
Apple maps: how Google lost when everyone thought it had won - r0h1n
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/11/apple-maps-google-iphone-users
======
archgrove
Apple maps has reached "good enough" for a large number of use cases. It's now
"good enough" to use as a satellite navigation system for a car, "good enough"
to give me walking directions to nearby major sites/roads, and "good enough"
as a "I'm sure I'm nearly at X, where the heck is it?" recovery tool.

It still has a pretty useless database of locations. The listings for many
shops/venues in my area are literally years (sometimes decades) out of date,
even after I reported them back when iOS 6 was a beta. This is slowly
improving, seemingly starting with locations that are commonly visited, but
it's still not there. However, given that most of my use cases are "Enter post
(ZIP) code, go there", this doesn't really matter. 90% of the time, Apple maps
works fine, and there's no reason to use something else, especially when it's
ad-laden.

Given that maps are not a core concern for Apple, I've always been surprised
they've not just thrown money at improving open street maps. A few hundred
million to setup an "OSM foundation" (or fund an existing one) could seriously
help them (decent free mapping database to use), and hurt Google (major
commercial advantage limited/eliminated). They could probably get MS onboard
as well.

~~~
legulere
Apple actually uses (or used?) Openstreetmap for some remote regions like
afghanistan [1]. They also use openstreetmap for their internal problem report
tool [2]. Also what I heard there was a big company which didn't want to be
named that approached the openstreetmap foundation. I think the secrecy and
licensing were the problems.

[1]: [http://www.undispatch.com/how-afghan-mappers-punked-
apple](http://www.undispatch.com/how-afghan-mappers-punked-apple) [2]:
[http://blog.openstreetmap.de/wp-
uploads//2013/10/a2.png](http://blog.openstreetmap.de/wp-
uploads//2013/10/a2.png)

~~~
bhousel
I'm pretty certain that both Apple and Google regularly import some subset of
the OSM data. I have done a bunch of Openstreetmap edits in northern NJ that
have found their way into both maps.

Incidentally, if you have _any_ , even mild, OCD tendencies, you might want to
avoid Openstreetmap, haha. That new Id editor is dangerous.

~~~
yapcguy
Screw both Apple and Google.

People will say they support open-source via certain projects but the proof is
in the pudding.

If they're using OSM data to cement one of their key platform apps, they need
to donate money, lots of it, and be public about it.

Remember, as fanboys like to crow, Apple has $100 billion of cash lying around
and Google's share price is sky high.

~~~
mwfunk
It's not that simple unfortunately. Both of those companies would basically
have to agree to be collaborators rather than competitors. Both companies
would probably have a bunch of pissed-off shareholders who didn't agree with
the move (who are the people who actually own those companies; technically
that money belongs to them). Both companies would also get punished by the
stock market, which favors competitiveness over cooperation for obvious
reasons, which in turn would hurt shareholders.

None of those things are intrinsically wrong or bad- if they weren't so
competitive, they probably wouldn't have all that money in the first place,
and as users we might not have any sort of maps at all on the Internet, or
much lower-quality ones.

None of those things are intrinsically correct or good either, as users would
surely benefit from that type of cooperation. It's just The Way It Is.

I wish the type of collaboration you describe could happen, and maybe it will
some day. It's easy to anthropomorphize corporations as super rich individuals
who sell stuff to people and aren't beholden to anyone, which is exactly what
the tech press does most of the time, but the reality is way more complicated.

------
w1ntermute
This has everything to do with it being impossible to change the default maps
app in iOS and nothing to do with the quality of Apple's maps (which is still
very low in comparison to Google's). When you search for directions using
Siri, it'll take you to Apple Maps. When you click on an address in another
app, the same.

This is the same reason why Chrome won't be able to cement itself on iOS. If
it weren't for iOS's minuscule market share, this would be justification for a
major DoJ crackdown. They took MS to court just for setting a default browser
- imagine what it would be like for Apple, which doesn't even let you change
it.

~~~
wmeredith
The ability to set up contracts between apps at the OS level is my biggest
feature wish list item for iOS. The jump in usefulness of the device would be
similar to when Apple opened the App store after initially launching with web-
apps only.

