After reading this comment, I genuinely wondered in which aspects Apple Maps is better than Google Maps, since I've mostly used Google Maps for years. So I just opened up the Apple Maps and searched a few places, and it was surprisingly responsive. There are a few deficiencies, but I could see why Apple's map itself could be good enough for 90% of people.
IMO, navigation is a different story. I think navigation is one area where the up-to-date accurate information matters, and it seems Google has advantages in this part, thanks to Waze and its massive geo data. Also, Apple navigation UI really needs some critical improvements, like first-person perspective.
It’s not perfect, but I’ve started using Apple more.
Google has picked up some “Wazy” over-aggressive routing tendencies and over optimizes at times. I think they have the problem of having too much actionable information about traffic and not enough about the road. Neither google or Waze groks traffic lights in particular.
For one route I take, if there is a 5 minute traffic jam, it will always reroute me onto a path that has long traffic lights and left turns that add 10-15m to the trip.
Apple reroutes around accidents and closures typically.
TBH Google navigation sucks in recent years. No, I'm not going to take dirt road shortcut while driving on highways is supposed to be 10min longer. If locals speed on that dirt road in their AWD vehicles, that doesn't mean I'll do 70km/h on unknown dirt road in a small FWD car.
It got to the point that I'm double-checking all Gmaps directions on other services. And if I know area well enough, I don't need Gmaps at all..
Used Google Maps all across Europe not long ago on holiday and just amazed how well it works. Kids would try with Apple Maps and mostly we would end up laughing as it directed us to some crazy place that Google Maps would get on the first try.
But my issue is the bigger picture. I just do not get why it is acceptable at Apple to provide a poor user experience with Siri and Apple Maps compared to competitors?
Incidentally, I am in Europe. Apple was laughably bad a couple years ago, but it's getting better. Although still not as good as Google. But now Apple conservative routing sometimes is better than Google's too opportunistic one.
Another problem is Google still can't get house numbering correctly. They just don't care and get be off by 0.5km in some developments. What is worst, they don't tell they don't know exact location. They pretend to guesstimate it and sometimes it goes really wrong.
Sometimes their guesstimation messes up the address itself too. For example, recently I was looking for XYZ square #123. They routed me to XYZ street #123 instead. Which was in a different neighbourhood.
All in all, neither Google nor Apple beats old good Garmin and local mapping with UI brought straight from early 00s.
Both Apple and Google and care about smaller markets or less visited locations. If 90% of their customers are happy 90% of time, I guess that's enough for them :/
Which again is good example of Google opportunistic not always being the expected way. It sucks when Google marks some shitty shed as building. "Oh, it's a turn behind a house!" Nope... In case of Apple, it's quite clear. "You better start looking out, we have no clue where next turn is".
But when did Apple doing an ok job become acceptable at Apple?
Why not try to provide the best user experience? Well that is how Apple use to be. Siri and mapping are important applications that are all about user experience. They should have been in the wheelhouse of Apple to innovate and provide something way better than anyone else.
Here is a great link that just lays out how much worse the user experience with Apple Maps compared to Google Maps.
Building the second best consumer map product is not merely “ok”. Apple have done something that very few companies in the world have the skill or resources to be able to do.
It’s not fair to say that Apple are slacking when an amazing experience depends of solving incredibly hard computing problems that have nothing to do with product design. They’re competing against Google, a company whose entire mission is to organise and data and turn it into products.
Yes it is definitely falling short. The Apple of the past strive to provide the best user experience. Not the second best.
The issue is how large of a gap. But I would also challenge Apple Maps is #2. I would put Wave as #2 and Apple a distant #3. Here is a great breakdown to show how far behind Apple really is.
Christ dude, you're like almost 50% of the replies to this entire thread. We get it you hate apple maps. I've seen damn near this same reply by you 10 times in this thread with the same links.
You make it sound as if they can just redirect 100 programmers for a few months and it'll instantly be better. The link you originally shared in that top-level comment goes on to show why Google's maps are so much better than Apples and it's not just a matter of UX design.
It has been years and they have a ton of money. See no reason why Apple still offers an inferrior UX.
UX is user experience. So me being able to just say a business name and the app tell me if I can get there before close and send me to the actual place is UX.
Versus having to use addresses in Apple Maps to get it to be accurate and even then not so much.
Compared to what? A cat? Siri is worst-of-class technology in terms of voice-based assistant.
I carry both Apple's latest phone and Google's latest phone, and it would never occur to me to use Siri for a voice task other than "set timer" (so it buzzes on my watch too).
It's true that Apple is the only company playing this game that I might trust with an in-home always-connected assistant appliance like HomePod/Alexa/Google-whatever, but since Siri utterly sucks, I do not.
And until Apple abandons their position on privacy as well as builds their own search engine/advertising platform they will forever struggle with Google.
It might end up superficially banned in the EU or something, but their data collection is just too valuable to America, China, and Europe's governments to actually forbid.
Think you might be surprised of what data Apple is able to collect. The one that most bothers me is quoted here.
"When you share your content with family and friends using Apple products, send gift certificates and products, or invite others to participate in Apple services or forums, Apple may collect the information you provide about those people such as name, mailing address, email address, and phone number. "
Apple is great at marketing but was hoping we could have a discussion on reality.
Apple has access to all the same data. Plus Apple even takes the right to collect data on people you interact with. I quote
"When you share your content with family and friends using Apple products, send gift certificates and products, or invite others to participate in Apple services or forums, Apple may collect the information you provide about those people such as name, mailing address, email address, and phone number. Apple will use such information to fulfill your requests, provide the relevant product or service, or for anti-fraud purposes."
Wish we could end this narrative that is just not true. Heck Apple told the TV networks they would share your viewing data on the Apple TV.
"Apple TV service will share viewing data with networks, report claims"
Google will target ads in some cases but they are not giving your data away to a third party.
Plus Apple handing over all their users data in China has to be the biggest privacy betrayal example with any big tech company in the US. Have we ever had anything else like it?
"Campaign targets Apple over privacy betrayal for Chinese iCloud users"
I was responding to the "Apple has lost a lot of ground" part, I'm not suggesting Apple will overtake Google with their assistant. I should have quoted the original text.
Siri may not be perfect but she’s pretty darn good and, frankly, the only trustworthy assistant on the market.