Google Maps vs. Apple Maps: Which navigation app is best?
Google Maps vs. Apple Maps: Which navigation app is best?
Google Maps or Apple Maps? That's the question every iPhone owner has to enquire themselves at some point. The two have been at odds for nearly a decade at present, each reaching hundreds of millions of users beyond the world.
But information technology's not virtually how many users you have, information technology'south about the kind of service you offer. Google Maps and Apple Maps can do a lot of the same things, and the difference between them is getting smaller all the time. Merely which one is actually better? To answer that question nosotros're pitting Google maps vs Apple Maps, and then we can effigy out which service is right for you.
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Google Maps vs. Apple Maps: Availability
Like about Apple services, Apple Maps is exclusive to the company's own line of products. They don't call it a walled garden for zilch. That means anyone not using an iPhone, Mac, or another Apple tree-fabricated device has zero way of accessing it.
Google Maps is the consummate opposite, and is available in some grade on just near every device out there. Android, Windows, iPhone, Mac, fifty-fifty Apple tree's CarPlay. Should y'all e'er observe yourself with a new device and in demand of directions, your existing familiarity with Google Maps is going to serve you well. Logging in with your Google account as well automatically syncs all your data, including journey history and favorite locations.
While Apple does have a lot of devices, all of which have some form of Apple Maps available, it'due south not plenty to crush Google'southward near-universal availability.
Winner: Google Maps
Google Maps vs. Apple Maps: Interface
After several years of refinement, Apple tree Maps and Google Maps both offer a very focused interface that's easy to utilize. That said, the style they nowadays that information is quite different.
Apple Maps takes a very simple approach to this, with an interface that keeps pretty much everything in one place for ease of use. Recent search history, saved locations, and data about businesses and places can be found when you expand the search bar.
Crucially, that search bar stays where it is until you click on a place, and if y'all want to go rid of it all you take to do is tap the X push in the corner.
Google on the other paw, has buttons and toolbars all over the place. At the top of your phone screen is the search bar, which too houses account information and sits above defended buttons for finding local civilities. If yous're ever needing to detect a restaurant or gas station fast, that's likely to be very useful.
Likewise at the bottom of the screen is a carte du jour giving y'all access to the Explore and Commute features, saved locations, local news, and the option to contribute to Google'due south mapping database. All of these things will vanish if you tap the middle of the screen, and so you tin run across a pure uncluttered map, but it'due south still all a bit much.
Winner: Apple Maps
Google Maps vs. Apple Maps: Map Design
Like its interface, Apple Maps has opted for a more minimalist approach to its map blueprint. While it has a lot of information at its disposal, Apple Maps doesn't really evidence you very much unless you zoom all the way in. Similarly, Google shows you more information when yous zoom farther in, merely it does showtime showing a lot of that information much sooner than Apple Maps does.
That said, both of them e'er prove the essentials no thing how you're viewing the map. Roads, locations, landmarks, information technology'due south all there. The only existent difference is how much surplus information is on brandish, including businesses, smaller road names, and so on. Likewise both of them use a dark mode that makes information technology easier on your optics during whatsoever late-night driving you need to be doing.
Google Maps had also started rolling out more superfluous, merely still useful details, like terminate signs, crosswalks, and and then on. As of iOS 15 Apple has as well started adding this information, with turn lanes, bus and taxi lanes, and crosswalks. Information technology also has information for circuitous highway interchanges, something Google Maps has included for some time.
Both apps have the information yous need, merely Apple tree Maps' less-is-more approach makes it much easier on the eyes. Google Maps' backlog information can exist distracting sometimes, and that's the last thing you need if you lot're lost and struggling to orient yourself.
Winner: Apple Maps
Google Maps vs. Apple tree Maps: Navigation
There'south very little divergence in how Apple tree Maps and Google Maps actually gets yous places. Both services follow your progress as you travel, including travel time and journeying distance, your current ETA, and the most relevant instruction at that point in time. And then if you demand to stay on the freeway for another x miles, that'southward what information technology'll say. But every bit soon as you have a turn coming up information technology'll change and let you know.
