Apple Maps Significantly More Popular Than All Other iOS Mapping Apps, Including Google

[Plutonius]

I have google maps installed but I find myself only using Apple maps. I have had no issues with Apple maps.

 

[ThsIsWhyImScott]

I can't help but question the significance of these statistics. I have definitely opened map links on my phone that have inadvertently opened apple maps by default, even though I just quit it to open google maps. So im included as a user of apple maps? not really all that relevant.

Apple maps is far inferior (transit + CYCLING directions!!!!) to google maps and if apple would ease up on control (i know, not going to happen) and let me choose google maps and google chrome as my default maps/web browsers id be much happier. seriously - justy let me hide safari and apple maps (and so many other useless apps. its my phone, i should be able to decide the content!

 

[AaronM5670]

Actually, it's come a long way over the past year or so, dare I say I even prefer it to Google Maps?

Credit to Apple for not giving up on it - despite all the bad press. Hey, it's not actually that bad!

 

[OllyW]

My only gripe is the lack of town names in the UK.

Same here, most of the towns in my area are nameless on Apple Maps.

 

[halfapie]

I think a HUGE reason for me (and other iOS 7 users) to use the Apple Map app is SIRI integration. It's hard to get Siri to play nice with Waze or other map apps, especially in iOS 7.

 

[citi]

Could be because of he ease of use.. Data is still wrong at times but is usable.

Waze is my go to app. 😎 (esp. for cop alerts) 😀

+1000 on Waze. Cop alerts save my butt. Plus it has real time redirecting. That's a godsend and cut 45 minutes out of my drive time on Saturday night due to a sudden accident.

It's ugly as all hell though. Time for a ios 7 facelift.

 

[kyjaotkb]

I use Google maps because 75% of the time it already knows where I'm going... simple as that. Can't beat seamless syncing of Google Maps on the PC browser, Gmail and Google maps app.
Plus on my 3GS Google maps is actually lighter than Apple's (Apple maps generally crashes if I have Spotify running simultaneously) and it gets a GPS lock about 2-3x faster. And it gives transit information and directions, which Apple does not. And it speaks and has turn-to-turn, which Apple maps does not do on my 3GS. And aerial views are immensely better than on Apple's maps (I live in London). And it recognizes all adresses, towns, postcodes, even if there are spelling mistakes.

 

[citi]

helps that it is the default and you can't change your default mapping app....

apple maps has steered me wrong (as in not even close to where the location is) so I try not to use it unless in a pinch

One way to sidestep is to change your calendar app. Most allow you to set a different nav apps. I use cal and I can have it default to Waze.

 

[S.B.G]

It's likely that Apple's success is largely due to the incredible advantage default apps hold on mobile platforms, with the majority of users finding Apple Maps to be "good enough" and not looking for an alternative.

That's probably the biggest reason why the numbers are the way they are. It's the same reason Microsoft's Internet Explorer has held the number one spot as the most used browser for a very long time (though I don't think it is any longer).

The Apple Maps seem to work well for me and there are still some things I feel they could improve on and make better. But overall it's a decent experience now.

 

[Kwill]

Which has street level views? Nuff said.

 

[citi]

I think a HUGE reason for me (and other iOS 7 users) to use the Apple Map app is SIRI integration. It's hard to get Siri to play nice with Waze or other map apps, especially in iOS 7.

That's assuming Siri understands where you want to go and that the servers are actually working.

"I'm sorry, there seems to be something wrong right now..." Ugh

 

[dgalvan123]

This just completely depends on where you live.

I live in Los Angeles and have never had any issues with Apple Maps. Even when it was new and in the news about misleading people all over the world. Well, that was bad and all, but for me it had zero impact since it has never steered me wrong in the Southern California area.

*shrug*

 

[derbyshire2013]

It'd be more popular with me if they bothered to update any out of date business listings or incorrect town names.

There's a suburb of Derby called Spondon. They list it as Sponden. And despite reporting it, it's still not been updated.

There's also a former car dealership from the village I grew up in which closed down and moved from the location Apple reckons it's at over 15 years ago.

I also feel the Yelp! integration needs to be refreshed more regularly. A review posted in 2008 may not be as relevant as a review published in 2013, for example.

 

[SmalTek]

Lots of errors

Apple maps still has LOTS of errors, rendering it unusable, at least for me.

I live near Toronto in Canada. This amount of errors in Apple map is unacceptable, especially when it happens in and around Toronto or another large North American megapolis.

 

[Taz Mangus]

Stockholm Syndrome.

I recently has my daughter's first birthday party and 3 people got lost solely because Apple Maps sent them to the wrong location.

I don't plan on using Apple Maps for a very long time.

