Background
The launch of Apple Maps was one of the company’s most embarrassing episodes. It made many areas of the world look like they’d been hit by a major earthquake, had countless errors, and some of its routing was so bad that Australian Police warned that it could put people’s lives at risk.
Indeed, things were so bad that CEO Tim Cook was forced to not only issue a public apology, but actually recommend that iPhone owners install competing apps. It was also the primary (though not the only) reason for then-head of iOS software Scott Forstall being fired.
It’s also notable that the majority of US iPhone owners have installed Google Maps, even though Apple Maps comes preinstalled.
Apple Maps versus Google Maps today
But a Wall Street Journal report says that things are changing.
The company then spent years trying to fix the service. Now, according to customers and user-experience analysts, it has. Some users are finding reasons to switch to Apple Maps.
The main reason suggested is that Apple has managed to beat Google when it comes to public transit directions. As an example, it cites New Yorker Jason Rabinowitz.
The 37-year-old airline-industry analyst moved back to an iPhone in 2015. As a New Yorker, he relies more on transit directions than driving directions. A few years ago, after Apple promoted some new transit features, he gave Apple Maps a try and the results surprised him.
He now thinks Apple Maps suggests creative, faster routes and manages the unpredictability of subway outages better than Google does. He recommends it to friends and family who visit.
Rabinowitz also likes Apple Maps’ cleaner transit view versus the more cluttered design of Google Maps. He calls Google’s transit layer “sinfully ugly to look at.”
User experience consultant Peter Ramsey says that Apple Maps used to be so bad that people would proactively open Google Maps, even though map links within other apps would open Apple Maps by default. But fewer people do so today.
One Apple Maps weakness can be a strength
Although Apple has been working hard on increasing business listings among other things, the fact that it is still behind Google does make for cleaner-looking maps. Former Google Maps user Jane Natoli says this helps when navigating using the app.
On Google Maps sometimes it’s difficult to figure out the street name, no matter how closely you zoom in, she says. “Google is showing me restaurants, bars and other things, but I’m not necessarily looking for that,” she says.