In my personal experience Google Maps has better navigation data, better place information and overall much better maps. The user contributed content makes the platform such a pleasure to use even if you are in remote parts of the world.
On my iPhone I think Apple Maps has a vastly better navigation UI. Part of that is its first-party ability to turn the phone screen on when issuing instructions for upcoming maneuvers, which I much prefer to having the screen on constantly for a multi-hour trip (not to mention working well with Siri). Part of it is the overall aesthetic of the map features. I really like how it highlights traffic lights along your route to let you easily count how many lights are remaining until you need to turn.
That said, even here in the Bay Area I tend to do a sanity check of the route on Google Maps first if I’m taking an unfamiliar route. Just a few months ago a section of I-80 was closed just south of SF and Apple Maps had no clue! I believe it was a fairly last-minute schedule change for some planned construction due to vastly reduced traffic during the lockdowns.
I’ve used Google Maps since it first came out on the nexus one. I recently made the switch to Apple Maps. And it’s like stepping into a new world.
There’s the maps layout and where I want to go and my route. That’s it. Google Maps has ads. Switching between Apple Maps and Google Maps really shows how the Google product has friction and information overload. We are talking about a Maps app. Less is better unless I ask for it. Apple has nailed the color scheme, layout, and information density. If I need more information that Apple Maps doesn’t provide, I double check google maps. On a long trip, I will check routes from both apps. Apple Maps and google maps show the same route and same time and same traffic congestions for me. I rely more and more on Apple Maps now.
> which I much prefer to having the screen on constantly for a multi-hour trip
I’ve found myself swinging in the other direction. I tend to glance at Waze for my speed instead of my own speedometer, but I’ve been driving a mixed bag of cars lately.
For me having those stop signs and signals show up in navigation is big plus for Apple maps. I have a pixel phone but if I'm driving with my spouse I always use her apple maps
One great thing with the Apple Maps UI is that when using CarPlay it gives you a 3D view of the street. So you're really seeing buildings on the left and right, which has helped me not overshoot some destinations because I can 'see' the building in the map, and then irl.
Judging from the responses here, some of the reasons seem to be because Apple Maps is much more vertically integrated with iOS, and that doesn't seem like a good thing to me. Sure, you may get a better experience, but that's more likely because Apple is keeping Google Maps from getting as good than because it's a better solution, period. I have no love for Google but that's not a good model, and I feel like this kind of thing is making Spotify's case for Apple being a monopoly much stronger.
You don't need particularly tight integration with the operating system to make a good maps app; you'd want access to CarPlay, which Google Maps has, and you'd probably want a good sharing extension, which I don't think Google Maps has but could if Google cared about making better iOS apps than they seem to. Google is rather notorious for being very, very slow to adopt new iOS features in their apps, and it's definitely not because Apple is making it difficult for them to do so.
The history here is also at least worth a passing mention -- the iOS Maps app originally used Google mapping services. The reason Apple built their own back end is because Google refused to give them access to vector-based maps and turn-by-turn navigation unless Apple shared more user data with Google than they were willing to provide.
I also find that Apple Maps respects local mapping conventions. For example in New Zealand Google treats all state highways as equivalent and uses the same weight and colour line for all of them, but Apple Maps follows the NZ convention and assigns appropriate weights to the minor roads.
For those not familiar "state highway" simply means the central government agency pays for upkeep, rather than indicating any particular road quality or status.
Not OP, but I'm in the same boat. Agreed Google Maps' data is better. Their routing is sometimes better. But I still prefer Apple Maps in most cases. For me, it comes down to a few UX things:
* iPhone + Apple Watch combo is amazing to use w/ Apple Maps. Audible & haptic alerts on your wrist change how one interacts with the turn-by-turn directions, and it's an improvement.
* The fact that iPhone nav is available on the lock screen is a huge help. Doesn't require full unlock to get to the map.
* Apple Maps just seems to handle the accelerometer in the iPhone better. I found that Google Maps never knows what direction I'm facing/walking, and it jumps all over the place all the time. Apple Maps is just smoother and better to use.