I recently had the same issue with Google Maps. It took me to the opposite side of town. Apple maps came through with flying colors. Won't be using Google Maps again anytime soon. YMMV.

 

[mrsir2009]

Well obviously, since Apple Maps is the default and most people won't seek an alternative unless there's some serious problems with it.

 

[wiz329]

It's more popular because it's better! I use maps and GPS on a daily basis and every time I give Google maps a try it fails me. Apple maps is by FAR the best navigation app out there!

I actually still find google's app to be better. They both get it wrong some of the time, but I find google to be correct more of the time.

I also like the google interface better, though that may simply be due to familiarity.

 

[PlanetFree]

It's more popular because it's better! I use maps and GPS on a daily basis and every time I give Google maps a try it fails me. Apple maps is by FAR the best navigation app out there!

+1 As an example Google maps kept trying to send me the wrong way up a one way street where Apple maps gave the correct route. Google has consistantly failed to give a correct route so i deleted Google maps and use Apple maps.

 

[Northgrove]

It's sad that Apple Maps still hasn't improved in my city since release day! Or wait, our city's label was fixed a few weeks after launch. But it still looks like a map with only 10% (I'm not exaggerating -- they're even hard to find 🙁) of our stores having even the proper names, much less correct placements.

So that part is horrible here, but it's not all doom & gloom. The streets look pretty fine, the street names too, but it's as if Apple is using some really bad international database for POI stuff, or lack cooperation with national agencies that could do much better. The upside is that an update to something better here could result in massive over night improvements, since it looks like an overall database issue.

 

[boss.king]

Apple maps is still terrible where I live. I gave it a shot the other day and it couldn't find my address. I tried to find a few local businesses, about two of the searches returned results (out of 8) and of those two only one was correct. Then tried the same searches on Google maps (albeit on my nexus) and the results were faster and ACCURATE! I wouldn't trust apple maps to get me where I need to go.

 

[matty.p]

+1000 on Waze. Cop alerts save my butt. Plus it has real time redirecting. That's a godsend and cut 45 minutes out of my drive time on Saturday night due to a sudden accident.

It's ugly as all hell though. Time for a ios 7 facelift.

You know one way to avoid needing Cop warnings is to you know... drive following the traffic laws. just saying 😛

 

[Vodka]

Apple maps still not usable in Japan...AT ALL...cannot find a thing you put in search bar

 

[Daws001]

I haven't had any issues with it ever in my city. I am about to use it on a road trip for Thanksgiving, though, so hopefully I don't die.

I'm assuming that's been the major complaint with Apple Maps. Random deaths.

 

[yakovlev]

Unfortunately, Apple Maps is still unusable in Russia. The data is just rubbish. No buildings (which is important in Russia, since the numbering can be highly irregular here), lots and lots of placemarks are in the wrong places (like hundreds of meters away) or have wrong types (e.g., embassies marked as museums), clouds are completely obscuring whole city blocks etc. I could go on and on. When it was released a year ago, I’ve sent about 100 corrections. Months later, nothing has been fixed. I think it is unfixable. The initial data set was just too bad. It’s unrealistic to correct millions of bugs. They need to start over with a new, high quality dataset for Russia and build on that. Very sad, as Russians had very usable Apple Maps in iOS 5. Now we’re all using Yandex.Maps, which has accurate data, but outdated technology (no vectors) and hideous substandard UI. And, of course, all apps relying on UIMapView still show Apple’s junk data. Sigh.

I know that Apple Maps is perfectly fine, even marvelous in U.S. and some other countries. So please don’t call me a troll, or a shill, or a downer, or some other silly name. What I’m doing here is reporting on the state of Apple Maps in a country that is not U.S. I hope and pray that Apple fixes this (now that they have hired ground truth experts and all). But I have to be honest with you: a year has passed and basically nothing has changed. I just can’t see how it can be improved at such a glacial pace. They need a major, major push to acquire the best data from mapping data providers, and they need to do it now, and it will still take a lot of time to regain the lost trust. I know I’ll be hypercritical and re-check every little piece of data on the new map for months before I’ll be able to fully trust it again. It really is that bad right now.

I’ve heard other countries have similar issues with Apple Maps data, but I don’t know how many. I assume Western Europe countries, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan are fine, right? Or not?

 

[linuxcooldude]

For goodness sake. I feel like yelling No ... sherlock!

Who'd have thought - an app that comes with the phone is more popular than an app you download separately.

NEWSFLASH: Safari is more popular than Chrome on iOS.

See...I can do it too 🙂

For what it's worth, data wise Apple Maps are still crap in the UK.

The article already mentions its largely due to having Maps as a default application. But I'm sure you read that...lol.