Both services are capable of telling you what current conditions are like on your route, including traffic, route closures, and then on. Both apps will also propose alternating routes if the one y'all're on is particularly congested, though neither of them are as aggressive as the Google-owned Waze.
Information technology doesn't thing how yous intend to travel either, since Apple tree Maps and Google Maps can generate directions for drivers, walkers, cyclists, and those travelling by public send.
As far as navigation goes, the differences between Google Maps and Apple Maps can be well-nigh identical, or they can exist as different equally whatever route between two points can get.
For instance, driving from my business firm to our London role generated identical 51 mile routes and an ETA of 1 60 minutes and thirteen minutes. Going by train is a piffling different: Google Maps thought I'd get there in 58 minutes, versus 57 minutes on Apple.
Neither app gave me much selection to change the routes. Apple Maps skipped the toll road, even when I'd ready it to allow tolls, and wouldn't give me the choice of taking it. As well Google didn't take any suggestions that involved leaving the freeway one exit later. Instead the merely alternate routes on offer were so wildly dissimilar that all three routes diverged almost as shortly as I left dwelling house.
It's a flake strange that both apps offer primary routes that are similar, but the alternates were and so wildly different.
Regardless of which one you lot have, you lot tin can be sure that the optimal route will go yous to your destination in roughly the same amount of time.
Yet, Google Maps has the added advantage of letting you lot add multiple stops to your route ahead of time. Apple Maps does allow you to add pit stops mid-route, but that's only really to permit you lot get gas, or take something to eat. It's not for, say, setting upward a route to your Mom's business firm to pick her up, and then carrying on to your grandparents without starting a brand new route.
Google Maps is likewise updating the way it calculates its routes, with the aim of prioritizing safety and optimizing fuel consumption. Then it's going to utilise a number of factors, including real-time traffic data, to find you a route that uses less fuel and is less probable to cause an accident, merely without affecting your final ETA too much.
So Google very narrowly clinches the win thanks to the added convenience of journeying planning.
Winner: Google Maps
Google Maps vs. Apple Maps: Traffic
Both Google Maps and Apple Maps take access to existent-time traffic information, and can let y'all know if you're going to face whatever problems along your road. Whether it'south route closures, heavy traffic, or something else entirely, information technology shouldn't come as a huge surprise. Naturally both apps permit y'all report problems on the road, be they accidents, speed cameras, or general hazards that may affect travel times.
Google does accept an edge here, thanks to the presence of its "Commute" feature. Once you've fix your work and home locations in the settings, tapping commute shows y'all what sort of journeying you lot can expect. Information technology'll tell you lot how long the journey will take, what major roads y'all'll be taking, and how busy those roads are. If that road isn't to your liking then yous can pick one of a number of different options.
Google Maps will also let you adjust your departure or arrival time in the app itself, something Apple tree Maps does not do. The apple Calendar has a "travel fourth dimension" feature that tin do much the same affair, but that relies on you setting up a calendar event with the Travel Fourth dimension feature turned on. User-friendly in some contexts, sure, but it'south besides a convoluted process that definitely could practise with some streamlining.
Apple Maps lets you salve your work and habitation addresses as well, among other locations. It makes information technology faster to generate directions for places you go to regularly, but information technology requires a few extra steps that Google Maps' Commute skips out. Google also has the advantage of all that extra historical and real-time data.
Winner: Google Maps
Google Maps vs. Apple tree Maps: Public transportation
If travelling by auto isn't your matter, both Google Maps and Apple Maps tin include public transportation information in their directions. In both apps it'due south as uncomplicated as picking a destination and then hitting the "public transport" choice at the top of the screen.
