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For Those Who Think Google's Maps are Perfect

KieranDotW

KieranDotW

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 12, 2012
624
69
Canada
Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles, CA:

peg1-stars-hollywood-sign.jpg


"Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles, CA" in Apple Maps:

w7FiMJB.jpg


"Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles, CA" in Google Maps:

4LuBBi1.png


Which one seems more accurate to you? Go ahead and try it yourself.

And before anyone asks, no, I'm not saying Apple Maps are perfect either. I haven't had any issues myself, but the issues are definitely out there. I'm just sick of tired of people pointing out Apple's flaws like Google doesn't have any.
 
KieranDotW said:
Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles, CA:

Image

"Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles, CA" in Apple Maps:

Image

"Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles, CA" in Google Maps:

Image

Which one seems more accurate to you? Go ahead and try it yourself.

And before anyone asks, no, I'm not saying Apple Maps are perfect either. I haven't had any issues myself, but the issues are definitely out there. I'm just sick of tired of people pointing out Apple's flaws like Google doesn't have any.
Click to expand...

Just did lol nobody is prefect!
 
I'm not a big maps user but last week I was in a strange (UK) town and needed to find the post office. Having accepted the general wisdom that Google Maps knows best, I searched the app for "post office" and it tried to tell me the nearest one was about five miles away, in a residential area.

There may well have been a small sub office there of course, but as luck would have it I then found the large town centre post office just a few shops down from where I'd been. Just out of curiosity I fired up Apple Maps and asked it the same question; it immediately dropped a pin down exactly where I was standing.

Now I know, this is just one example and google's strike rate is no doubt higher overall - but for me it did give the lie to the general assumption that google maps is unassailable and apple's is wrong in all things.
 
Yeah, but search for an everyday item, like a McDonald's or 7-eleven. Google Maps search and POIs are far better than Apple Maps search and POIs.

Apple does get points for ooh's and ah's of landmark type stuff, with their 3D layout etc. But for finding places in everyday situations, Google Maps I believe is far better.

Google maps as you can see doesn't have an address for the location so it is just putting the location at the middle of Los Angeles

Now I'm sounding like a Google Maps apologist lol
 
Nobody has ever once claimed Google Maps to be perfect. There is no such thing as perfect maps in a world that is constantly changing, but are some significantly better and more accurate than others? Absolutely.
 
This thread is a huge fail. Google maps is significantly better than apple maps. Stop being so biased. Jesus man the fanboyism here gets worse by the day
 
In order to make maps the best possible experience, Apple needs their own personal satellite in orbit scanning the earth every other day. These scans would then be "feed" to the Maps app via automatic micro updates, only pertaining to an iOS Device's most common location. For example: If a device is located in Cupertino, CA, then the device would only download the latest Cupertino map updates. If the iOS moves to another area, then it could ask the user if s/he wanted to download the latest map data for that area.....

With 100+ billion in the banks, Apple could afford it; probably costs a dime to them.
 
surjavarman said:
This thread is a huge fail. Google maps is significantly better than apple maps. Stop being so biased. Jesus man the fanboyism here gets worse by the day
Click to expand...

It's seriously not better, the UI is unpleasant and doesn't have Siri and also isn't native to ios. I prefer apple maps and so do many other people. Also not to mention fly over. Google maps is slightly more accurate but those added features and the smoothness/UI makes apple maps the better choice IMHO.
 
Last edited:
Flyover is a gimmick! It's a thing that you check once or twice and then go back to 2D view because it is actually useful. And in 2D view Google Maps wins by a huge margin (at least on UK, France, and Germany).

Apple Maps still has every single one of the errors that I reported 1 day after it was released!
 
Random 995K said:
It's seriously not better, the UI is unpleasant and doesn't have Siri and also isn't native to ios. I prefer apple maps and so do many other people. Also not to mention fly over. Google maps is slightly more accurate but those added features and the smoothness/UI makes apple maps the better choice IMHO.
Click to expand...

They are talking about the mapping data themselves not the GUI/presentation aspects.

In general apple's GUI for their maps app was generally well regarded, it was the mapping data and POIs that were (are) the problem.

I usually try to use Apple's maps, and if I can't find what I'm searching for I then open Google Maps (or just browse to maps, before the app was available). This happens way more often than I would like it to and that is the problem with Apple Maps.

Apple even issued an apology for the maps, so, can we stop debating on the quality of the mapping data? Google's are not perfect either, but Apple's are definitely worse. They will get better in time. Meanwhile we have a google maps app as well. So let it go.
 
Purant said:
They are talking about the mapping data themselves not the GUI/presentation aspects.

In general apple's GUI for their maps app was generally well regarded, it was the mapping data and POIs that were (are) the problem.

I usually try to use Apple's maps, and if I can't find what I'm searching for I then open Google Maps (or just browse to maps, before the app was available). This happens way more often than I would like it to and that is the problem with Apple Maps.

Apple even issued an apology for the maps, so, can we stop debating on the quality of the mapping data? Google's are not perfect either, but Apple's are definitely worse. They will get better in time. Meanwhile we have a google maps app as well. So let it go.
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree, I wasn't aware we were discussing the accuracy part only.
 
It's not that google maps are perfect, it's that apple maps are poor. That doesn't mean there aren't some occasions when apple maps will give a better result, but it's heavily skewed the other way.

I've just moved from London to Dubai, and apple maps is absolutely shocking in both places.
 
In my experience if you know how to get there but don't know exactly know how things look(for example you know to follow this and that route and all of that) Apple's Maps are better here for that.
If you want to know where restaurants are Google's got way more restaurants showing up although for some reason most of those aren't really there(either closed or theres others stores in those locations and people say there was never a restaurant there) or it confuses hospitals with police stations(pretty weird)

Conclusion(here at least): if you've never been to a place and want to know what stores there are there or something like that,Googles the way to go,just looking at places and navigation I prefer Apples one.
 
Heb 7:4 said:
It's not that google maps are perfect, it's that apple maps are poor. That doesn't mean there aren't some occasions when apple maps will give a better result, but it's heavily skewed the other way.

I've just moved from London to Dubai, and apple maps is absolutely shocking in both places.
Click to expand...

That's so strange, I must be visiting all the wrong (or right) places. I've used Apple maps all around London and many other areas in the UK and it has so far been 100% accurate for me.
That said, I think all of this arguing about maps is a bit silly. I use both Apple and Google maps and I like them both. One doesn't have to fail for the other one to be viable. Choice is a good thing.
 
Stampyhead said:
That's so strange, I must be visiting all the wrong (or right) places. I've used Apple maps all around London and many other areas in the UK and it has so far been 100% accurate for me.
Click to expand...

At this point you must be flat out lying.

Going by the example earlier in the thread, if you type Post Office into the search box in London on Apple Maps there are a grand total of two in the search radius, both of which are labelled as having an approximate location.

I do not think there are only two post offices in west London.
 
Neither is right.

If I'm searching for "Hollywood Sign" the business, then Google is in fact perfect, and I'd think to myself "Wow, Apple maps sure do suck"
 
surjavarman said:
This thread is a huge fail. Google maps is significantly better than apple maps. Stop being so biased. Jesus man the fanboyism here gets worse by the day
Click to expand...

Google Maps is only 2% more accurate in the US then Apple Maps, but Google Maps defitnetly outshines Apple Maps in other countries
 
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