The only thing that's missing in Apple Maps is bicycle directions, but apparently that's coming in iOS 14, which is great.
The main time I find myself using Apple Maps is when visiting China. Google Maps is blocked so the place data isn't as great, and the local apps are in Chinese, which I'm illiterate in.
I similarly find Apple Pay great for traveling, and easier to use than a credit card.
But, on my no-longer-bleeding-edge iPhone, the turn-by-turn directions suck. It's constantly telling me to turn onto a street I just passed, or rerouting to find a way to get me back to the street that I'm already on. The worst part is that I can't trust it even when it's right. If it says "in 300 feet turn left," I have to desperately look at the street names because it's quite possible that I actually have to turn in 30 feet.
It was such a relief when I realized that it's not my GPS hardware, Apple Maps gives directions perfectly. And the map data is way better than it used to be. Not as good as Google Maps, but good enough.
I hate Google maps when it shuts itself off with a 'journey complete' status while I'm still looking for the corner or the building that I was supposed to arrive at.
Yeah, I really liked when Pixel integrated the phone number bit into dialer itself. I can start typing a business name and it just pulls in from Google maps.
The iPhone I have now is a work phone, so don't use maps a lot, should see if it has improved.
I'm pretty sure Apple Maps is using Yelp's data for business hours -- those seemed to be mostly reliable until the pandemic. Now, not so much. I don't know if Google is doing better on that point.
Its really small, but for me its traffic lights. It's SOOOO much easier to be navigating and say, turn in two lights, instead of "turn in the next three streets". Especially on busy roads when you need to be in a certain lane to make that left or right hand turn.
Google maps added this to their desktop app [1] and maybe their iOS app, but apple has had this for years.
Also Apple maps offers saved places in an offline, non-synced way. Google requires access to all my location data to save places (like web bookmarks) and that's just too privacy invasive for me.
Even a few years ago I preferred the way a few-block area was represented on Apple Maps vs Google Maps. Apple Maps seemed to be much better at showing relevant landmarks and business names, where Google Maps would randomly select some businesses that happened to have an address there, but often no signage, etc.
Both applications would select the same number of businesses to show (obviously not showing ALL names due to density restrictions on the screen and clutter), but the Google ones were just so painfully arbitrary, and Apple's building skeletons seemed a lot more relevant/recognizable.
In my experience, Apple Maps has been more up to date with recent changes to roads here in Norway. There was a new tunnel here recently, and it was updated in Apple Maps when it opened, while with Google Maps it took a while.
I'm guessing that it depends a lot on the area. Google Maps is still probably better in most places, but Apple Maps is catching up and may be better in some populated places. It's impressive considering the head-start Google has.
Apple should add an option of OpenStreetMaps overlay or something. OSM has been better than Google Maps in mapping paths in the forest and such here.
Not the parent commenter, but while I still use Google Maps over Apple Maps, I constantly have issues with the former.
I've put in business addresses or searched the business themselves, and then had it route me to a residential block behind the business on a completely different street, sometimes multiple blocks away from it. This is even after confirming the exact address is being shown and everything.
I only really use Google Maps because it's what I've been using, and I kind of like that its UI is a bit simpler with less animations and things than Apple Maps.
I don't have unlimited data, and I have found Apple maps is much lighter on data use than Google. I have also found that even if I don't have a solid connection Apple maps seems to still be capable of giving me directions quickly, whereas on the other hand with Google I may never get directions.
1 - It actually runs smoothly on my iPhone 11. Google Maps stutters and yanks. Yes, Google cannot build a performing maps app for the fastest phone in the world.
2 - It is a map. Not a yellow pages of coffee places, not an Instagram with amateur photos of locations.
Have you tried it lately? It gets better with each iteration, and the street photos are way better where they exist. The satellite and aerial photos are also better in most places that I travel too.
Also, the Google Maps app has gotten much more cluttered and complex than in past versions. They are still the gold standard map, but they regress over time.
In my personal experience Google Maps has better navigation data, better place information and overall much better maps. The user contributed content makes the platform such a pleasure to use even if you are in remote parts of the world.