Apple execs explain why you should use Apple Maps over competitors

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 49
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    It definitely is a lot better.
    it could do with multiple destinations on a journey (waypoints?)
    but it’s biggest failings is how fast Apple rolls out new features. Even the ones these execs are talking about are not available to most people. 
    It’s like each feature is tested by a ninety year old in between naps. 

    Apple is the richest company in the world, and it needs maps as the key underpinning so much of the modern world. It needs to be the best. Not play catch up.
    edited December 2021 cg27JWSCwatto_cobra
  • Reply 22 of 49
    collin said:
    I love the street light icons in the intersections.  Makes judging distance to a turn so much easier.  But my only issue is that i can't find a way to set that it to always uses the fastest route.  I have a number of places that i go that are quicker if i take a toll road.  But apple maps always works so hard to make me navigate around them.  Even if i change the route at the start, by the time i get there, it has updated to navigate around the toll road normally adding time to my trip.  

    Please give me a setting that always picks the fastest route. 

    Just worth checking you have Avoid Tolls turned off?
    Dogpersonspock1234watto_cobra
  • Reply 23 of 49
    entropys said:
    It definitely is a lot better.
    it could do with multiple destinations on a journey (waypoints?)
    but it’s biggest failings is how fast Apple rolls out new features. Even the ones these execs are talking about are not available to most people. 
    It’s like each feature is tested by a ninety year old in between naps. 

    Apple is the richest company in the world, and it needs maps as the key underpinning so much of the modern world. It needs to be the best. Not play catch up.
    I could not agree more, Apple should do much more, like investing in faster upgrades, to its Maps. Indeed the richest company, but with Maps they are but halfway there.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 24 of 49
    Yeah I just tried to get walking, cycling, and public transit directions to the grocery store which is 3 miles away and most certainly has a bus route. All not found. Apple is pure garbage these days.
  • Reply 25 of 49
    I use a TomTom GPS unit when in the UK. I use a RV model of Garmin GPS when in the US. Garmin and TomTom are continuously updated for both their software and data.

    The factory installed vehicle GPS units are hit and miss for updates and after the required seven year support often turn into just wasted dash space.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 26 of 49
    collin said:
    I love the street light icons in the intersections.  Makes judging distance to a turn so much easier.  But my only issue is that i can't find a way to set that it to always uses the fastest route.  I have a number of places that i go that are quicker if i take a toll road.  But apple maps always works so hard to make me navigate around them.  Even if i change the route at the start, by the time i get there, it has updated to navigate around the toll road normally adding time to my trip.  

    Please give me a setting that always picks the fastest route. 

    Just worth checking you have Avoid Tolls turned off?
    I have avoid tolls turned off  - but in my use case - apple does not include access to HOV lanes that double as a toll road during certain times of the day; Waze does this with ease…

    I generally have both Waze and Apple Maps running on trips.  Where one fails (and they both do regularly) the other picks up the slack. 
    JWSCwatto_cobra
  • Reply 27 of 49
    This app is by far the worst directions app ever. On numerous occasions I have not gotten to my destination and this junk app has actually gotten me lost. Recently I used Siri for directions to a restaurant. It linked up to maps and the maps app had me literally going around in circles every few yards. I use Waze instead and I always get to where I’m going. Not once has it failed me.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 28 of 49
    I use Apple Maps almost exclusively because it is so essential and I want it to improve.

    I must say though I am extremely disappointed that the latest update may actually made reading TEXT worse! Who’s idea was it, and more importantly how did it get approved, to use light colored text on light colored backgrounds??!!!!

    TEXT/LEGIBILITY NEEDS TO BE FIXED.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 29 of 49
    I'm all up Tim Cook's butt 24/7 (Apple has played a life-changing role in my life and in my career), that means I always use Apple Maps (AM) first before reaching for Google Maps (GM). Over the course of this year I have traveled internationally quite a bit. I've used both for walking directions, driving directions, transit directions in both US and Europe. I always reached first for AM but too often (meaning about 10%-20% of the time) it let me down and I had to resort to GM.

