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Apple Partners With Parkopedia to Bring In-Depth Parking Data to Apple Maps
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I find Apple Maps more attractive and easier to use than Google Maps, but GMaps has certain advantages that are undeniable, for example:
- search along the route (eg, for gas stations, food, or lodgings, while in nav mode, and ON the already programmed route)
- display of useful information for some searches (eg price at gas stations, price for lodgings). These may not be perfectly accurate, but they allow you to rapidly scan eg the expensive hotels from the cheaper ones
- pretty much everything related to search (including "unusual" searches like "where do locals eat")
- much more willingness to utilize crowd-sourcing for all sorts of purposes including things like allowing users to easily and rapidly rate establishments and determine favorites. Apple's obsession with privacy is (IMHO) preventing them from handling a number of use cases that they could, at worst, just allow people to opt into.
- Google has a mechanism (lousy and painful, but at least it is there) for establishing way points along the way (eg I want to get from city A to city B but I want to go through National Park C along the way).
It's worth seeing what Google Maps can do today in the hands of someone who is used to the app and uses it aggressively. Apple still has a lot of features to add.
(And, for BOTH of them, it's still really early days. They both, for example, can't tell you where public toilets might be, or where one can mail letters. They both have lousy walking directions. They both have no mechanism for "suspending" a current search or route to open a second page to do something else. They both have lousy and limited abilities to share routes or anything else, let alone plan a joint route together over the internet. They both have no mechanism for anyone to provide a list of "attractions to see along I15 between Las Vegas and LA" sort of feature. etc etc.)
[doublepost=1469647295][/doublepost]Oh forgot to add that Google, right now, handles lack of coverage much better than Apple. They both suck when coverage is not available (they both seem to hold onto basic nav info even with no coverage, but god help you if you try to edit that route while there is no coverage), but at least Google has the ability for you to manually force the download of some material in an area where you think there will be limited coverage.
And of course Google has lane indicators (which of multiple highway lanes to move into for an upcoming turn).
Many of these things I've listed don't seem to matter when you are driving day to day along the same route, but they matter a LOT when you are driving in unfamiliar territory. Apple could solve some of them today, even without requiring huge data collection efforts. For example Apple could be a lot more aggressive in caching data and offering up (perhaps sub-optimal, and with no traffic info) routes even when there is no coverage. And hell, Apple could be using crowd-sourcing and/or telco's maps to WARN you about areas of upcoming no coverage (and preloading data just in case).
Because they don't want to have to figure out where to put all those cars. They just want the people and their pocketbooks.
That's a great idea -- except the lack of a decent mass transit system in most cities to start with.
That's a really good summary, thanks!
I agree with all those suggestions. Caching for offline is a huge feature.
One thing I would love for all driving navigation apps to add are landmark-based directions.
For example, "turn left in 2000 feet" is a pretty useless instruction. How is a normal person supposed to estimate 2000 feet while driving at 40mph? Or, "turn left on to main street, route 40a west, route 16 west." Thanks for letting me know this road has 3 names, now I have to look out for either a tiny street sign, or one of two state road signs.
Instead, they should leverage their POI and streetview database to say "turn left at the Dunkin' Donuts" or "turn left after the yellow barn." Between POIs and object recognition in photos, they should be able to put together these sorts of directions.
Exactly how is that possible? It's realistic for garages because they log free spaces. Random street parking is impossible to track
I use both and depending on where I am one or the other is better.
Don't know if Apple has that feature, but Google maps tells me when I drive into a traffic jam what it's about, so I can decide whether to change my route.
Apple maps is getting better. It used to want to send me around the same block AGAINST one way traffic many times.
But he was implying that the gap has become wider, so the Google Maps age has nothing to do with it. The gap is just expanding.
[doublepost=1469651393][/doublepost]
Google Maps can show just this little triangle EVERY time you browse a map and you don't have to switch on this "WHOLE MAP ROTATION" thing, which is just too invasive for normal browsing.Wait, doesn't Apple Maps do the same thing?
Google Maps wins this out with its subtle marking.
It's a ******, shady, wacky, limpy, flimsy service.
Parking service company Parkopedia today announced that it will begin to provide its enhanced and detailed parking information services directly within Apple Maps. With the partnership between the two companies, that means iOS users will be able to visit Apple Maps to discover more than 40 million parking spots in 75 countries across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
The integration of Parkopedia into Apple Maps actually began in March inside of the United States, but today marks the official worldwide launch of the new resource. With the parking company's "rich information," Apple Maps users will be able to search for parking garages and lots, while reading about their location, payment type, number of spaces, and more. Future updates will allow users to filter search results, in order to discover the cheapest lots first, for example.
