Maps: iOS 5 vs iOS 6

[MacBoy1491]

Does anyone know what the current resolution will be to having no public transportation option? I do rely on the google map public transportation frequently and have to resort to the mobile version in Safari.

I remember reading that the new maps app will simply refer you to a third party app for public transportation??

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Does anyone know what the current resolution will be to having no public transportation option? I do rely on the google map public transportation frequently and have to resort to the mobile version in Safari.

I remember reading that the new maps app will simply refer you to a third party app for public transportation??

Yes, if you click the public transport icon, a list comes up saying "From the App Store" which should list suitable apps once they have been updated.

 

[Gjwilly]

Gizmodo had a pretty good explanation of why Apple is purposefully excluding public tansit info.
http://gizmodo.com/5919324/why-theres-no-public-transit-in-ios-6yet

Reading between the lines I have to wonder whether the Google public transit info days are numbered as well.

 

[garybUK]

Googles train information was appalling anyway trying to get a train from Manchester to Newcastle upon Tyne then onto Edinburgh would take you a convoluted way and at times that don't exist..... I always use the trainline or train times app as google maps was pathetic

 

[shandyman]

I can understand Apple's desire to move away from Google based services but there's no way they can compete without sending little cars out across the globe snapping 360 photos - something I doubt they'll waste their time and money doing.

In terms of polishing off the maps app as it stands, it needs:

• Higher resolution satellite imagery
• A plethora of corrections
• A serious increase in 3D cities

C3 technologies were developing their own street view before apple purchased them, so this could be coming at some point.

Release notes in beta 1 stated high res satellite was not included in the beta and will be coming, so nice to see you read them before complaining...

C3 technologies also had over 100 cities in 3D when apple bought them, so by official launch, there should be at least that that by launch, with beta 3 more 3D cities appeared with people saying existing ones have expanded in 3D.....

Googles train information was appalling anyway trying to get a train from Manchester to Newcastle upon Tyne then onto Edinburgh would take you a convoluted way and at times that don't exist..... I always use the trainline or train times app as google maps was pathetic

Exactly. Googles transit was crap for me in the uk. I preferred train times and tubemap (when getting thru London)

 

[MonkeySee....]

I'm loving the new maps. So clean and fresh.

Dare I say it, I find the 3d overview much more useful than streetview.

 

[MacBookPro13"]

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

In my opinion, iOS 6 maps won't be out of Beta for quite some time after the release of iOS 6.

It looks a million miles away from being ready as far as Ireland is concerned anyway. On iOS 5, you search for restaurants nearby and you get so many options pop-up. On Beta 2, the nearest restaurant for me was in the U.S.A


Believe me, I like the look of how things are shaping up GUI wise but the fact that bigger countries & cities are going to take priority in getting up-to-date etc, it leaves me feeling that just like the introduction of Siri, it will be in "beta" for at least a year.


I just hope that Google releases their Maps as an app in the App Store when iOS 6 is released so I can use something that is a finished product until Apple's maps catch up.

 

[shandyman]

It looks a million miles away from being ready as far as Ireland is concerned anyway. On iOS 5, you search for restaurants nearby and you get so many options pop-up. On Beta 2, the nearest restaurant for me was in the U.S.A

I think that a lot of the connections to yelp, who give the data that you mention, aren't fully there yet, as it's in beta. If you get the yelp app and try it, you can see what it should be like. If it's not as accurate as the separate app on launch, I'll take issue with it, til then, giving it benefit of the doubt...

 

[jafingi]

I HATE Apple Maps in iOS 6 as they are now (still in beta - a lot can happen.. But I doubt it).

- Satellite images are CRAP here in Denmark. With Google Maps I could zoom all the way in and get a crisp and clear image. With Apple Maps I can't even go closer than 500m before it gets blurry. In beta 3, I can go closer, but then it changes to BLACK AND WHITE satellite images. What the BLEEP?

- Doesn't find stuff very well.. Tried just writing my university's name in Apple Maps, and it didn't find it. However, Google Maps finds it.

- The caching is really bad... When zooming in and out and moving around I can only see the grid and the dark gray background and have to wait for a long time to even view the map. With Google Maps it is way more smooth and pleasant to zoom in, and it doesn't ever show a grid or anything.

So far, Apple Maps has been really disappointing for me.

 

[MonkeySee....]

I HATE Apple Maps in iOS 6 as they are now (still in beta - a lot can happen.. But I doubt it).

- Satellite images are CRAP here in Denmark. With Google Maps I could zoom all the way in and get a crisp and clear image. With Apple Maps I can't even go closer than 500m before it gets blurry. In beta 3, I can go closer, but then it changes to BLACK AND WHITE satellite images. What the BLEEP?

- Doesn't find stuff very well.. Tried just writing my university's name in Apple Maps, and it didn't find it. However, Google Maps finds it.

- The caching is really bad... When zooming in and out and moving around I can only see the grid and the dark gray background and have to wait for a long time to even view the map. With Google Maps it is way more smooth and pleasant to zoom in, and it doesn't ever show a grid or anything.

So far, Apple Maps has been really disappointing for me.

Thats quite a rant. I think you should go back to iOS 5 before you hurt yourself.

 

[shandyman]

images are CRAP here in Denmark. With Google Maps I could zoom all the way in and get a crisp and clear image. With Apple Maps I can't even go closer than 500m before it gets blurry. In beta 3, I can go closer, but then it changes to BLACK AND WHITE satellite images. What the BLEEP?

I'm guessing you're another person that didn't read the release notes! It clearly states that High res satellite images are not in the beta. Yet you're complaining they're not there even tho apple already said they wouldn't be?!?!?!

