Google Maps isn't all its cracked up to be...
I will admit that Apple Maps was very frustrating upon first release. I have never gotten wrong directions before - mainly frustrated in regards to POI search. It seemed Google was much better at producing relevant or ANY results, where as at first launch Apple only returned matches if they were a 100% match (not very good when you are unsure of a name or place).
However, this is where Apple Maps has steadily improved since its launch in iOS 6, and they now show related or relevant results that don't always 100% match the search (in a good way). So much so that Apple Maps has performed better than Google Maps in a few POI requests. When I went to Santacon in NYC this past weekend and had no idea where the "Pier 84" starting meetup was I found one such instance that supports this. Wanting to try out Google Maps I searched for it - and wasn't really given a clearcut answer to where it was.
Comically, I switched to Apple maps, searched the same entry, and got an exact and much more clearcut result. See below:
Google Maps:
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Apple Maps:
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As you can see, Google brought up "Pier 84 Supply Co". I was unsure if that was where the Pier was located, and later discovered that Google Maps had the pier labeled as a "Dog Park". If you look at Apple Maps result for the same search, it comes up with a much better answer and correctly has the pier labeled and noted as Pier 84 park.
I then used Apple Maps to navigate me to the destination. It did so flawlessly and it was the first time I have relied on it 100% for turn by turn directions to get me to a place I was unfamiliar with (rather than simply testing it out on release). I was very impressed, especially with the lock screen integration where it turned on the screen when directions are being given temporarily even when its locked so you can see the turn and save battery life.
As such, I will definitely be using Apple Maps as my default mapping service. Hopefully I won't run into any problems, but if I do, I can just check Google quick. I would rather use Apple Maps though going forward for the improved integration and to make it better/more accurate. Not to mention, I'm not exactly a "fan" of the new Google Maps UI. I don't like how the names for the pins show up at the bottom now instead of on the pin, and to operate the app is a bit cumbersome.
Can anyone say Google MapGate? I think Eric Schmidt needs to slow his role and shut his mouth, haha.