~~~
w1ntermute
I can't see this ever happening. Apple's whole shtick is that they make
decisions for the user.

Moreover, I don't think that average iOS users actually care. Most of them
didn't even realize that Google Maps was replaced by an Apple equivalent. And
when Apple Maps doesn't work correctly, they just accept that that's how
things are - that's the sort of mentality that Apple cultivates in its users.

~~~
rjohnk
No, it isn't a function of Apple cultivating tech ignorance. Apple, Microsoft,
and Google make user decisions all the time. It's that most people don't care.
They buy a tech product and go about their day. That's the point of consumer
technology - make it out of the box ready because most people don't think like
us. Maps or Browser or whatever.

Joe User : "Huh, that's different" If it still works they go about their day.

Average Hacker News User: "Dammit, they moved the border padding 1 pixel to
the left and the anti-aliasing on the font looks different when I look at it
with a magnifying glass at 2 inches from my eyeball. I have to complain on my
tech blogs right away about this travesty!"

~~~
w1ntermute
> No, it isn't a function of Apple cultivating tech ignorance.

Strawman. I never used the word "ignorance." It's more like acceptance of
things as they are.

> Joe User : "Huh, that's different" If it still works they go about their
> day.

> Average Hacker News User: "Dammit, they moved the border padding 1 pixel to
> the left and the anti-aliasing on the font looks different when I look at it
> with a magnifying glass at 2 inches from my eyeball. I have to complain on
> my tech blogs right away about this travesty!"

Reductio ad absurdum, and you totally missed my point. I'm not talking about
situations where something has just changed, I'm talking about when something
has changed such that it no longer works. In such a situation, Apple users
tend to consider that acceptable, such as with Apple Maps or with antennagate.
As long as that fruity logo is present, they'll buy just about anything.

------
dustinupdyke
A bit off-topic, but the newest Google maps on the desktop is terrible; a
massive step backwards in usability imho.

I suppose they were trying to simplify, but now I can't figure out how to send
someone a pin, how to click on a pin, how to find things around a pin, etc.

I gave up and switched to Bing. First for maps, but then for everything, and
it doesn't seem like I gave anything up; I guess wasn't as married to a
search/map engine as I had previously thought.

I agree with other comments here, that on the phone, Apple maps is certainly
"good enough".

~~~
TillE
The problem with the new Google Maps is that the interface is quite literally
all over the place. Top-left, bottom-left, bottom-right, who the hell knows
where anything is.

How do you view transit lines? It took me _months_ to figure out that you
could hover over the search box and click the blue Transit link. This is a
hugely important feature to me, and it's hidden.

Just in the past few days they did finally add back the little orange peg-man
as a Street View interface, which is a big improvement.

~~~
jonknee
> How do you view transit lines? It took me months to figure out that you
> could hover over the search box and click the blue Transit link. This is a
> hugely important feature to me, and it's hidden.

To be fair the search box is expanded by default so the transit link is on the
screen when you load maps. If you click the map the search box minimizes and
you would have to either click it again or hover over.

------
chollida1
Apple maps is still a poor competitor to Google Maps.

Yesterday I went to the beer store( that is what it's called in Ontario).
Being at a new house I used apple maps on my phone.

The first 3 results it showed had no beer store there. I finally found it
using google maps.

~~~
demallien
I'm guessing that many Apple Maps users don't use Maps in that way, but more
for finding a specific address. Personally, on my iPhone if I want to find a
business I do it through Yelp, which comes with the added bonus of being
integrated with Siri. You can ask for an itinerary from there and it shows it
in Maps, it's all very easy as a workflow.

For example, living in Paris, if I want to go to the CNIT (a shopping centre
located at La Defense), Apple Maps itself refuses to give me the address. But
if I ask the Yelp app, it points me straight to it, and from there I click on
a link and I have my itinerary in Maps.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the remaining flaws in Apple Maps
are so easy to route around now that they just aren't much of an issue.

