Redesigned Google Maps App with iPad Support and Explore Feature Hits the App Store

[sinsin07]

Apple maps has something Google does not... it makes you laugh. 40% of the times the address is wrong, it takes me to the wrong place or will not find nor interpret the address right. It is very tricky/ risky.

You would be lost no matter what mapping solution you choose.
Evidence? You're here.

 

[Plutonius]

Apple maps has something Google does not... it makes you laugh. 40% of the times the address is wrong, it takes me to the wrong place or will not find nor interpret the address right. It is very tricky/ risky.

Where do you live / use Apple maps ? In the US, Apple maps is great. Outside the US it isn't and I would use an alternative.

 

[Darrensk8]

Performance is extremely bad on iPad 3, makes it almost unusable.

Running fine on mine

 

[bmunge]

What ISN'T ugly about it? I realise it's subjective but I've found pretty much all of Google's apps to look like they just slapped a bunch of tables on there, printed out the content, and said "ok, it's finished".

Not surprising. Android looks like it was designed by software engineers. Design is my main issue with Google

 

[cogitodexter]

Apple maps draws Orange for me too:

--- image ---

It's a pity Google have decided to copy Apple on this

Very odd - it was drawing them in blue when I posted the comment but, as you rightly point out, they're orange now.

Either that, or I'm simply going mad.

However... in other Google-maps related news:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-23331456

They've managed to delete an entire (large) island from Scotland.

I wonder if they'll ask Apple Maps to find it again?

 

[Miharu]

I've tried using Apple maps but it simply doesn't show any places, sure it shows road names and geometry, but almost zero place names like shops, landmarks etc.

It's just like watching a satellite view without seeing any text.

 

[Zaft]

I like the indoor maps and much more visible ratings. Apple maps is ok for me except that it doesn't have street view and subway directions.

 

[Muscle Master]

You're in an Apple forum. Why don't you go to the Xbox forum and complain people are loyal to their Xbox. Or the BMW forum and complain people are loyal to BMW. What do you expect? Go away.

I hate this type of comments!!!! So that gives you the right to be stupidly blind?

Cause I'm not fooled by the distortion field... GOOGLE MAPS IS WAY BETTER THAN APPLE MAPS.. PERIOD!

 

[DaffyDuck]

It's funny how much Google (or even users) criticized Apples maps at launch and put Google Maps on this pedestal, and now we see Google copying some elements from Apples Maps design. Mainly, the design for points of interest on the map tiles, as well as the live incident reports icons on the map. It's starting to look a whole lot more like Apples client app.

The people who criticized Apple didn't have a clue. The DATA was the issue, not the app, which is something that gets fixed with time (and could never have been flawless on day one). The client app itself ran circles around anything Google has ever created. And to this day, I still feel it does, especially when it comes to performance. Actions simply run smoother and more responsively, and it seems to use less energy than other Maps apps.

The data is going to continue to be inferior while TomTom is in the driver's seat and Yelp is riding shotgun.

 

[tomsmacrumors]

Bring back uk colour labelling of roads

i'll still use the native apple maps product.

For no other reason than it draws the roads in the right colours for british roads.

Message to google: British motorways, by convention, are drawn blue on the map, not some dirty orange colour.

(and yes, i absolutely detest the auto-dim that screws up the rest of the phone too. Rebooting an iphone that's trying to route you some place while driving isn't exactly a good safety move)

this is not true, apple maps has always been yellow and still is, google used to use uk standardised colouring but they have sacked it off now too.

Bring back the uk standard and apple implement it too! Its far easier to read than the varying shades of yellow they both now use and could lead to accidents where prohibited traffic ends up on motorways!

 

[iBreatheApple]

Update: Google Maps can now be downloaded from the U.S. App Store.

iOS 7 already did that for me.

 

[Farplaner]

I wish the voice entry of the new Google Maps app took advantage of Google's own voice entry rather than the default voice icon in the keyboard...

As of right now voice command while on the road is useless for me because iOS voice entry doesn't understand my voice (While the Google app's voice command works great)

 

[pawcio]

Offline maps...

Not sure if anyone mentioned this already, but google has added the same easter egg as on the android version. To cache a section of the map for offline mode all you have to do is search for "ok maps" and it will cache the visible section of the map.

 

[groovyf]

Good news that it's now supported on the iPad too.

As for Apple Maps, when it first appeared the sat image for where I live was quite recent. A couple of iOS updates ago, it reverted back to a sat image from around 2004. I've reported this a few times, but it's still waaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of date.

