Ondrej Holzman Od debacle in 2012, which brought the arrival of Apple's own maps, the Californian company took great care to properly improve its map service. Advances have made Apple Maps really big and for many users it has already become an equal competitor to Google maps. However, it is still not enough in the Czech Republic.
A fundamental change came in iOS 9, in which Apple improved its maps in almost every aspect and offered users similar options that they could have found long before, for example, with the aforementioned Google. After all, its maps are among the most used ever, so Apple cannot compare with anyone smaller.
On the blog Thrillist now Joe McGauley he wrote "Why You Should Ditch Google Maps in favor of Apple Maps" in which he described his experiences and made a few points that make Apple's product worth trying again after years of turning up your nose. At the same time, however, these points perfectly illustrate why exactly such a thing - i.e. replacing Google in this case with Apple - does not make sense in the Czech Republic.
Let's look at McGauley's arguments for Apple Maps in order.
"Mass transit navigation is infinitely better than Google Maps"
It is possible, but there is one big catch - in the Czech Republic, we will not come across any bus, train, tram or metro timetables. Apple is releasing this data gradually and currently has only a fraction of the market covered, mainly the United States and growing in China. Therefore, if a Czech user wants to have everything together, including public transport, Apple Maps will definitely not be his choice.
"Now you can trust Siri to navigate you"
Speaking is actually faster than typing, and if you're driving, for example, calling up navigation by voice is very useful and safe too. But even Siri does not work at all in the Czech Republic, so this handy function is again denied to us.
Although Google Maps does not have a comprehensive voice assistant, you can also comfortably dictate all the waypoints or destination points you are looking for. You then have to start navigation by pressing a button, but the experience is not as distant as with Siri.
"Searches are faster and more specific than Google Maps"
Again the problem of our market. Searching can perhaps be faster and more efficient, but in the Czech Republic you will be rather frustrated by searching in Apple Maps. While Google Maps pretends to be a "Czech product" and usually automatically searches for places and points of interest within the Czech Republic, Apple will easily stick the first pin in Mexico, even though it is obvious that you are definitely not looking for your favorite restaurant there.
In addition, the use of Apple Maps in the Czech Republic is fundamentally disadvantaged by the weak database of all points of interest, such as shops, restaurants and other places that you might want to search for on the map. I really rarely failed with Google, in a direct comparison I only occasionally succeeded with specific locations in Apple Maps.
"Turn-by-turn navigation on the iPhone lock screen"
Always visible navigation when the iPhone is locked is really useful. After all, this demonstrates the advantage of a built-in application. Google will never have access to such a feature as a third party. However, the question is, how often will we have the iPhone locked while the navigation is running?
However, if Apple Maps has something extra that users in the Czech Republic can use, it is this little thing. It may come in handy for some in certain situations.
"Superman City Tour"
McGauley called the so-called FlyOver a "Superman" function, which is a very effective interactive 3D tour of the city, where you feel as if you are flying over it in a helicopter. FlyOver has been a part of Apple Maps since the very beginning, and the company likes to show it off as a feature that sets it apart from the competition. This is indeed the case, but in the end it is just a function for effect, which in reality is not very useful. I turned on FlyOver myself perhaps only at the moment when they were added to it Brno a Prague.
Google Maps is much more effective with its Street View, when, for example, I show you a photo of the house or place you are looking for when you arrive at your destination. Apple is trying to catch up with Google in this respect, but we certainly won't see it in the Czech Republic anytime soon.
"Send coordinates from Mac directly to iPhone"
Sending searched routes via Handoff from Mac to iPhone and vice versa is handy. At home, you plan your trip on your computer, and so that you don't have to enter it again in the iPhone, just send it wirelessly to it. Although Google does not have a native OS X application, on the other hand, everything you search for on any device (where you are logged in under your Google account) is synchronized, so even on an iPhone you can immediately find what you were looking for on a Mac a while ago. Apple's "system" solution is a bit more convenient, but Google is doing its best to offer a similar experience.
"Apple improves data to avoid traffic jams and find faster routes"
As for traffic information, the Czech Republic is (perhaps somewhat surprisingly) among the roughly thirty countries in which Apple provides this data. Even with Apple Maps, you shouldn't needlessly stand in a queue when there is currently a faster way to your destination, but again, it's mainly about catching up with Google.