~~~
potatolicious
I look up specific addresses via Apple Maps, it _still_ sucks.

Hell, let's try this _right now_. I'm sitting at work in Brooklyn. I just
typed in "20 Jay St", the address of my building. Apple Maps has my location,
this should be a piece of CAKE.

... And now I'm at "20 Main Tavern" near Plattsburg, NY, by the Canadian
border.

I also just searched for my home address, which is a 5 minute subway ride away
in Manhattan. I ended up at "3rd St & Baker Springs Rd" in Wickes, AK.

Or searching for "161 Canal" takes me to "161 Canal Lane" in Jackson, NJ, as
opposed to the much more obvious "161 Canal Street" in Manhattan.

Apple Maps is full of nonsense, either searching via POI or via address, or
via intersection. It's practically useless. At this point I'm pretty sure I
need to memorize Lat/Long just to use this thing, or be absurdly specific
every time I use it. "Empire State Building, the one in Manahttan, if you
please"

~~~
lemma
Could be worse, I just typed a full home address in Miami and got a result in
Australia...

------
Shinkei
Headline is quite misleading. For one thing, it's only looking at numbers in
the US. On a cursory search, I can't find numbers but I suspect that Google
maps is available in more countries and used by more people worldwide than
Apple maps.

Not to mention, the article assumes Apple wouldn't have attempted to develop
its own app even if Google met all its needs. As we've seen previously,
Apple's strategy has always been about controlling the user experience. IMHO,
there's no way that Apple would've allowed Google maps to dominate its iOS
users for much longer... regardless of this issue of navigation, etc. It
would've just been something else as an excuse to move their users to their
own platform.

~~~
interpol_p
I think Apple would have been okay with it if Google was willing to simply
remain a maps data provider.

Google wanted more significant branding (which is fair enough), anything that
takes control of the appearance out of Apple's hands is likely to be a deal-
breaker.

~~~
dijit
really? I didn't think it was a branding thing at all, the way I understand it
is that you have to pay royalties for every request and access to area's of
the world.

an example of this not working is that; when Siri first launched it was unable
to process requests for map lookups, or questions about local businesses (out
of the US) because it would use google, and apple wouldn't pay for the
expanded regions.

this is all in my head from a conversation years ago and might be wrong, but
I'd be interested to know if anyone else had information.

~~~
interpol_p
There was a WSJ article from quite some time ago that went into a lot of
detail about this (quoting sources from both sides).

Some of the relevant paragraphs:

> _The two sides bickered over a Google Maps feature called Street View, which
> lets people see an actual photo as if they are standing in the street. Apple
> wanted to incorporate Street View on the iPhone just as Google already
> offered it for Android phones. Google initially withheld the feature,
> frustrating Apple executives, according to people on both sides of the
> debate._

> _Apple executives also wanted to include Google 's turn-by-turn-navigation
> service in the iPhone—a feature popular with Android users because it lets
> people treat their phones as in-car GPS devices. Google wouldn't allow it,
> according to people on both sides. One of these people said Google viewed
> Apple's terms as unfair._

> _Google executives, meantime, also bristled at Apple 's refusal to add
> features that would help Google. For instance, Google wanted to emphasize
> its brand name more prominently within the maps app. It also wanted Apple to
> enable its service designed to find friends nearby, dubbed Latitude, which
> Apple refrained from doing, said people on both sides._

Source:
[http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142405270230454390...](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304543904577398502695522974)

------
webwright
Of course it's going to shed users if it goes from being the default app to
competing with the owner of the ecosystem.

No one expected Google to win any more than people expected Netscape to win
when Microsoft decided to make a browser, because Microsoft can control the
default. Once they allowed other browsers to usurp the default position
(thanks, Justice Department!), the browser wars were back on.

