Apple Maps directions beat Google Maps, Waze in pundit's head-to-head test

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  • Reply 21 of 138
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lerxt View Post



    Who is he kidding? It may work within 20 miles of Silicon Valley but Apple maps is still a disaster in the rest of the world.


     


    Maybe in your personal RDF but in the real world you are dead wrong, the screeches of a few nincompoops in Australia not withstanding. Everything you read on the Internet is NOT true and counting hits on a Google search is not proof of anything.

  • Reply 22 of 138
    drblankdrblank Posts: 3,385member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lerxt View Post



    Who is he kidding? It may work within 20 miles of Silicon Valley but Apple maps is still a disaster in the rest of the world.


    Are you just being a jealous Android/Windows user or do you have valid RECENT data.  Like anything that requires 3rd party data, Apple gets updates for their Maps app on a regular basis.  I know if you have a bad experience one day, that you might not recheck it.  But so far, in MY area, which is well over 120 miles away from Apple HQ, I have not had any issues.  I've done my own comparisons between Apple, Google Maps and others (I haven't tried Waze yet) and I have found Apple to be better in MY area.  I also like the fact that there are little icons of places like restaurants, gas stations, etc. which Google does not.


     


    I've also checked out photos of places that were posted as being poorly rendered and they fixed them, so the Hoover Dam road doesn't look weird like it USED to.


     


    So, the only thing I can say is, check your area on a monthly basis, and send in via the app fixes.  It takes time to fix whatever problems there are, as like everything things don't happen in a vacuum or over night, it takes time.


     


    But in terms of just the user interface, Google does a bad job IMO.  They can't even get YouTube to have a decent interface.  I have still yet to find a Google app that actually has a nice interface.  To me, that's as important as the accuracy, security, and how fast it works.

  • Reply 23 of 138
    dick applebaumdick applebaum Posts: 12,527member
    Well...

    Doesn't that kookle your goombahs?
  • Reply 24 of 138
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post



    Why is it that every time someone tries to do a side-by-side comparison, Apple Maps comes out looking at least as good as Google Maps. Yet it doesn't stop the trolls from "well, in MY part of the world, it doesn't work at all".


    It's not even their part of the world. Apparently some people live everywhere, and speak for the entire world and they have used Apple Maps on all continents and in all countries.

  • Reply 25 of 138
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member


    It doesn't occur to anyone at all that "testing" these apps only in the USA, and only in southern California, within a stones throw of the headquarters of the companies in question is not really a test at all?  image

  • Reply 26 of 138

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post



    Personally, I still get better results from Waze... I wish Apple would make a sizeable investment in them before someone else snaps them up.


     


    With ya there, use my Waze daily, both directions, to and from work.  And then some... LOL


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lerxt View Post



    Who is he kidding? It may work within 20 miles of Silicon Valley but Apple maps is still a disaster in the rest of the world.


     


    Yep, Step away from the city, then you will see what happens. :)

  • Reply 27 of 138
    drblankdrblank Posts: 3,385member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by zoffdino View Post



    May be directions and stuffs are fine in Cupertino, but when I had a vacation in Vietnam last year, the entire city of Hue did not have a named streets in Apple Maps. It was completely useless. Google Maps at least gave the correct walking instructions. Granted, Hue is a class C city but that just shows how thorough the information in Google Maps is. I like Apple Maps for big cities, but the constant need to use Google Maps for less well known locations is irritating to say the least.


    Well, in China, Apple Maps is supposed to be light years ahead of Google. So I guess it depends on where you are going.  Either way, you have a lot of alternatives and over time I'm sure Apple will address it.  So far, I have no complaints.  But if i do, I'll go to their feedback site and submit complaints.  They do read the submissions.

  • Reply 28 of 138
    dick applebaumdick applebaum Posts: 12,527member


    I find some anomalies in Apple Maps...


     


    I was born in St. Louis Park, MN, population 45,882, a suburb of Minneapolis -- It has 3D Fluover.


     


    I grew up in Pasadena, CA, population 138,101, a suburb of Los Angeles -- it has the Rose Bowl, Pasadena Playhouse (Oscars), Heidi Fleiss -- but no 3D Flyover.

  • Reply 29 of 138
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member

    Quote:


    The fact that Apple outperformed Google and Waze in providing directions with traffic a real-world scenario made Dvorak admit he now has to "wonder what the fuss was about" regarding dissatisfaction with Apple Maps.



     


    The "fuss" is that the Yelp-sourced locations often tend to be in the wrong place; frequently nearby, but not accurate enough.  That is the one thing that makes Apple Maps undependable, and Apple needs to correct this ASAP.


     


    The dumpsters in Street Maps is nothing short of childish, and about what I'd expect with the likes of Larry Page in charge.

  • Reply 30 of 138
    macinthe408macinthe408 Posts: 1,050member


    Funny!

  • Reply 31 of 138
    dick applebaumdick applebaum Posts: 12,527member


    IMO, the new Google Maps app on iOS is pretty bad...  I know it offers features that were on Android but not on iOS 5.


     


    The UI takes up too much of the screen and it is iPhone only... What's that all about?

