Understanding Apple Watch and Mapping

[convergent]

I have enjoyed my Apple Watch and use it for many things, but mapping hasn't been one that I've mastered yet. Part of the reason is that I use Google Maps primarily on my iPhone. I've heard a lot of encouraging things about Apple Maps being better, so thought I'd give it a try again and wanted to use it with my watch.

Yesterday I needed to head out on an errand and decided to try it. I started with the phone, brought up Apple Maps, and then typed in my location... a FedEx manned drop-off point I'd not been to before. Once I hit start, my Watch immediately had the turn by turn prompts going and worked great.

When I was ready to return, I started by using Siri on the watch saying, "hey siri, give me directions to home.". It for some reason grabbed an old address for home, so i restated "he siri, give me directions to blah, blah, blah address". That was fine, and it brought up a map on my watch. I then hit start on the watch and it showed me a long list of instructions. Nothing I hit or did would get it into the navigation mode with turn by turn prompts. I eventually gave up and just drove home.

Has anyone used this much, and can help me with how I should have done it to get it working starting from the watch.

The only other time I really tried to use it was when using CityMapper. When I hit a walking segment, it shot me to Apple Maps and would not give me an option to get walking directions, only driving. So I'm 0 for 2 so far and assume its my lack of understanding how to get it to behave.

 

[Julien]

You have the Map and Start button on your Watch screen for about 5 to 10 seconds. If you don't hit Start it will still start navigation. The list you are seeing is a synopses of your route. Just start driving and it will change to what is coming up next. You can also see this on your iPhone.

 

[BarracksSi]

Adding on to what Julien posted --

It's much more automated than you'd expect. Like when I use Siri on the watch to text my wife, I raise my wrist, say, "Hey Siri, tell my wife that I'm on my way home," and put my wrist down. The watch assumes that I wanted to send the text, so it sends it without requiring me to press "Are you sure?" or "Send now?" buttons.

It does more with less direct input. It's strange at first, but it makes sense, because they want it to be a wristwatch with benefits, not an undersized smartphone you'd need to keep holding to your face.

 

[tgara]

I think you were doing it right. The downfall is with the Maps implementation on the watch, IMHO. Despite the improvements in the recent watch OS 2.1, there is still a noticeable lag in getting GPS and other location information from the phone to the watch, which I think is a Bluetooth issue. I have similar problems with the Maps app on the watch. They are especially acute in an area with tall buildings that impede fast acquisition of GPS signals. The slow GPS and slow Bluetooth on the watch makes the Maps app nearly unusable for me.

 

[Newtons Apple]

I think you were doing it right. The downfall is with the Maps implementation on the watch, IMHO. Despite the improvements in the recent watch OS 2.1, there is still a noticeable lag in getting GPS and other location information from the phone to the watch, which I think is a Bluetooth issue. I have similar problems with the Maps app on the watch. They are especially acute in an area with tall buildings that impede fast acquisition of GPS signals. The slow GPS and slow Bluetooth on the watch makes the Maps app nearly unusable for me.

Very nice avatar indeed!

 

[convergent]

Very nice avatar indeed!

Cat fight!

 

[maxsix]

Mapping on AW would be a little more effective if the screen weren't so massive

 

[convergent]

Mapping on AW would be a little more effective if the screen weren't so massive

Well mapping is probably the wrong word... navigation is better. I am no looking to see the map on the watch, I'm looking for it to give me the cues when to turn. It seems like I was doing it right, but just didn't wait long enough. I agree its kind of unrealistic to expect the map type navigation to exist on a tiny watch screen. Maybe the next version will be able to generate a hologram heads up display from the watch!

 

[ProwlingTiger]

Adding on to what Julien posted --

It's much more automated than you'd expect. Like when I use Siri on the watch to text my wife, I raise my wrist, say, "Hey Siri, tell my wife that I'm on my way home," and put my wrist down. The watch assumes that I wanted to send the text, so it sends it without requiring me to press "Are you sure?" or "Send now?" buttons.

It does more with less direct input. It's strange at first, but it makes sense, because they want it to be a wristwatch with benefits, not an undersized smartphone you'd need to keep holding to your face.

The one exception I've found to this is when I tell Siri to send a text to my wife, for example. If I phrase it like that, I'm required to tap the screen to input what I'd like to say, whereas on the iPhone, Siri immediately asks me (audibly) what I would like to say to my wife and she begins listening. And if I dare rotate my wrist enough, I'll screw it all up as I'm preparing the message. I've learned just to not dictate messages with Siri on the watch. Predetermined replies yes, dictated messages, no.