Unfortunately, Apple is so far from a monopoly that iPhone users will never
have the ability to choose their default maps, mail, calendar, camera, phone
or music app.

------
ancarda
I've been using Apple Maps since it was first released in iOS 6. I've reported
countless problems but only 1 was ever fixed. Unlike with Google Maps, it
seems there's no way for a business to register itself or otherwise contribute
info. As such, Google Maps often has more information.

Apple Maps is, generally in my area, out of date and missing businesses and
schools and unfortunately I don't see it getting better.

~~~
jws
I find both Apple and Google unresponsive to user corrections. Since iOS
released maps it has shown a hospital near me that has long been closed,
demolished, and rebuilt as a retirement community. The hospital itself moved
about 10 miles west to a different community, yet there it is on the map in
all its pink glory.

In the course of a "google maps doesn't have these problems" discussion I
pulled up Google maps, and lo and behold, it has the same problem.

Fast forward to the present and they both still show this long dead hospital
despite me taking the time to send in corrections from time to time. For a
long time the new location was trivially verifiable by following the map's own
web link. Now that URL is dead, so it would require a quick search and a tiny
bit of thought.

I hope no one relies on that information in an emergency to get someone to a
hospital.

~~~
myko
I reported two issues to Google Maps on a recent trip to Ireland and the UK,
both have been fixed and I received followup emails from Google Maps on the
issues.

These were reported via Google Maps on Android.

------
interpol_p
I'm probably in the minority here, but I really like the Maps desktop app in
OS X Mavericks too.

The headline is a little dramatic. I don't know if Google "lost", surely they
predicted this sort of situation when they chose not to renew their licensing
deal with Apple.

~~~
aroch
Sometimes when I need a quick break at work, I'll pull up a fly-over in the
Maps app and wander through a city. It is relaxing and pretty nifty.

------
Kurtz79
It's called the "Internet Explorer" effect.

I'm not saying Apple Maps is as a bad product, but I think the basic reason
for its adoption is the same,as the article mentions.

It's good enough for most people, and it's the default on the platform.

~~~
josefresco
It's more like the latter day IE effect, as the first one involved giving away
something for free (IE) that was previously available only for sale
(Netscape).

~~~
kalleboo
Did anyone ever buy Netscape? Everyone I knew got it from their ISP or
downloaded the "educational" version.

------
astral303
Google Maps doesn't remember your recent map searches and destinations unless
you're signed in and have web history turned on. WTF? Why can't you remember a
few hundred bytes worth of data just on my phone? I stopped using Google Maps
because of that.

Apple Maps POI still sucks, but its navigation works better than Google Maps.
I use Waze for when I need time-sensitive, accurate navigation.

~~~
jonknee
> Apple Maps POI still sucks, but its navigation works better than Google
> Maps. I use Waze for when I need time-sensitive, accurate navigation.

To me it's impossible that POI information is terrible and navigation work
better. Apple Maps can beautifully navigate you to the wrong place, but that's
useless. Accurate information is the most important information _by far_ for
mapping and navigation.

~~~
astral303
It's not at all impossible! 1) Most navigation I do is to known addresses, not
results of POI searches [e.g. friend's house], 2) most POI searches come back
accurate, about 2/3rds for me, and by far the prevailing mode of POI failure
is Apple Maps' inability to find the destination. If the destination is found,
it's usually correct. But usually I also have enough context to validate
whether the result is in the right area. If it's not, then I repeat the search
in Google Maps, but still often choose to navigate with Apple Maps (or Waze).

------
jedrek
Apple Maps is close to unusable in Warsaw, Poland, as well as other cities in
Eastern Europe (Prague and Budapest come to mind). I celebrated the release of
Google Maps for iOS6 and I've been a loyal user for a while. Every time I'm
tossed into Apple Maps when it's embedded in an application, I'm confirmed in
my judgement. Maybe it's a language issue? Bing Maps was thrust upon Facebook
users when they had their falling out with Google a few years back. It made
hot-linked addresses completely unusable for 2-3 years afterwards.