    Sometimes AM simply couldn't find an address that I knew was there. Other times it recommended a route that I knew was not the most efficient one to get where I wanted to be (even taking into consideration use of options such as "no tolls). Most recently, it sent me in a contorted loop around the historic center of Pistoia, Italy while I was trying to reach an historic landmark there. The failure was where AM kept trying to tell me to take a turn into oncoming traffic on a one-way road. I did this loop twice before realizing what was going on. On the other hand, Google Maps almost never let me down.

    AM has improved greatly since its craptastic debut and I'm sure it will continue to do so, but GM is still the king. I hope eventually that flips, but I wonder if GM just has too great of a lead for Apple to overcome even with its vast resources and deep pocketbook. One area where I think Apple could find an advantage with its maps product, is the interface. I frequently found GM interface to sometimes be confusing and difficult to navigate to make it do what I wanted it to, at times it really made me work to do simple things.


    edited December 2021 JWSCwatto_cobra
  • Reply 30 of 49
    heli0s said:
    If you live in one of the cities where Apple Maps has been updated with all that great UI in iOS 15, then yes - it's very good. The app overall has come a long way since the days where it would route you to a dead end. Public transit directions are also better in Apple Maps, at least in Portland, San Fran and Seattle where I've used them.

    I still have some frustrations with Apple Maps, but far less so than in past years:
    - Turn-by-turn navigation in Car Play is laggy, especially in situations where you need be in the correct lane from 4 intersections ahead or you'll never make your turn in heavy traffic. I find the app routinely reacting more slowly to reflect the turn and update the street than Google Maps does in Car Play - I would have turned already and made it 20 yards into the new street then Apple Maps would show it. 
    - The lack of offline maps makes the app unusable to me anywhere outside metro areas. The PNW is characterized by vast rural areas in the east of Washington and Oregon where cell service is spotty and sometimes even gas stations are 50 miles apart. Google Maps solves the issue with offline maps, what's taking Apple so long? Related, map quality just isn't up to par in rural areas, and that makes is very hard to use Apple Maps on road trips even when cell service is fine. I just still have anxiety it will route me to the wrong place outside the city. 

    Other than those two, of course the other one is collaboration on shared lists, especially with friends who just won't abandon Android! :) 
    Definitely noticed the lagginess even yesterday. Was heading up to a doctor's appointment an hour away from where I live up in unfamiliar but large population State Capitol (Salem) Oregon, and it told me to turn just as I was at the light when I was moving too late, busy 4 lane street, traffic behind me. Never had that happen any other navigation app and it's a very big deal. If that happens too many more times it's back to Google maps.  A missed turn at the wrong time can *really* screw someone up.
    edited December 2021
  • Reply 31 of 49
    davgregdavgreg Posts: 1,036member
    As a shareholder and customer I keep trying Apple Maps to compare them with Google Maps and it still comes up as not ready for prime time way too often. I wish it were otherwise, but it is simply not good for giving the best routing information.
    As has been said by others, it is way better than at launch.

    Would love to see Apple integrate real time and projected weather information so that we can route around or delay our arrival to miss severe weather and to consider road conditions when routing. I live in the south and sometimes a slightly different track can be the difference between driving on ice and rain or snow and nothing and the people down here are not good on slick roads. I work in a hospital and we are always open and I am on call regardless of the weather. It would also be nice on the road to avoid driving into an area with an active Tornado Warning or Severe Thunderstorm Warning. Years ago a co-worker lost a brand new car (totaled) by driving through a really nasty hail storm.
    williamlondondewmeJWSCwatto_cobra
  • Reply 32 of 49
    cg27cg27 Posts: 213member
    How can all of these excellent comments which provide detailed feedback be delivered directly to the Apple Maps team and to Apple leadership?  Otherwise we’re just pissing in the wind.
    williamlondonJWSCwatto_cobra
  • Reply 33 of 49
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    I generally have both Waze and Apple Maps running on trips.  Where one fails (and they both do regularly) the other picks up the slack. 
    Me, too. Or I'll compare the two and when they are the same (often), I run Apple maps. I am generally happy with both. Haven't opened Google Maps is a very very long time, but Waze = Google, so....
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 34 of 49
    I had a Garman GPS-478 mounted on my GoldWing motorcycle. I also had the weather map subscription with XM Radio. So real time weather displayed on the GPS screen. That was 12 to 15 years ago. Were the hell was everyone else in their GPS design all these years?
  • Reply 35 of 49
    jingojingo Posts: 117member
    george kaplan said:

    You may want to revisit your Settings. You should have a choice of Light, Dark, or Automatic. 
    No, I just confirmed that the choices are "Always Dark" or "Automatic".