 

[jrswizzle]

Very odd - it was drawing them in blue when I posted the comment but, as you rightly point out, they're orange now.

Either that, or I'm simply going mad.

However... in other Google-maps related news:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-23331456

They've managed to delete an entire (large) island from Scotland.

I wonder if they'll ask Apple Maps to find it again?

*gasp*

You mean....Apple isn't the only one who has some difficulty mapping the ENTIRE planet 100% accurately?

Or perhaps, its Apple Maps' fault that Google lost the island of Jura....

all this nonsense about maps will go away soon - its already on its way out. Only reason people have decided to whine again is because of this new Google Maps release.....good excuse.

 

[john32son]

I like Apple products. BUT, Google maps have no competition!

 

[kmichalec]

So it still dims the screen, even when it's plugged into a power source in the car???? There is absolutely no reason for this. It should dim to conserve battery when not plugged in, but should never dim when it is plugged in. This is the sole reason I haven't been using Google Maps, and was waiting for them to release an update which removed this, as they've been getting hammered in their own Maps forums for this. If this is still there, they've specifically chosen to ignore their customers feedback.

 

[Plutonius]

I hate this type of comments!!!! So that gives you the right to be stupidly blind?

Cause I'm not fooled by the distortion field... GOOGLE MAPS IS WAY BETTER THAN APPLE MAPS.. PERIOD!

It sounds like something is affecting you . Complement the map app that you prefer and let others complement the map app that they prefer.

 

[ohbrilliance]

Apple Maps has NEVER improved for Hong Kong.

Compare Lhasa China/Tibet between the two to see some truly woeful mapping. Apple effectively hasn't mapped the place. An entire city represented as a dot.

 

[Megakazbek]

Running fine on mine

Well, I don't know why, but on mine there's no smooth scrolling whatsoever, it updates at about 2-3 frames per second when I scroll around the map.

 

[avanpelt]

The detailed maps of malls and airports are amazing. Even down to the jetways in major airports. It's the attention to those kinds of small details that makes Google Maps really outshine Apple Maps, in my opinion. Apple is still trying to get roads and POIs in the right places and Google has moved on to mapping the insides of malls and airports.

I haven't tried to use the indoor directions yet, but I hope GPS accuracy is good enough indoors that walking directions can be used. Even if it's not, the ability to pull up a map of a mall in Google Maps without having to go to Google, search for the mall, go to the mall website, etc. is very convenient.

 

[knightlie]

Thought this was funny:

I soon as I saw this article, I knew there was going to be some biased Google-hating Apple-loving comment...



^ It was the first comment. Not bad. Ya'll are improving, I usually I have to wait until at least the third comment to read the typical Apple propaganda.

Wow, we got all the Forum Police we need right here, telling us all what to post.

Am I allowed to state that Google Maps is the only app to ever crash on my iPad? Or is that propaganda too?

 

[Tobias Funke]

Until Apple puts UK motorway junction numbers on the maps for me its useless!!

So its still Google maps for me.

 

[cogitodexter]

*gasp*

You mean....Apple isn't the only one who has some difficulty mapping the ENTIRE planet 100% accurately?

Or perhaps, its Apple Maps' fault that Google lost the island of Jura....

all this nonsense about maps will go away soon - its already on its way out. Only reason people have decided to whine again is because of this new Google Maps release.....good excuse.

Oh wind your neck in... I was joking... it is allowed, you know.

 

[Prince Akeem]

My remarks:

1. Finally, we have Street View back on the iPad! Now, can there be some indication-mode to see where Street View is available, like the desktop version of Google Maps offers? Right now, it's just guessing by dropping pins on the street. Of course this isn't a problem in populated areas. But it on the country side it can be difficult, because some streets have StreetView and others don't have it.
2. Currently, it still impossible to explore special places with Street View, like inside (different levels of) the Eiffel Tower. When you click on the Eiffel Tower, the StreetView thumbnail sometimes actually shows the inside, but will never bring you there when you tap on it. It always brings you down to the street below.
3. The sliding menu performance is a bit jerky, even on my iPad 4: please fix this!
4. Overall performance could be a little smoother... The old Google Maps app on the iPad 1 sometimes appears to run even more smooth than the new official Google Maps app on the iPad 4! Especially, when/during zooming out. Also, the new app crashes sometimes when you leave Street View mode.
5. Street View now supports orientation based on gyro sensors. That's great, but it currently only includes pan & tilt. Please include the roll-axis for this, it will make the experience much better! For an example of what I mean, please look at the Occipital 360 app, in viewing-mode.

I'll also send this through the in-app feedback form.