~~~
hannibalhorn
Apple Maps is equally unusable where I'm at (Colombia,) and Google's aren't
perfect but are pretty good and getting better. I've even seen a few of their
vehicles about. The weird bit is that the Google Maps iOS app isn't available
in the country specific app store, so it's pretty difficult for the average
person to obtain.

------
smackfu
Seems like that article should include the word "Waze" somewhere in it.

I know a lot of iOS users who swear by it, because it has much better live
traffic data, and Google purchased it earlier this year.

------
badusername
I suspect that some of the negative sentiment here on Apple Maps is because of
the strong entrenchment in Google Maps and its ways, before Apple was around
in that game. I actually happen to love Apple Maps, so much so that I've
started to use the Mavericks app as well. It's definitely more visually
nuanced and aesthetically pleasing. For where I live at (SF Bay Area), I've
never experienced any major problems with routing or data - public transit is
not my default use. The tight integration with Yelp adds to the comfort and
familiarity as well.

~~~
deong
> For where I live at (SF Bay Area), I've never experienced any major problems
> with routing or data

I think Bob's Discount Maps, Bait, and Tackle probably works fine in San
Francisco. Outside the Bay Area, it's bad. Outside the US, you'd be better off
with paper maps than Apple Maps -- they'll burn better when you're lost.

------
psychometry
Apple might have worse maps, but they're much better an UI/UX than Google.

Want to save a bookmark to your friend's apartment in Google Maps like you
used to be able to do? Good luck with that. Google has decided that locations
can only be "starred" and not associated with a name.

Turn-by-turn navigation is also much better with Apple Maps. Upcoming turns
are announced more often and at more convenient intervals. I hardly ever miss
a turn when using Apple Maps, but I certainly cannot say the same for Google.

------
DIVx0
I still 'make the effort' to use google maps even though it would be easier to
just use apple maps since like the article states, it's automatic and easy.

I do give apple maps a try, even recently, however _every_ time I use apple
maps it gives me directions I know are inferior or it will put me near my
destination but in an incredibly inconvenient spot.

For example: The other week I wanted to find a way to a train station, I used
Siri and let it open up and plan via apple maps. It 'found' my destination and
placed the map marker at the nearest possible spot (the map did not have the
station lot or it's connecting road). The problem was that the closest spot
was on the other side of the tracks with no way to cross except take a multi-
mile detour.

Just the other day I had to make the same trip, this time I used google maps
and not only did have the whole station complex on the map it correctly routed
me to it.

I simply cannot trust apple maps. It may be easier to use via siri or safari
links but if it wastes my time by giving me crap information than it really is
not helping. A few seconds of copy and pasting addresses into google maps app
or using it's built in search is well worth not having to worry about taking a
forced apple detour.

------
qq66
Google didn't lose, they did exactly what they wanted to do. When iOS 6 was in
development, Google refused to license turn by turn to Apple, forcing Apple to
develop its own maps. Google did this to hamper Apple relative to Android in
mapping, deciding that they were willing to lose tens of millions of iPhone
map users to give Android another weapon.

With Android outselling iPhone 4 to 1, it's hard to say that they didn't
achieve their objective.

~~~
stephenr
Samsung is by far the most profitable company selling Android phones. As of
July they had about twice the market of Apple for Smartphones, and they still
made less money from it.

Apple sell a premium product at a premium price - market share doesn’t mean
shit if your profit from each device sold is three fifths of fuck all.

~~~
qq66
Google doesn't really care about the profits made on Android phones -- they
just want more Android out there since it feeds usage of Google services (such
as Maps, Mail, and Search)

~~~
stephenr
Pretty sure samsung and all the other Android device makers care about profits
though.

------
speg
I don't know if it's just me, but Maps.app always seems to give me turning
instruction just a bit too late. Google Maps seems to give them 4 or 5 seconds
earlier, giving me enough time to change lanes or otherwise prepare for the
turn.