Both services include data from multiple transit authorities, timetables, ride-sharing services, and status updates, simply Google still has the reward. Because it has information on where Google Maps users are, plus a mix of historical and crowdsourced data, Google tin can estimate just how busy the public transport system is at whatever given fourth dimension.
Google Maps is fifty-fifty expanding this feature to bear witness you how crowded detail areas or neighbourhoods are later this year. Like the Commute feature, all of this means yous can run across exactly what to expect and modify your route accordingly.
Just Apple Maps has started catching upwards in iOS xv. Apple Maps now prominently displays station information at the top of the screen and lets y'all pin your favorite transit route for easy access. The update likewise prompts users when they're approaching their stop, so they make sure to get off at the right time.
Both services are able to offer real-time transit data, including live departure times, schedules, outages and delays. Apple Maps can also tell you lot the location of a double-decker or train that'due south en-route, so y'all know just how far away it is.
However Apple Maps still doesn't feature information on how busy a particular service is, which puts information technology at a disadvantage. It was hinted at in the iOS xiv.5 beta, information technology hasn't happened yet. Still the system seemed to piece of work by having the Apple Maps app ship anonymous and encrypted data to oversupply-source how busy a place is.
That's similar to Google'southward method, and public transport congestion works the same way. So there's no reason why Apple Maps couldn't exercise the exact same matter in the near futurity.
Winner: Google Maps, for now
Google Maps vs. Apple Maps: Discovery
There's more to navigation apps than finding directions from betoken A to B. Both Google Maps and Apple Maps have features that lets you meet what's around, helping you detect restaurants, gas stations, parking lots, and whatsoever other businesses or points of interest for those times yous don't know where you're going.
Google Maps puts this in plainly view, with buttons underneath the search bar and a larger list of categories if you whorl to the end. There's a button for pretty much annihilation you lot'd need, while the Explore tab at the bottom of the screen gives you lot a more generalized overview of the surface area.
Upcoming changes to this characteristic will besides see Google offering more specific recommendations when you lot're looking for things. For example searching for restaurants in the morning will exist more than likely to show upwardly coffee shops and places serving breakfast, rather than locations only open for lunch and dinner.
Apple tree Maps does something like, which yous'll see if y'all tap and expand the search bar. "Observe Nearby" works in exactly the same way, letting you pick a category that's relevant to the area you're looking at. Sadly there's no full list like Google has, and yous'll merely run across a handful of options which will modify depending on which specific area you're looking at. Apple Maps also has something called "Guides" which imports relevant editorial content that should help familiarize you with any given area.
Google Maps' Explore results can capitalize on a wealth of Google's information, which is collected first hand and through crowdsourcing. Contact information, opening hours, whether concern is express cheers to the pandemic, it'southward all there. Google knowing where people are at whatsoever given time too means it tin can estimate how busy a place is. So if a restaurant or a supermarket is particularly congested, you'll be able to see that ahead of fourth dimension.
Google too has future plans to expand this feature by letting y'all run into how busy the foot traffic is in certain neighbourhoods or locations. Plus you lot'll be able to see this from the map itself, rather than a business's page.
Apple Maps has a lot of that information thanks to partnerships with third party services like Yelp, Foursquare, and TripAdvisor, merely not as much equally Google Maps does. It doesn't offer alive updates on how busy a business organisation is, only according to the iOS 14.5 beta there may exist a crowd-sourced version of this feature coming in the very about future. Encrypted and anonymized, naturally.
Apple tree also offers a 'Curated Guides' option as office of iOS 15, which offers recommendations on places to become when y'all're in a specific city. These guides tin can exist saved and update automatically, and so yous're e'er upwardly to date. Alternatively you can cull to create your own personal guide to share with friends and family
Apple Maps' less-is-more approach does ensure a much cleaner interface, nonetheless. Whereas Google'southward insistence on including as much as possible means things can feel a picayune chaotic at times.
