19/07/20234min
Apple Maps was something of a mess for a long time, prompting users to download Google Maps instead. Things are finally getting better though and iPhone owners are beginning to appreciate the changes that Apple has made to its maps app.
Google Maps used to be the default mapping app on the iPhone and iPad but that changed after iOS 6 was announced. Apple Maps had many bugs including misplaced labels for landmarks and businesses and missing roads in cities. The user experience was so bad that Apple CEO Tim Cook had to issue an apology for the frustration it caused.
Apple Maps has improved to the point that many people are sticking with it instead of switching to Google Maps.
Changes such as an attractive design, clear public transit direction, faster routes, and better management of the unpredictability of subway outages than Google Maps is making people like Jason Rabinowitz who switched to Android to use Google Maps more easily come back to Apple’s ecosystem.
Jane Natoli, who considers herself a Google Maps power user, says she has started using Apple Maps more after her iPhone prompted her to use the app in an airport. The app was able able to detect that she was at the airport and recommended shops and restaurants in her terminal. Natoli also liked that it had clearer information than Google Maps. She also thinks that it’s easier to read Apple’s find directions when compared to Google Maps.
“It made me kind of revisit and rethink some of my prior assumptions about it. Whatever initial reputational hurdles that Apple Maps faced, I think they’ve jumped over those.” – Jane Natoli
Georgia Tech graduate Angelica Nguyen says that roads are easier to look at on Apple Maps and the view is not cluttered by points of interest.
Even though the iPhone comes preloaded with Apple Maps, most users have downloaded Google Maps as an alternative, according to Canalys. But Apple Maps is more deeply integrated into iOS and services that need direction use Apple Maps.
People generally like to use default options, according to user-experience consultant Peter Ramsey. So now that Apple Maps has improved, people have no reason to download Google Maps.
Google Maps is still considered the better option by some when they are driving. And Apple still has a lot of work to do. Costume-design student Laura Pladziewicz says that Apple Maps misguided her when she was in Boston. Law student Noah Abdelaziz said the app suggested a route that lengthened his commute.