------
ape4
People are lazy - the default always wins.

~~~
uptown
Frequently ... but not always. See: Google Chrome as a desktop browser.

~~~
aroch
I feel as if half of Chrome "winning" is Google shoving it down everyone's
throat across all their properties.

Google.com: Internet feeling slow, use Chrome! CHROME! GET CHROME! CHROME
MAKES YOUR DIALUP FEEL LIKE FIBER!!!!!!!

Youtube: Video taking a long time to buffer, use Chrome!

Gmail: Want to use any of the value-added options (chat, video, etc), better
use Chrome!

~~~
nl
Shows what a massive effort it is to overcome a default setting.

------
danso
The headline may seem misleading because almost everyone here thinks of
"winning" as winning on technical merit and superiority. But the winning is
due to iOS's strategy, as ill-tasting as it is to most people here, of locking
down the system defaults.

From the OP:

> _ComScore 's data suggests though that comparatively few iPhone owners
> actually take the trouble to use Google's maps rather than Apple's - in part
> because Apple's maps are the default for any driving directions or map-
> related search on iOS 6 and above._

Obviously, Apple advocates would argue that this _is_ a victory based on
technical implementation...Apple Maps may not be the greatest, but the
consistency of UI and behavior, in the long run, is better for users, so say
the Apple advocates.

I use both an iPad and an Android...I'll likely never go back to an iPhone
because the Google implementation of things is so much better...it's not just
maps, but the keyboard...it's unbelievable how much better Swiftkey is than
the iPad keyboard...I can hardly type on the iPad without making typos due to
autocorrect, on SwiftKey, I can barely _deliberately_ make typos.

And of course, iPhone users scoff at the idea of "having" to install a
keyboard. And I'll give them some credit...the way that Android keeps asking
me what I want to do with a link when I click it from an app (such as Twitter)
can be annoying, because I'm the type of person who won't pick "keep this as
default"...I say sincerely that it is a cognitive benefit when iOS just makes
the choice for you. And I'm saying that as a technically-proficient
person...for those who aren't, this lack of choice is probably an overall
benefit to their happiness.

