Maps: iOS 5 vs iOS 6

[Mad Mac Maniac]

With the new Apple maps it seems that the most prominently discussed topics are the addition of turn by turn and flyover, and the removal of street view and public transit. But the fact is there are a lot of other diferences such as vector based maps, new look, POI's that appear on the map, integration with yelp, etc.

So taking out those 4 heavily discussed topics (as best you can), please discuss your real-world scenarios of the new maps over the past few weeks. This involves things such as finding restaurants, looking at the map around you, looking at overview of directions, the format/layout of the app, traffic view, speed and responsiveness, etc. Would you say that the new maps is an improvement over iOS 5 maps or not?

 

[BamaATL]

Absolutely not an improvement. While at the beach I was not able to search and find restaurants and other locations. These are all locations I could find using Google Maps on iOS5.

I resorted to using Google Maps mobile on iOS6 instead of the Apple Maps.

Apple Maps in iOS6 is horrible in my opinion.

 

[kirky29]

The biggest thing I don't like is no Street View,

Example, I've got to go pick somebody up from a train station on Friday, I wanted to look if they've got a parking lot.....but oh yeah, forgot Apple don't have street view! - so I just looked it up on the Mac.

--- annoying! But I do like some things about the Apple maps.

 

[RTWG]

Absolutely not an improvement. While at the beach I was not able to search and find restaurants and other locations. These are all locations I could find using Google Maps on iOS5.

I resorted to using Google Maps mobile on iOS6 instead of the Apple Maps.

Apple Maps in iOS6 is horrible in my opinion.

You shouldn't be making comparisons like this until iOS 6's maps are out of beta.

 

[Zcott]

The biggest thing for me so far is the lack of detail in various places. I've included an example of my current location on iOS 5 and iOS 6. On iOS 6 there's hardly any detail about the local roads, whereas iOS 5 has a lot more detail on the Google Maps about where I am and what's about.

The other side to this is that iOS 6 has a lot more detail about Yelp locations around, like golf clubs, coffee shops, restaurants, etc. You can debate all day about what's more important: road information or POIs, but it'd be nice to have both!

 

[BamaATL]

You shouldn't be making comparisons like this until iOS 6's maps are out of beta.

That's the point of this thread, don't you think. I didn't create the thread. I'm just responding to it.

 

[red41]

The biggest thing I don't like is no Street View,

Example, I've got to go pick somebody up from a train station on Friday, I wanted to look if they've got a parking lot.....but oh yeah, forgot Apple don't have street view! - so I just looked it up on the Mac.

--- annoying! But I do like some things about the Apple maps.

You couldn't tell that from the bird's eye view?

 

[naltst*]

As with any changes to the status quo the initial look of apple's maps was very different and put me off. It's certainly grown on me but there are a few things that are not improvements

2 things I doubt will change

Colour coding of roads - google makes it very easy to see whats a motorway, whats a main road etc apple doesn't

POIs marked as single points rather than as an area - If you zoom in you may not be able to see the label for the POI (if it covers a large area like a park or an airport) until you zoom right out

4 things that must improve!

You don't need to tell me to turn left ONTO a roundabout if you want to direct me right!

Rivers - e.g. If you look at the south east of England you can see the Thames. If you zoom in it disappears?

Mistakes - still lots of huge, glaring errors. Look at lake victoria on the border of Uganda below or the two towns both marked as Newbury or the park that doesn't match up etc

Weird priorities - Where the hell is Bradford on Tone and why is this in my map of the UK with other "major" cities marked?

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

The biggest thing for me so far is the lack of detail in various places. I've included an example of my current location on iOS 5 and iOS 6. On iOS 6 there's hardly any detail about the local roads, whereas iOS 5 has a lot more detail on the Google Maps about where I am and what's about.

hmmm well I assume if you zoom in far enough it shows the street names so this is probably something that can be easily tweaked to show more detail. That's what seemed to happen with beta 2. Hopefully Apple will do that, because that map does look pretty barren.

 

[gmanist1000]

hmmm well I assume if you zoom in far enough it shows the street names so this is probably something that can be easily tweaked to show more detail. That's what seemed to happen with beta 2. Hopefully Apple will do that, because that map does look pretty barren.

I agree with him, in that the roads are hard to see. I find myself struggling to see where the roads are, and it is kind of a pain to have to zoom in to see where more roads are.

 

[kirky29]

You couldn't tell that from the bird's eye view?

