> I don't understand why the Apple Maps team has been so slow on features
Have they ? Every major iOS update has major updates to the Maps app.
It is slowly bridging the gap with Google Maps and the issues are still mainly with POIs which Apple arguably can never fix. Unless of course they do their own Street View and invent their own captcha system.
>... whether Apple Maps or Google Maps is better depends on where you are and what data you're trying to find.
I've given Apple Maps several chances to delight me since 2012 and have submitted multiple bug reports and feature requests. While the product has improved significantly, it needs a few years of development to match the current offerings from Google. The inaccuracies in the search results for local businesses/parks/points of interest is unacceptable and should be a priority for the Maps team if Apple has any intention of feeding data into a device that will take humans from point A -? B -? C. Also, not being able to create waypoints/multi-leg routes is simply unacceptable in 2016. For most Apple Maps users, I suspect it takes only one shitty search result page for them to give up and use Google Maps.
There are some deep, systemic issues that Apple needs to address:
1) The accuracy and freshness of their data
2) The ability to return fast, intelligent search results from their data
3) Siri's ability to understand user intention when being asked for location data and directions
I'm rooting for Apple, I really am - It just seems that they are having a rough time catching the tailwinds of Google.
> the maps thing is unfortunate, but I'm sure it will get better
Based on what? The problem in the first place is that this is an insanely hard problem that is in the centre of Google's core competencies (data gathering, search, data munching; all on a ridiculously massive scale). Apple makes hardware and an operating system and some apps for it. Where in that set of core competencies does it indicate they have what it takes to tackle this and yield the quality google has (who have poured a rather large fortune into it (they bought the satellites for google maps so they could reshoot to avoid clouds), the have paid for high tech trucks to run down every road in an increasingly large collection of cities. And then massive human QA teams)
This isn't what apple does and it was massive hubris on their part to think they could tackle this and come anywhere near the level of google maps, or their usual standard of excellence. I remain extremely dubious that there is any "quick" fix to their problem. It's not like the screwed up an algorithm and this is a bug, this is a massive problem that they've barely started to tackle.
If Apple does realize what it's going to take to compete at this and doubles down on it, it's still going to take a year or two for them to catch up. And that's an if. So Apple Maps/iOS5 combo is a write off. Probably iOS6 too. You want good mapping the next few years, stick with google. Maybe after that Apple will have something worth looking at, just as likely maybe not.
> Apple Maps is so bad that people go out of their way to install another map app
That used to be the case, but they’ve rapidly improved while Google Maps on iOS has mostly stagnated. There’s feature in Apple Maps on iOS 13 that I find useful that nobody else has even.
> This feels like something Apple could have executed well by themselves. I was hoping they weren't going to outsource
Who is to say they aren't eventually going to replace the OpenAI integration with an in-house solution later down the line? Apple Maps was released in 2012, before that they relied on Google Maps.
>Speaking as a developer and as someone who spends a lot of time configuring and using iPhones, this is is not surprising and indicative of nothing. The native Apple apps on iPhones have access to resources we as third party developer's can't touch, and integration with each other that no third party developer can even come close to matching unless we reinvent half the OS.
Not really relevant as the exact same situation (plus having to install it manually) didn't stop Google Maps be used more than Apple's in the first years of the Apple Maps service.
There's also this: somehow Google Maps keeps getting worse. Even on the Desktop version with the horrible redesign, but also the iOS app after they split it with Apple was horrible (it couldn't even zoom at the level you wanted reliably).
Something is showing Apple that it is broken. I am betting it is user rates. Google has taken over iPhones for so much of it and I am sure they don't like the fact that Google Maps are used more then Apple Maps.
On my imperical evidence side, my daughter uses Apple Maps and I can tell you it gives back mapping when we are less then an hour away but more then 20 minutes. For example the way i drive isn't on Apple Maps and it adds 5 minutes to the trip and Google Maps has the trip 5 minutes faster. I don't know if Google is getting that data from my driving or from better algorithms but it has happened for then a few times.
I thought the same thing till I bought my new car recently and started using Maps due to Carplay. It has MASSIVELY improved since launch. In fact, my wife is an Android user and we will compare them regularly on trips and in many case Apple Maps will cover parts of the route that Google Maps will not. An example is gated communities, Google Maps usually ends at the gate, Apple Maps will route to the house.