~~~
Drexl
Couldn't agree more. Apple "won" because 20+M people were to lazy to find a
better application or didn't know how and just kept what they were given. For
the majority of iOS users that's how it works. You use what you are given and
deal with it.

~~~
eunice
I installed Google Maps on the day of release & between the constant
harassment re: signing in and ads... well... 'better' is definitely
subjective.

------
ZeroGravitas
I wonder if the drop in iOS users using maps, and the increase in Android
users using maps might have something to do with the quality of the maps that
iOS forces on you as a non-replaceable default? You might assume that some
people (say, traveling salespeople) consider that one of the primary features
of their phone and would happily switch if the usability/data/integration was
better.

------
Grue3
If this doesn't prove that Apple users will lap up whatever half-baked stuff
Apple puts out, then nothing else does.

------
awjr
Locally we sometimes "go crwazy" and use Apple Maps to see how good the
directions are to get to a named place. Sometimes it works but mostly we
revert to a garmin or google maps :( (Live in Somerset, UK)

------
georgemcbay
As an Android Google Maps user, the bigger issue for me is how terrible Google
Maps 7.x.x is compared to 6.x.x. I've got my Nexus 4 set up to remain on 6.x.x
indefinitely and fear of reverting Maps to 6.x.x on KitKat being a PITA is the
reason I'm not planning on buying a Nexus 5 or any newer Android phone for the
foreseeable future.

They are very slowly undoing some of the damage that the incredibly misguided
earlier 7.x.x releases caused, but 6.x.x is still, by far, the superior app
for now.

------
EGreg
Google won in so many ways these past few years, but one of the biggest wins
over Apple was ironically... in the interface.

Google introduced the flat interface in its website and pioneered it in
Chrome. (Yes, IE had long ago been flat but it was ugly.) It even made the
icon completely flat. Android had simple, flat designs. Apple had nice
skeumorphism.

Then surprisingly both Microsof and Apple followed Google's design aesthetic!
Except Google does it better. Take Apple for example ... I thought I'd never
see the day when I'd aay Google's app interfaces are more consistent and
beautiful than Apple's. But it's true. They have buttons that look beautiful
when pressed, due to 3D hints. All their apps have the same consistent
aesthetic. Since iOS7, the aame cannot be said of Apple's apps.

It makes Google's suite of apps a pleasure to use. And speaking of the suite
side of Google, look at it:

Maps

YouTube

Analytics

These first two alone are the go to solutions for anyone who needs that stuff.
Want to show maps? Use Google (maybe bing). Want to embed video or link to
one? YouTube! (would you use vimeo on mobile?)

In short... Google is an indispensable part of everyone's mobile phone and can
charge for its large integrations.

------
matthuggins
I have an Android, and my wife has an iPhone. Recently, my phone was dead, and
my wife had to pull up directions for me on Apple Maps. For most of the ride,
I had a very tough time with Apple Maps.

The biggest 3 problems for me with Apple Maps were that: 1) the map was zoomed
in too far so I couldn't tell what turns were coming up; 2) as far as I could
tell, there was no textual representation of how far I needed to go on the
current road or which direction my next turn would be; 3) dragging the map is
not a "thing" in Apple Maps. I like to be able to drag the map to look ahead
at the route, and Apple just doesn't let you do that. You can only pivot
around your current GPS position, and since you're already zoomed in too far,
it doesn't help at all.

Apple may have "won" in the sense that they have claimed a lot of usage share,
but from the perspective of a satisfied Google Maps user, I certainly feel
like the end user has lost.

~~~
GrantS
I have no idea how things are in iOS 7, but in the original version of maps
that shipped with iOS 6, you press the "Overview" button at top right to be
able to zoom around the whole map and the 3-lines symbol at bottom left to see
the complete textual list of turn-by-turn directions. Have those options been
removed?

~~~
onedognight
Overview is in iOS7 and is exactly what the GP wants. Click the screen
anywhere, then press Overview.

~~~
matthuggins
Ahh, thanks. Not as intuitive as just pinching/dragging, that's for sure!

------
jccc
_Google [...] was kicked off the iPhone after it refused to give Apple access
to its voice-driven turn-by-turn map navigation [...]_

Er ... was that how it happened?

[http://allthingsd.com/20120926/apple-google-maps-talks-
crash...](http://allthingsd.com/20120926/apple-google-maps-talks-crashed-over-
voice-guided-directions/)

 _[Google] asked for in-app branding. Apple declined. It suggested adding
Google Latitude [giving up the location data of Apple 's users]. Again, Apple
declined._

 _[...] having chosen Google as its original mapping partner, the iPhone maker
was now in a position where an archrival was calling the shots on
functionality important to the iOS maps feature set._

