Google and Apple are not friends. That’s no secret. For years, the presence of Google maps represented an uneasy truce between the two tech giants – Apple just couldn’t say no to Google’s ubiquitous and effective mapping software. No longer. iOS 6 is the first Apple operating system to implement native mapping software. Early reviews are mixed.
Forbes’ Matt Miller gave iOS 6 a thumbs-up, calling it a more important upgrade to the iPhone than the iPhone 5 itself – for free. By and large, he may be right, but its maps are quickly becoming a thorn in the new system’s side.
Let’s start with the good -- here are definitely things to like about Apple maps. It looks nice. It gives turn-by-turn spoken directions, something that users had to shell out considerable cash to get before. And those directions are displayed in big, prominent signs. The direct Yelp integration is a major step forward. The “flyby” mode, which gives you an eagle-eye view of the city you’re navigating, is definitely cool, if not as useful as Google’s more utilitarian street view. Unless you’re dusting crops.
The problem isn’t in the features. Apple has always been good at features. The problem is functionality. Google has a significant head start on Apple when it comes to making mapping software, and as it turns out, it’s not all that easy. Apple’s tech has a harder time finding addresses, doesn’t do as well with abbreviations, and has some weird photos floating around on Twitter. It's missing public transit. In England, according to the BBC, there are whole towns missing, as well as a museum located in the river.
I remember a time when I definitely would have made those same criticisms of Google Maps. Google worked on that. Now that millions of people will be using – some might say beta-testing – Apple Maps, it’s bound to get better very quickly. But every day that Apple is improving its lagging software, so is Google.
Entrepeneur Anil Dash said it well on his blog –the real problem is that Apple has forced an experience on their users that many of them may not have chosen on their own:
“Apple's made a new product that actually is pretty but dumb. Worse, they've used their platform dominance to privilege their own app over a competitor's offering, even though it's a worse experience for users.”
