me to where I need to be, and I feel that I don't really need the extra features that come from Google Maps.

Well that is obviously completely fabricated nonsense. Why? Because the google map app still worked on iOS6 didn't it.

iOS 6 replaced the google map all with the stock maps app, and Google didn't release their own maps app until a while latter.

 

[inscrewtable]

are you serious? There literally streets missing in Apple Maps

However there are streets missing in google maps that are on Apple maps, and that is in the image that you posted!

 

[Michael Goff]

People are mindless sheep, so what did you expect?

Considering there seems to be a blind hatred for Apple Maps, I'd say throwing the word "sheep" around doesn't mean as much.

 

[hexblot]

I know this might be unpopular -- but here in Greece at least, Google Maps on an iPhone makes for an abysmal experience.

UI aside (I find it very confusing, since it's based on Android UX and doesn't follow any of the usual iOS cues -- had to tap everywhere just in case something was hidden there), Google maps has superior search, however the routing part is much much worse (Google tries to make it shorter taking you via all sorts of backstreets, whereas Apple Maps prefers larger roads, making for almost the same time but a much better experience).

In addition to that, Apple maps (I assume) benefits from all sorts of privileged OS-app optimizations, to save battery. The same route in Apple maps takes ~5% battery, whereas in Google Maps it's closed to 40% (iPhone 6). That's nowhere near negligible.

Do note the above are all personal opinions/experiences based on driving instructions - I've never used Apple maps for transit (wasn't available while I was without a car).

 

[iBug2]

My biggest issue with Apple maps is the lack of POI's. When I'm searching a restaurant or cafe, gmaps always has it on database, and Apple Maps almost never does. So if I'm looking for a POI, I use google maps. If I'm looking for just an address, I use Apple maps.

 

[MacServiceGuy]

This is a joke right...?

OF COURSE the number goes higher over time.

It's not just the STOCK app... it's your ONLY choice when linking from an address in email or from the web or wherever. So if you want to use a different maps app day to day, you have to MANUALLY copy it, hit your home button to go back to your main screen, manually select google maps, tap the address bar, paste the address then hit "search" (as opposed to simply tapping the app and it launching and finding the address in apple maps).

This level of annoyance and difficulty puts most people off and they eventually just give up and go back to the default to keep things easy.

This is why I jailbreak - so i can CHOOSE my own mapping program. I went to google maps, set it it as my default, and have never looked back.

This is not some WIN for apple or some indication that Apple maps is catching on, it's a LOSS for choice.

typical apple fan boys who can't put anything into context...

 

[Tovenaar]

One thing that Google does a lot better than Apple is cater to global users.

I live in Dubai. Apple Maps here has the maps, but very little else. No traffic information, and dismally few landmarks and places of interest.

Google Maps on the other hand is just as good here as anywhere else in the world. I definitely wish I could set is as the default maps app.

 

[Mildredop]

Considering there seems to be a blind hatred for Apple Maps, I'd say throwing the word "sheep" around doesn't mean as much.

I'd strongly disagree it's a blind hatred. People have used it and don't like it. It's a wholly justified hatred.

Using Apple Maps exclusively here. It's good enough for getting me to where I need to be, and I feel that I don't really need the extra features that come from Google Maps.

A paper map is 'good enough' for getting you from A to B.

 

[Soylent Yellow]

are you serious? Apple maps is like 10 years behind Google maps in San Francisco. Just look at the level of detail. There literally streets missing in Apple Maps

That's bad. I thought Apple Maps was so backward because I am living in Europe, and that directions would be great in the US.

My home town just had Flyover added in Apple Maps, but has no public transport directions, no directions for bicyclists, and the routing for cars is just wrong. All icing, no cake.

 

[RobQuads]

For me the major reason I don't use Maps most of the time is the most frequent thing I do is check traffic and for this IMO Apple Maps style is just flawed in comparison to googles.
If I go to google I can see exactly where is busy AND where is clear and where they don't know.
If I go to Apple maps I can see where is busy....but I can't see what major roads they don't know about. Without knowing how good their coverage is its much much less useful.

 

[User 6502]

I have both but I mainly use Apple maps. The only reason to have google maps is public transport: unfortunately Apple is ridicously late, especially if you consider how many companies they bought to fix the lack of public transport directions.

 

[Abazigal]

A paper map is 'good enough' for getting you from A to B.

Sure, if you can find me a paper map that fits inside my phone and gives me turn-by-turn.