Everything they make says "Designed by Apple in California," not "Designed by
Apple and a hundred other companies." Agree or disagree with the strategy,
that is the reason they did their own maps.

~~~
bnegreve
> _Everything they make says "Designed by Apple in California," not "Designed
> by Apple and a hundred other companies." Agree or disagree with the
> strategy, that is the reason they did their own maps._

What do you mean? The App Store is filled with apps designed by hundreds of
other companies. Why is it different for maps?

------
carlob
I have quit iOS just after iOS 4 came out: it was much much slower than iOS 3
on my iPhone 3G without much in term of new features (no multitasking, no home
screen wallpaper). Because of this I felt that Apple was pulling a Microsoft
on its huge mobile user base, forcing them into planned obsolescence.

When I bought an Android phone I instantly fell in love with the concept of
intents, where you can choose what app opens when you're click on an address,
a URL, a link or open up a keyboard. It was then I realized that this was
_exactly_ what Microsoft had been convicted for and what Mac users were so
vocal about in the nineties.

I still use a Mac, because I think that Windows is still prevalent enough that
Apple is forced to keep it honest, but the moment they will break that point
in mind- and market-share I'll be forced to migrate.

------
cheshire137
I tried the standalone Google Maps app on my iPhone after upgrading to iOS 6.
I deleted it a few months later after it repeatedly gave me some BS error
about the service not being available. This was on 3G and wifi. Googling for
that error, I found people saying it would go away if I logged back into my
Google account in the Google Maps app. No thank you, I don't want to have it
periodically log me out and force me to log back in, which requires opening
1Password and typing my long-ass master password on my phone keyboard. That
error kept it from showing any maps or directions. I opted to have sometimes-
incorrect map data from Apple Maps rather than no map data at all from Google
Maps.

------
Segmentation
If iOS ever completely dominates marketshare (probably unlikely since I think
Android still outsells it globally), I would expect antitrust lawsuits to
occur for Apple regarding iOS default programs. Much like Microsoft in the
past.

------
wnevets
Apple forcing users to use their map (or any) software is exactly why Google
needed to give the android OS away for free. Google would of been screwed on
mobile if they didnt push so hard with android.

------
atacrawl
My primary need in a maps app is to answer the question "how are the highways
in my metro area?" Google Maps nails it and Apple Maps doesn't, it's that
simple.

------
davidedicillo
While everyone bashes the quality of the data in Apple's map app, what really
makes it win for me is the perfect integration with everything else. I have to
use Google Maps when I bike because it gives me biking direction, but since
it's not fully integrated in the OS, often it doesn't give me the step by step
directions unless I'm in the app or if the phone goes black.

------
arkinus
I think that strategically, Apple would always have wanted its own Maps app.
As the article states, it's a hugely valuable source of road traffic and other
geo-related data.

The split was inevitable, and while Google may have accelerated the split, I
don't think it's really a mistake on their part.

------
auctiontheory
Opening Google Maps from Siri is tricky, and then the app crashes - often. You
don't want your voice navigation app to silently crash when you're on the
highway - you might not notice until you've missed your turnoff by twenty
miles.

------
venomsnake
If apple maps have ruler and scale displayed, they are head and shoulders
above the current incarnation of Android Google Maps. Which I found out two
days ago give you absolutely no way of measuring a distance, even a rough
guestimation.

~~~
kalleboo
Last time I used Google Maps on Android, the scale was an option you turned on
in "Labs" in the menu. Is that no longer possible?

~~~
venomsnake
I was talking about the application - there is no Labs - just checked. So no
ruler. Also the scale shows for just a second while zooming and then
disappear.

~~~
kalleboo
Looks like the removed it in Maps 7.0 a couple months ago
[http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/07/12/whats-really-new-
in-...](http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/07/12/whats-really-new-in-google-
maps-for-android-7-0-a-lot-heres-our-massive-unofficial-changelog/) I haven't
used Android since then which explains my confusion

------
egypturnash
I'll start using Apple Maps when it can do transit directions. I live in the
city; I don't need a car. Or know how to drive for that matter.

------
rcthompson
It sounds like Google Maps lost because Apple kicked them off iOS, not because
Apple Maps is a viabl competitor.

~~~
rjd
And the fact Google Maps interface is awful and Apple maps has more useful
contextual data.

Personally I used both Google Maps and Apple Maps to around navigate Australia
in a mobile home recently. At times both maps where useless, but generally
Google Maps was just awful.

Its been stated in this thread that Apple Maps is good enough, but the flip
side is, in rural Australia at least, Google Maps just isn't good enough.

------
mvkel
Higher market share percentage does not a win make.

A compromise in user experience is nothing but a loss for consumers.

------
dsirijus
If they bought out Foursquare... Oh my. Now _there 's_ an acquisition worth a
billion.

------
Camillo
For me, Google Maps's killer feature is still transit directions.

------
otikik
Android.