Despite the potential for data overload, Google still comes out on top in this example. able to put its data collection to good utilize by ensuring y'all know if you're heading somewhere at the wrong time. The fact the app doesn't pick and choose Explore categories for you is also a win, and something Apple tree Maps definitely needs to copy. Simply Apple Maps appears to exist catching upwards, and Google's authorization may not be so certain for much longer.
Winner: Google Maps
Google Maps vs. Apple Maps: Hands-free control
Hands-complimentary control is important if you're driving, because you can't be constantly borer your phone to get things done. Apple Maps and Google Maps both have hands-free control, though they exercise work differently.
Apple tree Maps is connected to Siri, which is installed on every iPhone by default. That means y'all tin become everything fix correct abroad, without whatsoever unnecessary extra steps. Siri does work with Google Maps now, just you lot have to specify where you lot desire to ship the command, otherwise Siri volition default to Apple Maps. So y'all'll accept to say "Hey Siri, become me directions to work with Google Maps" because simply asking for directions to work will open up upwards Apple tree Maps instead. Alternatively y'all tin can download and ready-up Google Assistant, or toggle phonation commands by tapping the microphone push button on screen.
Over on Android both Google Maps and Google Assistant are pre-installed, meaning you lot tin prepare up hands-gratuitous commands right away. Obviously Apple tree Maps isn't bachelor there, though once again you do have the choice to skip the assistant and toggle vox commands with an on-screen button.
Obviously tapping the screen everytime you want to tell Maps to do something isn't the best scenario, because you're supposed to exist concentrating on the road. It doesn't matter which device you lot're using.
Apple tree Maps has the border if you use an iPhone, considering everything is interconnected and you don't need to deal with the hassle of downloading a new banana or specifying which service you want to use every time. Patently Google Maps has the edge on Android, but that's primarily down to the fact Apple Maps isn't available.
Winner: Necktie
Google Maps vs. Apple Maps: Street view
If you need a dissimilar way of looking at the world, and so Street View is a very helpful tool equally it shows a location from your own point of view, rather than a map'south standard top-downwardly perspective. It's especially helpful for orienting yourself in a foreign location.
Google's Street View has been around since 2007, and over the past 14 years it's expanded beyond the globe. Non everywhere, and you'll find large portions of countries like Frg and Republic of korea don't have Street View coverage, nor does cathay. Withal it'southward in a lot of places.
Accessing it is easy, and all you have to exercise is alter the map type to the Street View option, and click an area highlighted in bluish. You then have the choice to either navigate in a split-screen fashion that relies on you tapping locations on the map to get around, or by tapping and swiping within Street View itself.
In that location'southward also the added reward of Live View directions, which uses AR to overlay directions on what your phone can see - helping y'all navigate more than effectively. Live View is also set to go an upgrade in the near future, which adds business proper noun and data to this mode. And that includes how decorated they are at any given fourth dimension, only in instance there isn't a window you can summit though.
However Live View relies on there being Street View coverage. Which is fine in a lot of public places, thanks to Street View's extensive coverage. But if you lot find yourself not covered, AR directions won't exist available.
Apple Maps' equivalent is called "Wait Effectually," and since it simply launched in late 2022, it's nowhere near every bit all-encompassing. You'll only find Expect Around spots in major cities in the U.S., U.K., Japan, Ireland, and Canada right now. Accessing and navigating this mode is a footling different too.
Yous have to physically select a spot on the map and select the Look Effectually option beginning. Navigating, on the other manus, doesn't seem to be bachelor in full-screen style, and y'all'll demand to admission the split-screen mode and tap/scroll effectually the map to see what different locations wait similar.
iOS xv too saw the launch of AR directions, with Apple users able to raise their iPhones to scan nearby buildings to piece of work out exactly where you are — and show yous where to go in a real globe context. Information technology's pretty much identical to how Google Maps does it, if you're already familiar with Google's equivalent.