    Whichever I choose it is practically always in dark mode (I have once or twice seen it in light mode) which is nothing like as clear to follow as the light mode, but I have absolutely no way that I have found of forcing it into light mode. I can, however, set Google Maps into light mode so that is another reason I prefer to use Google Maps.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 36 of 49
    Even after years of development, Apple Maps still won't give you directions to a specific store in an outdoor mall. It still just drops you at the entrance to the parking lot. Google Maps will give you precise directions to the correct store. There are still reasons to use Apple Maps such as its excellent Siri integration (hey Siri, directions home) and amazing synthetic voice that manages to pronounce every street name perfectly and it conversational English. Keep Google Maps as a backup for when Apple Maps fails you.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 37 of 49
    1348513485 Posts: 343member
    I could not agree more, Apple should do much more, like investing in faster upgrades, to its Maps. Indeed the richest company, but with Maps they are but halfway there.
    I agree that Apple has always been "halfway there", which is pretty much inexcusable given the number of years and the resources available to them. When exactly are they going to catch up? If I were Apple, I'd say if it's important to you, buy a company that DOES do it better (not sure who they might be at this point).

    For my purposes where I go in the US it's reasonably accurate. I usually pull up Apple Maps on my iMac and memorize the route beforehand, so even as I get close to the destination I can pick an alternate route to get somewhere if I have to. It helps that the vast, flat central part of the US is pretty much grid based, so you can intuitively jog over and get to where you were going. 
    williamlondon
  • Reply 38 of 49
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,020member
    I hope everyone that is complaining here or, has legit issues, gives Apple feedback - https://www.apple.com/feedback/maps-ios-ipados.html
    williamlondonwatto_cobramacgui
  • Reply 39 of 49
    AppleZuluAppleZulu Posts: 1,989member
    Even after years of development, Apple Maps still won't give you directions to a specific store in an outdoor mall. It still just drops you at the entrance to the parking lot. Google Maps will give you precise directions to the correct store. There are still reasons to use Apple Maps such as its excellent Siri integration (hey Siri, directions home) and amazing synthetic voice that manages to pronounce every street name perfectly and it conversational English. Keep Google Maps as a backup for when Apple Maps fails you.
    Apple Maps has been my reliable default for some time, now. Google Maps is definitely not my go-to backup. 

    For those times when offline maps are needed, I use “Magic Earth.” You’ll note in the “App Privacy” section of Magic Earth’s App Store listing it says, quite simply, “This developer does not collect any data from this app.” That’s about as un-Google as you can get. 
    edited December 2021 williamlondonwatto_cobramacgui
  • Reply 40 of 49
    JWSCJWSC Posts: 1,203member
    Anilu_777 said:
    tommikele said:
    For me, only Waze is worth using if I am driving. Google maps and Apple Maps lack user input and immediate updates for all kinds of things, but in particular, accidents, debris, emergency service vehicles and yes, the location of Police. Without these things those two are essentially useless for me when driving. Walking, biking and public transport is a different story.
    There’s the report feature (it works only when you’re actively using Maps) so you can say if there is an accident or hazard on the road. When you’re driving and approaching one (or a speed/red light camera) it will tell you then give you the option to mark it ‘still here’ or ‘cleared’ (Toronto area, Canada). 
    The problem with the report feature is that it goes away too soon. It's hard to tell whether the accident is still there or cleared up until you just passed the location. Since keeping ones eyes on the road near a hazard is especially important, by the time I feel enough in the clear to want to report, I'm not able to.
    Apple Maps is still able to discern the relative speed of vehicles, highlighting the road yellow or red depending on severity.  It’s a pretty good indicator and works is routing is on or off.
    watto_cobra
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