Apple Maps gets Houston transit data ahead of Super Bowl LI

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  • Reply 21 of 24
    Google transit has had lots of problems that Apple wants to avoid.  Apple also wants to customize the transit maps for the best experience for users.  Apple has over a thousand people working on maps (big things coming out this year with completion of their first base map they have been working on for five years !!!) and is adding several thousand more in India.  Remember, Apple could simply "turn on" the entire system if all they cared about was doing transit at Google's level. Thank goodness they are creating a better experience.


    http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/07/07/why-apples-transit-maps-are-rolling-out-so-slowly
  • Reply 22 of 24
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Notsofast said:
    Google transit has had lots of problems that Apple wants to avoid.  Apple also wants to customize the transit maps for the best experience for users.  Apple has over a thousand people working on maps (big things coming out this year with completion of their first base map they have been working on for five years !!!) and is adding several thousand more in India.  Remember, Apple could simply "turn on" the entire system if all they cared about was doing transit at Google's level. Thank goodness they are creating a better experience.


    http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/07/07/why-apples-transit-maps-are-rolling-out-so-slowly
    Well ok then, "lots of problems". Anyway I had thought Apple had already expanded well beyond 30-something metros her in the US and was surprised in reading they had not. Thanks for the article link that helps explain why. Nicely written too. There might be good reasons not to trust the data from the transit agencies themselves and waiting for a bus that ain't showing up when the transit line is wrong would not be fun. But I think that's a problem beyond an Apple fix isn't it and so inherently will have to be more limited in coverage, correct?

    By the way, if you and others want to read a wonderfully detailed comparison of Apple and Google approach to maps this one is one of the best and least biased I've seen. The big plus is the author is keeping it current and updated. Don't worry, it's safe to read and your eyes won't catch on fire. It's not a propaganda piece and doesn't conclude one is better than the other.
    https://www.justinobeirne.com/cartography-comparison/
    edited January 2017
  • Reply 23 of 24
    AM is so far behind the times. It still doesn't have which lane to be in when turning. And when it tells me to turn right/left, it is always 1 second (or less) too late when it speaks it to me (I don't look at my phone's screen when driving, I need audio directions). It lacks transit directions in many countries. The overlays of the subway lines in the countries it does support is appalling. It often lacks building footprints. It still displays a nearby park to me in half green (it considers the hardtop soccer fields as not being part of the park) despite my emails. It lacks sufficient detail when zooming in. It lacks street view which is nice when buying a house or looking at an area overseas.

    I use it when I can, but I prefer GMs most of the time.

    One one bonus for AM when I did use it today. GM reported a business open today and AM reported it opening at 5pm, which was correct.
  • Reply 24 of 24
    mindwaves said:
    The overlays of the subway lines in the countries it does support is appalling. It often lacks building footprints.
    It impossible to objectively argue that Google is better than Apple at mapping transit overlays.  Apple accurately maps every rail line, station footprint and entrance/exit for every transit system it adds.  Google's transit lines are jagged approximations, and they don't map any of the stations or the entrances.  Google also doesn't know the difference between inbound and outbound, and will send you to the wrong station, because it doesn't include the station for the other direction at all.
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