 

[jafingi]

I'm guessing you're another person that didn't read the release notes! It clearly states that High res satellite images are not in the beta. Yet you're complaining they're not there even tho apple already said they wouldn't be?!?!?!

As I mentioned, I kept in mind that it is still a beta.

And I can't read the release notes. I get an error 350 "ERR_RESPONSE_HEADERS_MULTIPLE_LOCATION" when trying to open the link from developer.apple.com.

 

[BamaATL]

I agree with everyone's comments about hi-res not being there. That was already stated.

However, that doesn't address the caching and lack of ability to search for locations of interest. I 100% agree with his comments in this area.

It is beta. Maps will improve before final. IMO it will not improve enough to get up to the quality of Google Maps by the time iOS 6 goes out. Eventually it will be better than Google Maps, but its going to take a couple releases.

 

[shandyman]

As I mentioned, I kept in mind that it is still a beta.

And I can't read the release notes. I get an error 350 "ERR_RESPONSE_HEADERS_MULTIPLE_LOCATION" when trying to open the link from developer.apple.com.

It was in the release notes for beta 1...... So it's been known for a while........

 

[DanR16]

BETA! They're gradually improving with every beta. Just tap report a problem if you have really dodgy satellite images.

 

[el3ktro]

However, that doesn't address the caching and lack of ability to search for locations of interest. I 100% agree with his comments in this area.

POIs are also just rolling out. Beta 3 shows way more POIs in my neighborhood than beta 1 (and no, it's not just the zoom level!). Just give it some time!

----------

a lot can happen.. But I doubt it).

A lot was already happening in the last few weeks, so why do you doubt that a lot is going to happen in the next few months, too?

Satellite images are CRAP here in Denmark...In beta 3, I can go closer, but then it changes to BLACK AND WHITE satellite images. What the BLEEP?

It has been stated in the release notes that hi-res images won't be available for some time. So why complain about it? The black and white images are either just a placeholder to test something or they're in the middle of the process of adjusting the image colors, just as Google Maps did a few years ago.

It's a BETA, and Apple is HEAVILY working on Maps, so expect to se some weird things in there for some time.

- Doesn't find stuff very well.. Tried just writing my university's name in Apple Maps, and it didn't find it. However, Google Maps finds it.

It makes NO SENSE AT ALL to compare the search functions of both mapping solutions when one of the mapping solutions isn't even finished. Apple has acquired a huge database of 100 million POIs, that's actually 20 million MORE of what Google Maps has. It's just not fully rolled out yet. It TAKES A WHILE to inject 100 million POIs world wide into a map! Give it some time, damn it.

- The caching is really bad... When zooming in and out and moving around I can only see the grid and the dark gray background and have to wait for a long time to even view the map. With Google Maps it is way more smooth and pleasant to zoom in, and it doesn't ever show a grid or anything.

Same here. It's a BETA. They're WORKING ON IT. They have most likely not yet activated the full backend infrastructure, that's why it's pretty slow sometimes right now.

 

[el3ktro]

Here's a little follow-up of how maps are changing, comparing beta 2 and beta 3.

The labels are different and in the local language (though not yet in the right colors for my country), traffic data is starting to appear, more roads are shown as a white line with a grey edge instead of just a thin grey line, tunnels are now grey, and there are a few more details for the roads (see for example road 59).

 

[redrog]

I haven't used iOS6 so I'm only going off what I've read here, but I quite like the simplicity of those maps of Cologne at that zoom level. The Google ones are more detailed but quite messy to my eye.

And anyway, at this zoom level, how much detail do you actually need?

 

[el3ktro]

And anyway, at this zoom level, how much detail do you actually need?

What I like about Google Maps is that it's showing you the names of the city districts. I find this quite useful.

Also the road labels match the blue and yellow colors for autobahn and country road signage.

What I like better on Apple Maps is that it is cleaner, but I'd like it if the built-up area of the city was in a darker color, so you can more easily see where the city boundaries are. Right now on Apple Maps you have no idea where the city area actually is.

 

[Sh4wN]

What I like about Google Maps is that it's showing you the names of the city districts. I find this quite useful.

Also the road labels match the blue and yellow colors for autobahn and country road signage.

What I like better on Apple Maps is that it is cleaner, but I'd like it if the built-up area of the city was in a darker color, so you can more easily see where the city boundaries are. Right now on Apple Maps you have no idea where the city area actually is.

Apple Maps shows the city districts in Munich for me when zoomed in to certain degree. Pretty detailed too.

I really like the basic appearance of Apple Maps, its beautiful. There are some things that need work, but it's going the right direction.

Corresponding colors for the various street types is a must.

 

[BuckeyeMac]

I really hope Apple shows where the "built up" city boundaries like the google maps image redrog posted.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

I think part of the reason (at least for me) the new Apple maps look bad is simply because it is different than what I'm used to. I mean I've been using Google Maps on my iPhone for 4 years now, and been using Google Maps as my "go-to" map on the computer for at least 6 years. And besides changing some details, the basic look of the maps is pretty much the same (or at least has been evolving so slowly that I didn't notice). Google Maps has just become the default of "this is what maps look like". I have to give Google their credit for making them look pleasant, but part of that is simply because they are ubiquitous.

Now Apple Maps comes along with a completely new look. It isn't inherently better, but I would argue isn't inherently worse either. (taking aside any lack of POI's, bugginess, lack of transit etc. Just the look/labeling) There are certainly benefits of each. Especially with regard to the whole informative/cluttered vs clean/sparse. Although, it seems to me that on something small like a smartphone screen things should lean more towards the simplistic, non-cluttered side of things.... Although I guess I've never looked at maps on my iPhone and thought "you know what this needs? Less information!"