In all honesty......no.
Take a look, the first is Apple maps, I honestly originally thought the grey area was the top of a building.

Second is Google Maps, I could tell from their satellite view that it was a car park.

Third is Street View, it just gives me a much better 'realistic' idea of where I'm going and if there is good parking...which in this case....is a no!

 

[Gjwilly]

One thing I've noticed in Apple's favor is that Apple seems to make better use of your own location when doing location searches.
If I search for an address in a neighboring city Google will often fail to find it unless I put in the city name.
Apple maps seem to take into account the neighboring cities and will find it with street name and number alone.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Take a look, the first is Apple maps

Is that zoomed in all the way?

 

[kirky29]

Is that zoomed in all the way?

Yeah, I'll attach it zoomed out a little.
(Way too much time on my hands!!)

 

[Zcott]

hmmm well I assume if you zoom in far enough it shows the street names so this is probably something that can be easily tweaked to show more detail. That's what seemed to happen with beta 2. Hopefully Apple will do that, because that map does look pretty barren.

The fundamental issue is that at similar zoom levels, Google Maps shows considerably more detail than Apple Maps. The roads are bigger, the text is bigger and the roads have more colour. If you keep zooming in, the detail is similar but at an overview level, Google have the better interface.

This could all change in the next few days with beta 3, though.

 

[Gav2k]

Beta maps improve daily! And will continue to do so.

iOS google maps are oooo 6 years out of date in my area and not changed

 

[mjpearce023]

The only problem I am having is that when I listen to music and get turn by turn directions it turns the music down 3 or 4 seconds before an instruction. So it turns the music down like it’s about to talk and then 3 seconds later it says turn right. I am not worried about it as I'm sure apple will fix this before the final release.

 

[hasa619]

Absolutely not an improvement. While at the beach I was not able to search and find restaurants and other locations. These are all locations I could find using Google Maps on iOS5.

I resorted to using Google Maps mobile on iOS6 instead of the Apple Maps.

Apple Maps in iOS6 is horrible in my opinion.

do remember this is still a beta version!
And the final version may have all these improvements
Just keep that in mind ATM

 

[BamaATL]

do remember this is still a beta version!
And the final version may have all these improvements
Just keep that in mind ATM

Absolutely agree. If the final version fixes all the current issues, I will use it, and be very happy with it.

If the final version doesn't, I'll be looking for the Google Maps app for iOS that Google is supposedly working on.

 

[8a22a]

Beta maps improve daily! And will continue to do so.

I don't think they've changed at all in the last 2 weeks.

 

[optophobia]

.........
You don't need to tell me to turn left ONTO a roundabout if you want to direct me right!.......

YOU might not need it.
Out here in the US alot of people have no idea how to use roundabouts. People stop and give way half way around, or they go round the wrong way (they go clockwise too)...
Also when I am travelling back in the UK it is helpful to remind me to switch back to clockwise over there.

 

[satchow]

I like iOS6 Maps with Siri integration. The color of the maps/roads needs to be tweaked (Google Maps is great) though.
I was in Las Vegas this weekend and took a wrong turn, and all I had to do was tell Siri "Take me to Ceasars Palace" and within a few seconds, it was guiding me to it. Very nice.

 

[MonkeySee....]

I love the new maps. Not too much info but it is in beta so that should be a given.

Love rotating the maps and zooming in. I feel I have full control here that I didn't have with googles.

I'm excited to see the finished product.

 

[el3ktro]

I have very mixed feelings about Apple Maps. I like that it is vector-based and that the labels stay in place when you rotate the map. What I absolutely dislike is the lack of detail. Even large cities with a million people look like a small town in Apple Maps! The main catch here is that Apple Maps doesn't show any buildings! The whole map just has this light brownish color, whereas in Google Maps open space is light grey, and built up areas are of a darker grey. So when zooming in on a city, you have NO idea if you're looking at a built-up area or not.

 

[MonkeySee....]

I have very mixed feelings about Apple Maps. I like that it is vector-based and that the labels stay in place when you rotate the map. What I absolutely dislike is the lack of detail. Even large cities with a million people look like a small town in Apple Maps! The main catch here is that Apple Maps doesn't show any buildings! The whole map just has this light brownish color, whereas in Google Maps open space is light grey, and built up areas are of a darker grey. So when zooming in on a city, you have NO idea if you're looking at a built-up area or not.

I guess that's where satellite comes in.