There’s very little difference in how Apple Maps and Google Maps actually gets you places. Google Maps’ excess information can be distracting sometimes, and that’s the last thing you need if you’re lost and struggling to orient yourself. It also has information for complex highway interchanges, something Google Maps has included for some time.īoth apps have the information you need, but Apple Maps’ less-is-more approach makes it much easier on the eyes. As of iOS 15 Apple has also started adding this information, with turn lanes, bus and taxi lanes, and crosswalks. Google Maps had also started rolling out more superfluous, but still useful details, like stop signs, crosswalks, and so on. Likewise both of them use a dark mode that makes it easier on your eyes during any late-night driving you need to be doing. The only real difference is how much surplus information is on display, including businesses, smaller road names, and so on.

Roads, locations, landmarks, it’s all there.

That said, both of them always show the essentials no matter how you’re viewing the map. Similarly, Google shows you more information when you zoom further in, but it does start showing a lot of that information much sooner than Apple Maps does. While it has a lot of information at its disposal, Apple Maps doesn’t actually show you very much unless you zoom all the way in.

Like its interface, Apple Maps has opted for a more minimalist approach to its map design. All of these things will vanish if you tap the middle of the screen, so you can see a pure uncluttered map, but it’s still all a bit much. Likewise at the bottom of the screen is a menu giving you access to the Explore and Commute features, saved locations, local news, and the option to contribute to Google’s mapping database. If you’re ever needing to find a restaurant or gas station fast, that’s likely to be very useful. At the top of your phone screen is the search bar, which also houses account information and sits above dedicated buttons for finding local amenities. Google on the other hand, has buttons and toolbars all over the place. Left: Google Maps Right: Apple Maps (Image credit: Tom's Guide)Ĭrucially, that search bar stays where it is until you click on a place, and if you want to get rid of it all you have to do is tap the X button in the corner.

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