We all know about the rivalry between Apple and Google when the mobile market is concerned. One of the biggest changes in recent history was the change from the Google maps engine to Apple's own version. Not only was this the biggest change Apple made to their operating system in quite some time, it was poorly conceived and even more poorly launched. You see, the issue was not so much that Apple was launching a competitive maps to Google, it was that Apple had no mapping software that could even compare with Google's tried and true system. Street view, 3D buildings, directions, bike paths, subways...you name it, it was part of Google's system. This means, of course, that Apple would have to rely on third party information to then sync into it's own app. This...hasn't worked well. In fact:
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| Drives you off a bypass... |
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| Doesn't drive you off a bypass! |
That isn't to say that it's horrible all the time. Meh. I'll start with the visuals, we'll go from there.
3D Imagery comparison
Both Google and Apple boast 3D views of major areas such as New York City. Depending on your preference, "pretty" may be an important issue for you. Otherwise, why would you buy an iPad? BAM.
Kidding.
So here we have Apple maps of ground zero in New York:
Pretty right? I like it. Nice and sharp. It's not perfect, obviously. This is straight from the Apple Maps icon. I mention this because Google Maps and Google Earth are separate applications, although getting to Google Earth from Google Maps is a simple menu press away. Even so, it's combined in Apple Maps. So there's that.
Moving on to Google Maps, let's look at the same image...
Bleh. Quite horrible actually. This is with the cache at it's largest, and after a bit of time to let the ram catch up. I'm truly disappointed here. All is not lost though, as Google and Apple are actually quite close when set at a more reasonable level.
Just viewing the bay for both of them, top is Apple, bottom is Google.
As you can see they are much closer in resolution. There are both 3D, roughly the same viewing angle. I will point out that Apple, being integrated with the maps features and not a separate app as Google Earth is, has the destinations such as food, gas, transportation...etc. However, Google Maps has the same thing, save the 3D buildings aren't represented in the same way.
Here, I would like to point out a few things. If comparing the features now, rather than the visuals, Google doesn't display as much information but more relevant info. For example, both Google and Apple Maps show traffic, but Apple shows traffic only on the Battery Park Tunnel leading into FDR. On both applications, the buildings in the 3D shadow mode disappear and the map becomes flat to show more places of interest when you zoom out.
Apple shows many restaurants, where as Google only shows what has been searched for or what are even more visited. I'm not sure of the criteria here and why things are shown versus others. Finally, did you notice the red wreck icon on this image? At the time, Apple didn't have it. Not only does Google Maps do traffic, it can also report wrecks and direct you accordingly. Both apps have road closure info, though...so you're not totally in the dark.
As you can see they are much closer in resolution. There are both 3D, roughly the same viewing angle. I will point out that Apple, being integrated with the maps features and not a separate app as Google Earth is, has the destinations such as food, gas, transportation...etc. However, Google Maps has the same thing, save the 3D buildings aren't represented in the same way.
Apple shows many restaurants, where as Google only shows what has been searched for or what are even more visited. I'm not sure of the criteria here and why things are shown versus others. Finally, did you notice the red wreck icon on this image? At the time, Apple didn't have it. Not only does Google Maps do traffic, it can also report wrecks and direct you accordingly. Both apps have road closure info, though...so you're not totally in the dark.
My verdict: Apple has the appeal of a great looking app that has an "all-in-one" feature. 3D buildings, many places of interest. However, as linked above...it has had its issues with directions in the past. A friend of mine used Apple Maps to find a location that was unknown location locally and it led her to an entirely different city. Google didn't have that problem, found the location quickly. I wish Google had more locations of interest, but since it is a search giant after all...once you search for restaurants it will lead you to more relevant results.
Final thoughts: Apple for the visuals and lots of info. Google for the more relevant info with visuals on a lower bar. Comments below! Gimme feedback! Oh, and Google Hangouts vs. iMessage/FaceTime next!
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