Apple Maps is gaining more and more users from… Google Maps. Gone are the days when Apple Maps was mocked over Google Maps.
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iPhone users are increasingly finding more reasons to choose Apple Maps over Google Maps, with some customers praising the clear transit directions and more visually appealing design.
While Apple Maps comes pre-installed on all iPhones, the vast majority of iPhone users in the US have Google Maps on their phone as an alternative.
But if before many people preferred Google Maps on iPhone, today things are changing. More and more people prefer to use Apple’s alternative, especially for a clearer interface, for ever more detailed information and for the perfect integration with iOS.
For example, Jane Natoli, a “power user” of Google Maps, told the WSJ that she finds herself using Apple Maps after an experience using it at the airport. The app knew he was at the airport and offered recommendations for shops and restaurants in his terminal. It also had clearer information that was easier to interact with than Google Maps.
“She made me rethink some of my previous prejudices about it,” Natoli says. “Whatever initial reputational hurdle Apple Maps faced, I think it has overcome it.”
Many users like Apple’s design and easier-to-read directions, especially when it comes to street names. On Google Maps it is sometimes difficult to understand the street name, no matter how much you zoom in, at least according to some users.
A recent Georgia Tech graduate shared a similar opinion. At night, while driving, she said the streets are easier to look at on Apple Maps and there are fewer points of interest cluttering her vision. “Apple is really good at making things look good,” he told the WSJ.
Apple Maps was launched in 2012 and was quickly criticized for incomplete and inaccurate mapping data, leading some iPhone users down dangerous paths. Apple CEO Tim Cook had to publicly apologize for the frustration the app caused customers, and soon after iOS chief Scott Forstall was ousted from the company.
Since then, Apple has made significant improvements to Apple Maps, integrating new features and fixing some serious bugs. Live traffic information and pedestrian navigation options were added to Maps in 2013, which is also the same year Maps was extended to OS X. In 2015, Maps was updated with “Nearby ”, a feature that offers local points of interest and transit directions in a handful of cities.
In early 2020, Apple completed a comprehensive overhaul of its maps in various parts of the world, with significantly greater detail including updated buildings, parks, sports fields, swimming pools and more. The new Look Around feature in select cities is similar to Google’s Street View, and the updated maps have since rolled out to more countries. In iOS 17, coming this fall, users will be able to download maps for offline use in Apple Maps, something Google Maps users have been able to do for some time now.
The praise for Apple Maps isn’t universal, however. One user told the WSJ that she was often sidetracked by Apple Maps as she walked around Boston, while another user said her experience using Apple Maps via CarPlay had often added time to her commute by taking her through neighborhoods with stop signs in the attempt to avoid traffic.
In general, from the catastrophic beginnings of Apple Maps, things have now changed and the challenge with Google Maps is more open than ever. And you, which one do you prefer to use on your iPhone?