I think Google Maps has better traffic data (but that’s thanks to buying Waze), but Apple Maps has better routing. Google Maps has more up to date POI data, but Apple Maps is not far behind. Try it again and see, you still may be prefer Google Maps but it’s not the night and day difference between the two it once was.
> 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
I'm surprised that you're surprised, It's not really typical for Apple to improve an open source solution instead of build and lock their own. Or am I unaware of Apple contributions here and there?
> a majority of iOS users are in fact using Apple Maps.
That does not contradict the fact that many people install Google Maps. Reread my comments.
> Btw, you can trigger Google Maps with Siri by creating a simple shortcut and when you search for a place on google.
That does not make it work in all apps.
The app is crippled in iOS, yet people still go out of their way to use it to avoid the dumpster fire that is Apple Maps, many years after Apple Maps launched. If Apple Maps existed on Android, it would have barely any users at all, even though Apple Maps would have access to exactly the same APIs as Google Maps on Android. I'm sure Apple would like to have the traffic data that Android users could provide, but they understand that they can't get that data if nobody uses their app.
>The strangest part is that the annoyances aren’t getting any better over time.
Like most of what apple releases lately. People claim apple maps is better now, but its still missing a lot of data around the LA area especially with local business that Google maps has no issue crawling, and generally shoddy navigational asks (like unprotected lefts). Siri has also gotten no better since its release 10 years ago now (wow), if anything it defers to coarsly googling my terms more and throwing me the first couple irrelevant results as a response. If I wanted to do that I would open a browser and touch to talk into the search field.
It's pretty good in most places and straight up terrible in others. Google maps tends to have higher lows even though there definitely are cases when Apple's highs are actually higher. But you have to remember: users are using this for going to new places. They don't know they're getting the lowest of the low quality results until it's too late. After a few times getting burned, most people just give up on it which means their most recent impression of it is probably post-failure where-the-fuck-am-I panic.
>What would it take for that impression to go away?
Raise those lows up. I almost think it'd be better for it actually give up and say "I don't know" instead of possibly routing users incorrectly. Users will still think it sucks but they won't be stressed out about the sucky-ness and might be willing to try it again later. From my experience, Siri is a good example of this. It's probably the worst "assistant" out there but it's pretty good about knowing when to give up so users can just Google something.
>I really want to use Apple Maps full time on my iPhone, just because of how much clutter Google Maps has accumulated on the screen.
Apple Maps UI: A big map, with a search bar at the bottom. Simple and nothing but the essentials.
Google Maps UI: A page full of ads, a map full of ads and ads masquerading as recommendations. Plus five tab bar buttons at the bottom to not accomplish very much.
I've switched to Apple Maps simply because of its better UX and how much easier the app is to use. As far as I can tell, their mapping and navigational data in Canada is every bit as good as Google's. The only thing keeping Google Maps on my phone is their superior reviews. Once Apple replaces Yelp reviews, I'll jettison the Google Maps app into the sun.
>> Honestly, I think Apple is wasting resources at competing with other companies by providing mediocre solutions.
The fact that Apple Maps exists forces Google to dedicate resources towards keeping Google Maps decent on Apple's platform. Competition is good, even if you don't use the competing product.
> to a lesser extent Apple both have a huge lead in this space
When Apple maps first came out, it was terrible. Now it's actually pretty solid - I've heard Apple is very actively contributing to try and really solidify their maps data, but I wonder if the personnel requirements make this an expensive proposition in the first place...
It goes both ways. There's a possibility that this is a gambit from Google, either to cripple iOS in favor of Android or to simply extort higher fees for Google Maps.
I think the software user experience of iOS Maps is actually better than Google Maps, from the visual design of the maps to the 3D flyover mode to the turn-by-turn directions. The problem is the data. We've seen Apple underestimate how hard some problem are before--MobileMe was Apple underestimating how hard cloud stuff is, Ping was Apple underestimating social. I think Apple just underestimated the problem of map data.
The good news is, the data problem actually can be solved with cash. Design and software problems can't.
Have they ? Every major iOS update has major updates to the Maps app.
It is slowly bridging the gap with Google Maps and the issues are still mainly with POIs which Apple arguably can never fix. Unless of course they do their own Street View and invent their own captcha system.
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