There was a time when using Apple Maps was a risky sport due to the many problems it had. Although they were long gone, since it was at that time that it was born in 2012. It was not in vain that it led to the dismissal of Scott Forstall, called to be one of Steve Jobs’ successors. However, My recent experience with Apple Maps has not been good. Not disastrous, although it had some elements that left something to be desired.
See, as an example of my bad experience, the fact that I confused a wide bike path with a stretch of road reserved for cars or that I did not have updated street names. However, I had long combined the use of Apple Maps with Google Maps and Waze, trusting Apple only for the city. That’s why I wanted to give it a chance as the only app for a long trip. And I’m already anticipating that It surprised me for the better..
With CarPlay, everything is easier
My vacation trip was over 1,000 miles (counting the round trip, as well as the drive to my destination). And while I could have carried the iPhone on a car mount, the truth is that it was absurd to have a car that supported CarPlay. Everything on a big screen is better.
Well, here I discovered The first advantage of Apple Maps over the rest of GPS applications. They all fit my car’s screen very well and have no issues, although I have to admit that the Apple one fits the best for obvious reasons.
As you probably already know if you use CarPlay, Siri is the epicenter of everythingsince it is the voice instructions of the assistant that guide the use 90% of the time, so that one hardly needs to touch the screen. Well, asking Siri to take me to a certain place is a delight with Apple Maps. It also works with Google Maps or Waze, but it is much more tedious, you always have to add the slogan “take me to X place” with Google Maps“And no, he doesn’t always interpret it well.
The interface is a real delight
Regardless of how convenient or not Apple Maps is compared to other apps, I’ve long considered it the best interface for car navigation. And while I fully respect those who have a different opinion, in my particular case, I do not allow a discussion that would make me change my mind.
And it’s not just a beautiful interface with remarkable elements like the detail of the drawing of bridges or groves near the road. The thing is It also provides utility when driving. and I will know exactly which exit I need to take.
During my journey, I came across several roundabouts and motorway exits with different lanes that, with Google Maps or another application, are not always easy to identify. With Apple Maps, on the other hand, everything went well. When approaching an exit, the zoom is automatically enlarged and highlighted very clearly so that at a glance you know which path to take. And no, it’s not just a detail, because sometimes it’s a decision to be made in a few milliseconds and it’s vital to focus your attention on the screen for as little time as possible.
Finally find the best routes (and without hassle)
For a long time I complained about the “bad” decision of Apple Maps. I mean that when it came to establishing a long route, it did not always show me all the options and much less always the best possible route. And while it is true that in this last sense I still have a complaint that I will express later, in general it has improved a lot.
I can finally find all possible routes and choose the one that suits me besteither because I avoid complicated sections, or because I avoid speed cameras, or because I pass through certain cities where I want to stop. Regarding the latter, by the way, the interface is also wonderful, since it allows you to configure intermediate stops so as not to have to reset everything after stopping to stretch your legs or eat a tortilla skewer (with onion, of course).
Another area where I notice improvement is detect secondary roads. Years ago, there were countless regional roads that it did not detect or did so incorrectly, assuming that some in poor condition were the fastest when due to the condition of the asphalt it was recommended to drive at 40 kilometers per hour. Now it knows how to distinguish them perfectly. Or at least those that, by chance or not, I crossed during my trip.
Not everything was going to be pretty with Apple Maps
It’s true that many of the predictable problems with traveling with Apple Maps haven’t surfaced, but the truth is that it’s still not perfect. I wouldn’t classify its flaws among the things that made my trip difficult, although I consider them to be something to consider.
The first of these is the radar detection system. It works and works well in that it visually and audibly informs you when you are approaching one. Like Google Maps, Waze and others, Apple Maps uses the DGT list to find fixed speed cameras, but it has the disadvantage of not being able to see them before starting the route to be warned in advance, which Google Maps shows.
Another element that I missed was the user community so big that they have apps like Waze to report locations on construction sites, accidents or even mobile radars. Apple Maps has many reports of them, as I was able to verify. Even in some sections, a pop-up window appears in which you can select whether there is still an incident in a section or not, in order to inform the rest of the users. However, it is far from what is found in the aforementioned Google app (yes, Waze also comes from Google).
In line with what I commented in a previous point about the proposed routes, I must say that I miss it greater configuration of travel preferences. Here the perfect example that I present is Google Maps, which allows us to distinguish the most efficient routes, the fastest or those with the fewest kilometers. Apple does not offer it or at least not in such a visual way. Nor does it allow to avoid certain elements such as ferries, although pejaes do.
Finally, and I admit that this is a minor detail, it is difficult to guess the arrival time. I understand that in the end it depends largely on the speed at which you drive, the traffic that exists and the circumstances that appear in real time (sections cut off due to accidents, roadworks, etc.). In absolutely all applications, there is a margin of error of a few minutes and more on long journeys.
Therefore, the time also varies during the journey. However, on non-stop and incident-free journeys, Apple Maps went so far as to deviate the arrival time by up to 13 minutes. Once I got closer to the destination, I was able to do things better, but almost a quarter of an hour of deviation from what was initially planned can be crucial in certain situations. I already say that it is not serious, but perhaps the algorithm that calculates these things should be reviewed.
And I was finally able to travel with Apple Maps in areas without coverage
It seems incredible, but it took eleven years for Apple Maps to introduce offline maps. It did so almost a year ago with iOS 17 and although it is true that its competitors had it for a long time, here you can apply it better late than never.
The fact is that power download maps to iPhone This was extremely helpful in some parts of my trip. Between so many mountains, back roads, and areas without coverage, if I hadn’t had this option, I could have gotten lost. But not with the offline maps that I updated precisely the day before the trip.
Yes indeed, I do not recommend always traveling with these cards.. There is an option that allows you to always use Apple Maps offline maps and while it may be interesting to save mobile data, in the end some key elements like real-time traffic and other incidents are lost. Therefore, it is best to leave it in automatic mode and let the application resort to it when necessary.
Apple Maps, I’ll Marry You
Yes, I am definitely convinced that I will repeat with Apple Maps as GPS. It still has some shortcomings in searching for certain places like restaurants or the lack of a review community like Google Maps. However, when it comes to strictly traveling, I would stick with this.
Despite the aforementioned drawbacks, I think its usefulness more than compensates me. It has improved considerably and my perception of the application has also been cured. Therefore, I firmly believe that it is already a serious rival for the rest of the navigation applications. And even if you still have doubts, I have nothing else to show you my recommendation so that you can at least try it.
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