Archived version: https://archive.ph/hguLn
Excerpt (and context):
Apple Maps’ offering might surprise people who remember its disastrous launch in 2012, which the Guardian described as the company’s “first significant failure in years”. Users were more than furious – they were lost, sometimes dangerously so. In Australia, police had to rescue tourists from the huge Murray-Sunset national park, after Maps placed the city of Mildura in the wrong place by more than 40 miles. Some of the motorists located by police had been stranded for 24 hours without food or water. In Ireland, ministers had to complain directly to Apple after a cafe and gardens called “Airfield” was designated by the service as an actual airport.
But mostly the map was just glitchy and unhelpful, its directions always a little off kilter. Users revolted and Apple made a rare retreat, allowing Google Maps to be used as the default on many iPhone apps and apologizing for the product.
It’s pretty good. Using it locally as well as internationally (to France and back). Haven’t faced any issues, really. The only thing that is, to me at least, pants on the head levels of stupid, is not having cycling directions in The Netherlands of all places. Come on!!
not good, sometimes still trying to use it and get lost from time to time
Counter-point. I have used Maps over the past 8-ish years exclusively on three thousands-of-miles cross-country (US) excursions on my motorcycle, I use it to locate unpaved/off-beaten path roads to take, and I use it regularly as my local way finder and when I am in unfamiliar cities. Not once has it lead me astray…
I use it constantly in city and rural areas and find it works pretty well for me.
Yeah, I’ve been using it for years and it’s been perfectly fine
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But with one earbud in and Siri activated, you can have a friendly voice guide you through a foreign city, drifting you towards cycle lanes and safer routes and navigating often complex one-way systems.
In my hometown of London, where a lot of cycling routes are pathways in woods or through reservoirs, it has a habit of sending you down these dark and sometimes dangerous paths at night when the streets are much quicker and mostly empty.
In the post-apocalyptic, post-internet world in HBO’s The Last Of Us, there’s a scene in which the main character Joel, having spent weeks traversing an icy wasteland, happens upon a small cottage inhabited by an old couple.
As Cue himself recognises, “there are really only two mapmakers left in the world, in ourselves and Google” – and that monopoly of information, says Clancy Wilmott, a professor specialising in digital cartographies at Berkley, has consequences.
For their part, the Apple Maps engineers I spoke with acknowledged that they were more reliant on AI, aerial photography and existing data in rural settings and were focusing on expanding to more cities.
I’d say: ‘Once you’re on Ascension and you see the brick column, that driveway right after is mine.’ We’ve been working hard on that as well,” Cue says, adding that the future might be Siri telling you to “make a left at the yellow house”.
I’m an android user and Apple maps has become a real problem numerous times in the past for me. My daily work involves me and multiple people traveling from one place to another and meeting at odd places (event production). And people using Apple maps can go from something simple as them not being able to find a destination in a search to being sent to the wrong location way far away, tricked into going down over way streets, and the most annoying, directed straight into bumper to bumper traffic. Ugh, everyone learns the first time but still…
I use OSMAnd whenever I can
In Australia, police had to rescue tourists from the huge Murray-Sunset national park, after Maps placed the city of Mildura in the wrong place by more than 40 miles. Some of the motorists located by police had been stranded for 24 hours without food or water.
I don’t remember this stuff at all, but it is quite amazing that a) Apple Maps was that bad and b) people blindly followed it’s directions to that extent without checking a real map or just applying some common sense based on the signage along major roads.
The official government maps that are that bad.
For example we used to have a road running along the edge of our property which didn’t exist. It was planned and budgeted 60 years ago but they never built it. The non-existent road was about 15km long and everyone who lived along it had no alternative. There was just a bush track which ran through private property (across a dozen properties).
I deliver pizza and I’d say probably half my coworkers use it over Google. I’ve used both but I think I prefer Google maps.
I’ve actually really liked Bing Maps’ routing options online but they don’t have an app and don’t seem to be expanding in that direction
I switched over to Apple Maps from Google Maps around 5 years ago. Still go back for certain kinds of details, but in general Apple’s offering works better for navigation for me.
Same. AM has been terrific for a long time now. And I’d say for directions and mapping, AM is essentially the same as GM. Where AM really shines is the quality, speed and responsiveness, especially when it comes to features like street view. The quality is insane compared to GM.
It’s better than it used to be, but still sometimes takes me on ridiculously circuitous routes.
I use Apple maps almost exclusively because it’s easier with my car. Works great. The only thing I’ve noticed is when someone warns me there’s a crash on my route, Google generally is already routing me around it while apple is sending me through it.
I haven’t used Apple maps because I have an android phone. But I can tell you that Google maps is steaming hot garbage now. The UI is so bloated and unintuitive.
For me personally, gmaps hast best ui and features from allandroid navigation apps I tried.
I find it works great for navigation and the map quality is so much better than Google Maps. My only complaints are that it lacks extra features such as business information, reviews, etc. It’s better than it used to be but they still use things like Yelp (ugh) at least in my area.
I ended up using Apple maps when I was in Japan and it worked great, drove all over the place and it got me where I needed to go. I tried Google maps but it kept reading the kanji street names as if they were chinese and it was really confusing.
I’ve been using it in lieu of google maps for quite some time now and it seems to work fine. It no longer assumes I’m The Blues Brothers and direct me to drive straight through shopping malls.