So considering of the sheer amount of coverage, and having a meliorate selection of navigational choices, ways Google comes out on top. Notwithstanding, Apple is fast catching upwardly and Google Maps may not be in the tiptop spot for long.
Winner: Google Maps
Google Maps vs. Apple Maps: Privacy
Apple has gone all in with privacy over the past few years, and Apple Maps is no exception. While privacy and live navigation seem pretty incompatible, Apple has developed a procedure called "fuzzing" that ensures anonymity.
Rather than requesting a route from A to B, Apple Maps sends off multiple requests with multiple identifiers that masks where you're trying to get. The app also converts your precise location to a less-exact one after 24 hours, and Apple itself doesn't shop whatsoever data about where yous've been or what yous've been searching for. Plus none of the information that reaches an external server is associated with your Apple ID.
Whatever personalized data Apple Maps does have is stored on your device, rather than a server where it'due south out of your control. That means you tin can become into the settings and delete it at whatever time, rubber in the knowledge that information technology is gone for good.
Data can still be backed-up and synced across multiple devices, via your personal iCloud storage, only this doesn't happen automatically. Because uploading that data to a server, no matter how secure, is riskier than keeping information technology on your device, you lot accept to deliberately opt in offset.
Google Maps does none of that. Instead pretty much everything yous exercise gets routed through Google'south servers, and the information gleaned from your travels and searches can be used to ameliorate personalize Google'south ads. Considering that'south how the visitor makes its money, and the more than relevant the ads are to y'all the more valuable they become.
Measures are taken to ensure advertisers don't learn besides much about you as an private, just it's non entirely anonymized in the aforementioned manner Apple Maps' navigation requests are.
Google Maps does have an Incognito Mode, just similar the Chrome browser, which limits the amount of data that is saved. However that doesn't stop the fact everything has to go through Google servers showtime, so the merely way to actively avert Google Maps from keeping tabs on y'all is to stop using it and delete the app.
Winner: Apple Maps
| Google Maps | Apple Maps | |
| Availability | x | |
| Interface | 10 | |
| Map Design | x | |
| Navigation | x | |
| Traffic | ten | |
| Public Transportation | x | |
| Discovery | x | |
| Hands-gratuitous control | x | 10 |
| Street View | 10 | |
| Privacy | x | |
| Total | vii | 4 |
Google Maps vs. Apple Maps: Bottom Line
Google's exercise of information collection is cardinal to making Google Maps a superior service to Apple Maps. Or that'south one style of looking at information technology. Since Apple Maps is run with a focus on user privacy, Apple tin't utilize data to make improvements. So Google tin offering real time updates showing how decorated a store or railroad train might be, that'due south e'er going to be well out of Apple'due south reach.
But at the aforementioned time using Google Maps means knowing everything you exercise, and everything you search for, is being collected and analyzed for Google'south ain do good. When it comes to GPS and your bodily location, that's going to exist too much for the more privacy-witting.
Discovering new places is easy on Google Maps, just simply simply. Apple but needs to offer a total list of categories, rather than only giving you what it thinks is the most relevant. Similarly Google Street View is more widespread, but it also had a 12-year head start that puts Apple'southward Look Around at a clear disadvantage. Apple Maps does offer a cleaner design and simpler interface, which is much more appealing than Google Maps' relatively cluttered approach.
Nigh of these comparisons are capricious in the long run. Google Maps may well have won more categories than Apple Maps, but numbers don't tell us everything. The most important thing to consider is the actual navigation, and it turns out at that place isn't really a incorrect answer hither.
Google Maps' and Apple tree Maps' navigation performances were basically identical, and it means whichever one you selection you'll exist well served. It's simply up to you lot to decide which is right for you lot and what sort of journeys you program to have.
If y'all value privacy higher up all else, or are happy with the default Mapping app on your iPhone, get with Apple Maps. However if you adopt a service that offers more information and puts your data to work improving what you run across, then go for Google Maps. Information technology's all up to y'all.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/google-maps-vs-apple-maps
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