While reading through some Parkopedia information for a parking lot in Apple Maps, users will be able to follow a link to reserve a spot, although that process takes them out of Maps to complete the payment process on the Parkopedia website or within the company's iOS app [Direct Link]. "More detailed information" will also be available outside of Apple Maps and in Parkopedia itself, including pricing, user reviews, special offers and real-time space availability.
Apple Maps has been receiving steady updates to help bolster its navigation and research abilities for users visiting new cities, or simply trying to find new venues in their hometown. Among these changes coming in iOS 10 are new parked car notifications, which reminds users where they left their car -- especially when parking in large garages or lots -- with the help of a simple geo-locked icon within Apple Maps. Combined with Parkopedia's information catalog, this could help Apple get a leg up on its rivals in the GPS map app space.
Article Link: Apple Partners With Parkopedia to Bring In-Depth Parking Data to Apple Maps
What they do in my city is pure horror. Apple leave it quickly! Stop integrating some shady services and work on your own back-end.
There are parkings which are open, on open space, pure concrete, no barriers. And it says they are closed after 10 PM, HOW THE F-word it is possible?!?!
im all in for apple maps to get better, i still use both apple and google maps. at times apple maps still takes me in circles. :\
Apple can't even _accurately_ map out large established Major Metropolitan cities like my home town of Los Angeles.
The lack of push back is an amazing testimony to Apple's influence over its passive faithful buyers. Mesmerized by the Apple Hype Machine, some are so blindly loyal, they'll argue and make excuses for the billion dollar company, just as though they were defending their family.
The cult like behavior is part of the Apple legacy. It's quite a phenomenon.
The lack of push back is an amazing testimony to Apple's influence over its passive faithful buyers. Mesmerized by the Apple Hype Machine, some are so blindly loyal, they'll argue and make excuses for the billion dollar company, just as though they were defending their family.
The cult like behavior is part of the Apple legacy. It's quite a phenomenon.
I agree. With iOS 10 maps, at least they are trying along route searches. Definitely not the best but its a start. I agree with search 100%. Searching on Apple Maps is painful, it will still show me locations in states across the US instead of nearby and relying on Siri for carplay is quite terrible for a majority of my searches. Routes are still not as efficient as they should be. When I have Google and Apple Maps both up but follow Google's directions, the ETA in Apple Maps will get better as I follow Google's route which is frustrating. Also, traffic is not as accurate as Google taps into some Waze data and Apple Maps seems to avoid side streets if possible even if the main road is backed up for miles. I find the interface in iOS 10 much better but they really need to start improving the backend. I can only submit so much feedback.
Just last night I tried to use Apple maps to get me to a pizza restaurant. It gave me an "approximate location" a block away. Had to use google maps to get me to the actual place. If only we could make google maps the default app!
That thing is always off most of the time though. Been that way since the start. Really useless in that regard.
Wow! You're still lucky. I live in Poland and I still see search results from across the US instead of nearby.
I, for one, am only too pleased to bow down to the wishes, demands and worldview of my christogold overlord. Oh that we could all suppress our needs and desires and conform to what christogold says they should be.
I assume he missed off the /sarcasm tag - either that or the OP is challenged in the brain dept.
This is best feature when you are on a road trip. What is weird is about a year ago I was using apple maps for directions and I was able use siri to get directions to a target (the store) on my route (siri find me a target along my route). Worked great, but I have yet to get it to work again.
Maybe because the local laws or the business regulating/operating the spaces actually do close those spaces @ 10 PM. That's actually fairly common from what I've seen
In many cities in the Los Angeles area, it is illegal for a vehicle to occupy street parking between 3 and 5am unless you have a permit displayed in the car. Regardless of what you may think of such laws, they are the law, and are enforced, which means that, essentially, those parking spaces do not exist between 3am and 5am.
On top of that, of course, there are often additional laws about no parking at times when street cleaning is in effect. And just because you do not see such signs doesn't mean they are not active. In some areas of LA, the sign is two blocks down from the parking space, but you are expected to have the psychic powers to know that it is there and therefore obey it.
I expect that many cities have similar laws, only with changes in the details.
But that's the thing. They are NOT closed at any time. I have been living here more than 20 years. And those spots haven't been closed at any time, 2AM, 3AM, of any day. It's physically impossible. There are large road entrances, with normal city roads leading to them.