For example, driving through Prague at rush hour can really take you much less time with Google Maps if you choose faster routes and monitor the current traffic situation. Apple should offer this to a similar extent, but Google scores, for example, by integrating third-party applications. Reports on current traffic events, for example, from the Waze community (which Google bought).
***
From the above, it is not too difficult to deduce that discarding Google Maps in favor of Apple Maps may not exactly be a step in the right direction in the Czech Republic. Most of the arguments that American users present for this move are either invalid or at least debatable here.
Apple Maps will not offer Czech users anything extra compared to Google Maps, which have more accurate and voluminous data, which you will feel when navigating. In addition, Google really tries and improves its iPhone app regularly. He added in the last update a very handy function of "pit tracks" and integrated 3D Touch. Apple maps, on the other hand, do not offer very advanced options, for example, not even such a basic one as avoiding tolled sections.
Apple Maps still has a long way to go. Google clearly remains the global number one, and for many people it will be in the Czech Republic as well, even if they have an iPhone in their pocket.
Well, I would cut it in a different way. HERE are currently the best in my opinion thanks to the offline map download mode.
I'm quite surprised that Apple still doesn't offer this - if it does, I'm sorry, but I haven't figured out where to download the maps.
For what nowadays? I dealt with this last time with Nokia with Symbian... Another iPhone user turning off mobile data?
What if you need to go shopping abroad and don't want to pay a ridiculous amount for data abroad?
I don't turn off data, I have 5 GB in the Czech Republic and 300 MB abroad - but I travel there often and waste data on navigation when I can have it downloaded? In addition, for example, the islands in the UK are poorly covered only from the 2G part, for example. Then online navigation sucks.
And such deaf places without a signal are also in Germany, Austria in the Alps, etc.
The ability to download maps is in the first place for me - I will survive not having up-to-date information about traffic.
deaf places in cr where there is max edge and there is still no speech. it happened more than once that I couldn't even find a place in the online map, let alone navigate. it took an inordinate amount of time to calculate the route, sometimes it didn't even succeed... it's not reliable
There are not only Here maps, but also BoR, maps me and many other offline apps
426kahemi – another user who did not leave town in the Czech Republic
Locked phone while navigating – yes, while navigating a walking route, with the phone in your pocket and only occasionally pulled out at a junction.
I often go on business trips. And definitely game maps. 1. offline maps of the whole world 2. super interface 3. website where I make groups of points of interest, prepare routes... in addition, I work a lot on game maps and try to make them as user friendly as possible.
Exactly, I used HERE for years on WP and it is probably the best free navigation and it has a decent position among the paid ones. Also, I hate Google - personal aversion - so I don't use their products.
I would probably use Apple Maps if they could be downloaded.
It seems to me that you have forgotten a very important thing and that Google Maps consumes incomparably more data followed by Apple Maps and finally Waze, which consumes about 50 MB in half a year of use.
But you can download Google OFFLINE
which you always remember exactly when you're only on mobile data :-)
The thing that bugs me the most about Apple Maps is that they don't admit when they don't lead. I'll try them from time to time and when they bother me again, I'll go back to google maps, which either say they don't know or I'm navigating. My point is that Apple Maps, if I don't know the house number but only the street, will show a pin and you can start the navigation, but after arriving at the place you will find out that it led you somewhere in the middle of the street and you have to look for the number yourself. I don't do google maps...
I don't know about you, but 3D touch doesn't work for me with the latest version of google maps. After pressing the display, it behaves the same as with the application without 3d touch. Probably some kind of bug..
Well, I use Apple Maps for Car Play, so it's clear there too.
How many times has it happened to me that Apple Maps confidently guided us to another house on the same street or pretended not to know this house number at all. Google Maps is reliable in this so far.
And what about the Superman-style tour of the town of Jeseník - that's where Apple is particularly successful. To the west it's a bit more detailed, but again just black and white. Who does Apple want to compete with?
For me numero uno is definitely Apple Maps. Their smaller data requirements, higher speed, car play, integration with iOS and calendar, communication with Watch.
Yeah, so you're not from Jeseník. :-)))