Will Apple Maps ever catch up with its competition? It doesn't look like it yet

Apple products initially relied on maps from rival Google, specifically between 2007 and 2009. However, the companies subsequently became uneasy. This gave the Cupertino giant the motivation to develop its own solution, which we saw in September 2012 under the name Apple Maps. But it's no secret that apple maps are significantly behind their competition and have been struggling with failure practically since their launch.

Although Apple Maps has improved significantly in recent years, it still does not reach the quality offered by the aforementioned Google. Moreover, those improvements came rather only for the United States of America. Where Apple Maps has the upper hand are functions such as Flyover, where we can see some cities from a bird's eye view and possibly view them in 3D, or Look Around. It is Look Around that offers the user interactive panoramas taken directly from the car in the given streets. But there is one catch – this feature is only available in seven US cities. Will we ever see a meaningful improvement?

Apple Maps: Look around

iPad Look Around 2

iPad Look Around

iPad Look Around 1

Apple Maps Look Around 1

Apple Maps Look Around 3

Apple Maps Look Around 2

Improvements to Apple Maps in sight

As we mentioned above, the question is whether and when we will see any real improvement. Can Apple actually catch up with its competition and provide solid map software for the territory of Europe? Unfortunately, it doesn't look very good for now. Google is several levels ahead and will not let its imaginary first place be taken away. It remains to be seen how quickly Apple can actually operate. A great example is some functions or services. For example, Apple Pay, a payment method that was available in the United States as early as 2014, arrived here only in February 2019.

Then we still have the mentioned services, which we have not seen yet. We therefore do not have News+, Fitness+, or even Czech Siri available. Because of this, the HomePod mini smart speaker is not even (officially) sold here. In short, we are a small market without much potential for Apple. This approach is subsequently reflected in everything else, including maps. Smaller states are simply unlucky and will probably not see any major changes. On the other hand, it is also a question whether we are even interested in Apple Maps. Why should we switch to another solution when we have been using a proven alternative in the form of Mapy.cz and Google Maps for several years?