Apple Maps Redesign Expands to Netherlands and Six More Countries

[MacRumors]

Apple today announced that its revamped Maps app is rolling out in the Netherlands, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. The new experience provides more detail, improved navigation, custom-designed 3D models of popular landmarks, immersive turn-by-turn walking directions powered by augmented reality, and more.

A before and after look at Apple Maps in Switzerland​

Look Around is also expanding to all of these countries starting today, offering high-resolution street-level imagery in the Maps app. The feature is similar to Google's Street View, but with smoother transitions when panning and zooming.

As noted by Apple Maps expert Justin O'Beirne and our readers, the redesign has also gone live in Saudi Arabia and Israel.

The revamped Apple Maps experience first launched in the U.S. in 2019 and has since expanded to the U.K., Ireland, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, France, Germany, and select other countries and territories.

(Thanks, Hidde Collee!)

Article Link: Apple Maps Redesign Expands to Netherlands and Six More Countries

 

[Tacorumors]

Dear Macrumors, this screenshot is Swiss, not the Netherlands…

 

[Soylent Yellow]

And apparently Basel has been added to the Netherlands. Did our troops sail up the Rhine?

 

[RickDEGH]

We need cycling maps!

 

[Joe Rossignol]

Dear Macrumors, this screenshot is Swiss, not the Netherlands…

And apparently Basel has been added to the Netherlands. Did our troops sail up the Rhine?

Whoops. I took the image from Apple's press release in the Netherlands and didn't look at it closely. Fixed!

 

[Tacorumors]

And apparently Basel has been added to the Netherlands. Did our troops sail up the Rhine?

Please keep this silent! It is a secret!

 

[ShadowJonathan]

idgaf about fancy maps, give me cycling directions

it shouldn't be that hard to add it to one of the two most heavy bike-using countries after adding it to an entire continent, come on apple

(Unless QC determined that their default method of making every freeway a bike path won't fly in the Netherlands, in which case, at least I'm not getting a half-baked version of it)

 

[NewUsername]

So is Apple Maps now as good as Google Maps in the Netherlands or is it still not worth trying out?

 

[Squuiid]

When are they gonna use it in ‘Find My’?!
London has nice new maps in the Maps app but ‘Find My’ has imaging in London from 2015.
Occasionally it will temporarily glitch, usually in macOS, and show the new imaging but it always reverts back to 2015.

 

[ShadowJonathan]

So is Apple Maps now as good as Google Maps in the Netherlands or is it still not worth trying out?

Ohoho absolutely not

Public transport navigation is a nightmare as a commuter, because apple's algorithm basically selects one route, stop thinking, and puts the next cycles of that same route in the result screen, while often there are many different routes to a specific stop. It doesn't even take into account effective station departure times altered by delays, so a train that will take you to your destination that's right in front of your nose won't show up in the app, only the next one (even if that one is also delayed)

On top of that, it doesn't take into account transfer times at all. On my commute, it basically recommended a 1min transfer time as okay, ...to transfer across 6 platforms.

Compounded with the above issue it basically makes public transport navigation on it worthless as I can't pick any other route.

(I've notified apple of both bugs, but no response, obviously)

Cycle directions don't exist in NL, except in some cities, apparantly.

Discovery of properties is alright, but it's lighter on information than google is, and so sometimes I have had multi-year out-of-date information about certain companies, where another one had already moved in when the one on the map had closed down.

In general I'd say that I want to use Apple Maps, it's UI is very nice and not cluttered like google maps is, but it just lacks in features in general, and feels very neglected for Europe (minus UK)

The only reason I reasonably use it nowadays is because apple prioritises its own map app over google maps, so it shows up without unlocking my screen, and when public transport actually works, their notifications to get out are actually very accurate

 

[dz5b609]

Dear Macrumors, this screenshot is Swiss, not the Netherlands…

For now

 

[arnoz]

I don't seem to see it yet, and I'm based not too far from Basel (so in The Netherlands) 😛

That being said, the 3D views of Apple Maps (especially being able to go 360 around a summit) have been proven way more useful than many other services to plan a hike/trail/trek/climb that's not exactly following the Swisstopo app routes.

Amazing quality. And with the legend and altitude estimations, plus seeing the type of ground, I've only had to turn back once when going on an adventure because the terrain was just too rough/steep.

Swiss problems, I guess, but still. Apart from that, Google Maps still is a better option in my opinion.

 

[DrJR]

Apple Maps is garbage. Please just integrate google maps, give up.

 

[ShadowJonathan]

Apple Maps is garbage. Please just integrate google maps, give up.

I disagree on the "giving up" part, Apple Maps has something going that's tighter than google maps, and i think that if they keep it up they can give a more consistent experience than google does

at the moment the QC is garbage though

 

[dsdevries]

So is Apple Maps now as good as Google Maps in the Netherlands or is it still not worth trying out?

It still doesn't support cycling routes. As 70% of all direction queries are for cycling routes in The Netherlands, it's still basically useless.

 

[jent]

Are the new maps on all versions of iOS or only newer ones?

 

[Mr. Dee]

I just can’t bring myself to use Apple Maps. Just like I can’t use Bing. Maybe one day, but for now, Google Maps does the job just fine. But I am rooting (no pun) for Apple.

 

[one more]

So is Apple Maps now as good as Google Maps in the Netherlands or is it still not worth trying out?

First hand experience is worth more than a 100 comments, so go try it for yourself, it can be fun! 🖐️

 

[one more]

Apple Maps is garbage. Please just integrate google maps, give up.

I disagree. If you are in a country with new Apple Maps coverage, they are the nicest of the bunch with very clear directions and minimum distractions. Look Around is pretty cool too. My main issues with the new maps are that at times the POIs are misplaced. However, when you report it to Apple, they usually fix it within 3-5 days. Another minor issue is that speed limits are often inaccurate, so I turned them off altogether. Other than that I think that AM have made a really good progress so far and can only get better moving forward.

 

[one more]

Are the new maps on all versions of iOS or only newer ones?

You should be able to see them in iOS/iPadOS 15, not sure about earlier ones. However, the new maps for the countries listed are not yet live for everybody and might take another 24 hours or so to propagate.

 

[Havoc035]

Apple Maps is garbage. Please just integrate google maps, give up.

From this reaction alone I can tell you must not have used Apple Maps in years. It has come a long way.

 

[KRBM]

PSA - the new maps are still not live yet.

But even when they are, they won’t bring you cycling directions, making this app as useful for Dutch users as an Apple Maps without car directions would be for American users.

 

[t0rqx]

The look around is far more superior than Google. Love it. But that's about it. Surely improving.

 

[Creek0512]

Apple Maps is garbage. Please just integrate google maps, give up.

Google forced Apple to build their own maps by withholding features from iOS to give Android an advantage. Google Maps didn’t even support turn-by-turn navigation when it was the default app. They didn’t add it until the stand alone version of Google Maps after Apple Maps launched. If you like Google Maps more, then use it. The competition with Apple has made both maps better.

 

[CarAnalogy]

I disagree on the "giving up" part, Apple Maps has something going that's tighter than google maps, and i think that if they keep it up they can give a more consistent experience than google does

at the moment the QC is garbage though

This sentence applies to far too much software from Apple right now.

Google Maps has taken a dive recently and Apple Maps has gotten much better, in the US at least.