Adam Kos Apple introduced its Maps app in 2012 and it was quite a mess. Almost 10 years later, however, it is already a very usable application - for road navigation. But in the world of navigation, it has one major competitor, and that is, of course, Google Maps. So does it make sense to use Apple's map app these days? It should be noted that there are more competitors, but the biggest one is Google. Of course, you can also use Waze or our popular Mapy.cz as well as any other offline navigation such as Sigic etc.
What's new in iOS 15
Apple has been improving its Maps over the years, and this year we saw some interesting news. With the interactive 3D globe, you can discover the natural beauty of our planet, including improved detailed views of mountain ranges, deserts, rainforests, oceans and other places. On the new map for drivers, you can clearly see traffic, including traffic accidents, and in the planner you can view the future route according to the time of departure or arrival. The redesigned public transport map gives you a new view of the city and shows the most important bus routes. In the new user interface, you can easily view and edit the route with one hand while riding public transport. And as you approach your destination stop, Maps will alert you that it's time to get off.
How to display an interactive globe in Maps in iOS 15
There are also all-new place cards, improved search, revamped map user posts, a new detailed view of selected cities, as well as turn-by-turn directions displayed in augmented reality to guide you where you need to go. But not everything is available to everyone, because it also depends on the location, especially with regard to the support of cities. And know that in our country it is poverty with need. So, even if the aforementioned applications can do everything, the question is whether you will really use it in our conditions.
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The competition is better in the documents
Personally, I rarely meet someone who really actively uses Apple Maps and does not rely only on those from competitors. At the same time, their power is obvious, because the user has them on an iPhone and Mac as if on a golden platter. But Apple made one mistake here. Again, he wanted to keep them under wraps, so he didn't offer them on competing platforms, similar to what happened with iMessage. Why then would all new users who already have some experience with Google or Seznam maps simply reach for Apple's?
Ignorance of Apple Maps
This is simply because the important functions are only present in the biggest cities. Any smaller, even district town, is out of luck. What is the point for me if I can choose public transport navigation here, or if Apple offers me cycle paths here? Not even in a single case, even in a city of 30 people, can he determine the arrival and departure of a bus, he can't show the way to a bus stop or ideally plan a cycle route, even though there are a lot of them (he just doesn't know about them).
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Amaya Toman The Czech Republic is a small market for Apple, so it is not worthwhile for the company to invest more in us. We know it with Siri, HomePod, Fitness+ and other services. So personally, I see Apple Maps as a great application, but it just doesn't make much sense to use it in our conditions. Although only one of these applications would be enough, instead of which I have to use three others, they are relied on anytime and almost anywhere. These are not only Google Maps for road navigation and Mapy.cz for hiking, but also IDOS for searching the departures of connections throughout the Czech Republic.
sigic???
The biggest problem I have with Apple Maps is that if you don't know the exact location of the target, they estimate something and pretend to know, and then the person reaches that street and wonders where it is, maybe a kilometer away somewhere else or in the next village... I would prefer if the maps they admitted that they could not find the target they were looking for but this. That makes it completely unusable for me, even if they had the best sources.
I once went to Plzeň to the ZOO, and Google Maps, after entering Plzeň Zoo in the search and then clicking on the route, led me somewhere among the barracks where there had obviously never been a ZOO. It got me right on the second try, but I just wanted to point out that when it comes to navigation, no app is perfect…
I have no problem with Apple Maps. I do what they have, I don't care about the city's public transport at all. On the contrary, compared to, for example, Google Maps, it is better in my opinion. The navigation at Google (on iOS) is absolutely dismal, the UI of their application is worth the old money.
I use Apple Maps when I'm looking for a street or place, but I can't use it for navigation. The navigation voice in Slovak is terribly robotic. I then use Sygic in the car. I recently started trying Waze, but there are a lot of things that bother me. Many things bother me about Sygic as well, but it is probably the most usable application for navigation for me.
I only use Apple Maps (and occasionally Dynavix voiced by Pavle Liška for fun) and I have yet to have Apple Maps give me the wrong directions, delay notifications not working, or any other problem. In addition, they are surprisingly good at announcing streets and numbers (although the Czech language is sometimes funny). I'm not interested in public transport, I don't use it, I prefer to drive for the last two years, it's safer and more comfortable. And most importantly, I don't have to install anything, update it and worry about it. Apple Maps could be better, but it has been usable for several years without any problems.
What is sigic?
The correct name is Sygic. It is a very interesting offline navigation, I have been using it for many years and it suits me very well
For navigation in the car, only Waze (police, radars, traffic situation), and otherwise Mapy.cz are unrivaled. Every stupid thing is written in them. From bus stops, house numbers to all businesses or hiking trails in the forest. When you're looking for something or need to get somewhere, it's the most important thing. To be honest, I have never used Apple Maps and will be useless for a long time.
I drive around Prague by car with Apple maps without any problems. But I never asked them to know when the bus was coming.. that's true.
I use Apple Maps for navigation in the car, Mapy.cz for tourism, IDOS for public transport, and I have recently come to love citymove in Prague. I find that when an app is too general, it doesn't handle anything very well. I used to look for something universal, whether in devices or applications, to get more for the same money, so to speak, but it is often better to use more purposeful things, which in the end save more time and money. I used to use google maps but they are redundant for me now.
I like Apple Maps graphically, but they have big gaps in the brackets. In Prague, several streets have been closed for reconstruction for half a year, and Apple Maps still guides me to them. It would be nice if Apple created a team in each country to respond to changes and user reports like Waze did. Thanks to this, the data in Waze is very up-to-date. Unfortunately, as far as Waze is concerned, long routes are often miscalculated. On the way from Prague to Poprad, she drove me through a garden colony in Zlín. Needlessly.
And as for Google maps, they are unusable in CarPlay. I don't understand how a company like Google can pass the idea of making white paths on a light gray background. When navigating, intersections and side streets are not visible at all. In addition, Google Maps has not yet learned to mute the voice navigation in case of an incoming phone call. Otherwise, they have the best materials.
Apple Maps can't find practically any address in my area or in the surrounding municipalities. When I try to add some addresses via "Report a problem", nothing happens for half a year. And when I chat with Apple support, they want me to restart the phone, check the time settings, … :D
So I use the navigation integrated in my car, sometimes I use Waze because of the closures.
Well, as the author writes. Anyone who has used Google Maps has no reason to look for anything else…. Until the time when in Germany (in Bayeris Eisenstein) I entered a route that I know well just for fun. Of course, it led me along the longer route and about 100m before the finish line, it led me to a side road. I think to myself, oh, it's also possible to get there somehow from the back... Well, after about 2 km, when I was of course looking for where to turn, it navigated me to some forest road, which may have been in that direction, but it served me to turn around. So now only Apple maps and so far no problems. So much for Google Maps..
I drive about 180 Km a year and I use Google and Here - Here are the most up-to-date when it comes to new buildings...
I used Sygic, Waze and Maps.cz. I resented Sygic when it led me completely senselessly through smaller villages on side roads in Austria, regardless of which mode I chose. Waze is good, but I don't like adding waypoints, it doesn't show km/time to the destination but to the waypoint. I admired Mapy.cz when they guided me very precisely to the right exit on the 5-lane section of the motorway ring in Vienna. The verbal instruction was at the ideal moment to change gears (it was necessary to change gears approx. 3 times).