  • Reply 32 of 138
    muppetrymuppetry Posts: 3,331member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bdkennedy1 View Post



    That's great if you live in California. The past 2 times I used Apple Maps to take me somewhere it took me to the wrong address in a completely different city both times.


     


    The wrong address in the wrong city? Does that mean that you didn't specify the city in the search? What did you give it?

  • Reply 33 of 138
    elrothelroth Posts: 1,201member
    The reason Google Maps shows Apple's headquarters as a collection of trash bins is because that's where Google goes rummaging to get ideas for Android - trying to find hints in Apple's trash.
  • Reply 34 of 138
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 11thIndian View Post


     


    As someone who lives in another part of the world, you are incorrect.  I've used Apple Maps exclusively since launch and have never had an issue in Southern Ontario (Canada).



     


    Well it's still pretty much a joke on the west coast.  


    I also question the whole concept of "testing" maps just by doing a driving directions test.  


     


    There is a lot more to maps than driving directions and many people do not drive at all.  I'm kind of sick and tired of hearing people post about how they used map directions to drive through Kansas or whatever and they were "totally fine."  Tell me a story about how Apple maps helped you find a restaurant in a town you'd never been to before or how it got you on the right bus to the airport and I will consider it a much more realistic "test" of the maps capabilities.  


     


    Look at the picture I've attached for instance.  It shows one of the busiest intersections of the third largest city in Canada.


     


    There are no transit directions or stops but we already know about that debacle.  No bike routes are marked, no transit stations are marked.  What's worse is there are no listings for the literally hundreds of stores and venues lining these streets.  There's a half a dozen or so entries for restaurants that are reviewed on Yelp only.  The icons for said stores and restaurants are all incorrectly located (but you'd have to be on the street to see that).  The buildings are sketchy and incorrect in many places, lots of them are totally missing.  


     


    The giant error is the boundary to the park which Apple maps shows as being 50-100 yards off from where it actually is.  


     


    Ironically, Vancouver is one of the cities in North America that pioneered digital city maps!  All information on the city, including pictures, locations of transit lines, all buildings and roads, bike routes etc. is all digitised and freely available from City Hall.  They even have 3D mapping data for every building in the city, but somehow Apple isn't even aware of this resource.  


     


    Almost everything about Apple maps is wrong in Vancouver and horribly so.  This is just one tiny example.  


     


    All this is is just a badly drawn vector map based on out of date information with an overlay of whatever restaurant has been reviewed on Yelp lately.


    This is just a bad joke IMO.  


     


     


  • Reply 35 of 138
    themacmanthemacman Posts: 151member
    Writing this from Ottawa, Canada, apple maps works like a charm.
  • Reply 36 of 138
    rsdofnyrsdofny Posts: 98member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post



    Personally, I still get better results from Waze... I wish Apple would make a sizeable investment in them before someone else snaps them up.




    They disagreed on the purchase price.

  • Reply 37 of 138
    ankleskaterankleskater Posts: 1,287member


    I wish Apple had done more with the Maps app before deploying it. But history cannot change itself. Furthermore, mapping is an eternal endeavor. I am glad to see Apple Maps is improving even if it is only in some corners of the world. Whining is silly because there are alternatives. In fact, don't people usually gripe that Android offers more choices? Well, we know that there is at least one mapping choice on iOS that is not available on Android! Heh ...


     


    Most importantly, this is healthy competition. We ALL benefit. So why whine?

  • Reply 38 of 138


    I may be wrong about this...but I'll stick with Apple Maps. I like the simplicity and the integration with Siri. 


     


    The TomTom was great...but I had to type the address, street, street #, city all separately. With Siri, I just say the address or the place (e.g., "Home") and bingo she does the rest! It's wonderful.


     


    A little thing.... I really liked how my TomTom App used to change to a dark blue background at night! Wish Apple would incorporate that. :)

  • Reply 39 of 138
    dick applebaumdick applebaum Posts: 12,527member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by muppetry View Post




    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bdkennedy1 View Post



    That's great if you live in California. The past 2 times I used Apple Maps to take me somewhere it took me to the wrong address in a completely different city both times.


     


    The wrong address in the wrong city? Does that mean that you didn't specify the city in the search? What did you give it?



     


    Yeah... Google Maps has a friendlier search interface...  Apple Maps requires you to be pretty precise in specifying city and country.

  • Reply 40 of 138
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lerxt View Post



    Who is he kidding? It may work within 20 miles of Silicon Valley but Apple maps is still a disaster in the rest of the world.


     


     


    If by the rest of the world, you mean outside of North America and China, perhaps you are correct. In my own comparative tests in Michigan, Apple's Maps also best Google in giving directions. My girlfriend and I did the same test using Google's iOS Map App and Apple's Maps. On a series of four mile or less across town trips, Apple's Map App accurately gave me turn by turn directions and the App was easy to use. Google failed to auto correct and failed to tell me to turn twice. The App was also not intuitive to use. For instance, getting it to actually give me turn by turn directions took some fiddling around. Google's Maps actually suck in main land China largely because of the Chinese's government dislike of Google, whereas Apple teamed up with a local Chinese company to obtain the data. 


     


    Apple having accurate driving directions in North America is no surprise either considering Apple is using reliable street directions from Tom Tom. Where Apple falls short is in some other Countries and in Point of Interest information.  

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