Even though Apple Maps is the default navigation and mapping app on iOS, many iPhone users prefer Google Maps since they might already be used to it. Some iPhone users might even recall how bad Apple Maps was when initially released in September 2012 as part of the major iOS 6 revision. Countries, cities, streets, and even some states were mislabeled or did not show a name.
Navigation directions were screwed up and in one infamous example, Apple Maps sent drivers looking to travel to Mildura in Australia to the Outback by mistake. These unfortunate iPhone users experienced temperatures as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit while driving through dangerous terrain covered with poisonous snakes, with very little access to water. Police in Australia called Apple Maps “life-threatening.”
Instead of using mapping data from third-party navigation firms like Tom Tom, Apple decided to start from scratch and collect its own data, sending out specially equipped vans to drive along the roads. At the same time, some Apple employees carried backpacks with tracking equipment to help them create records of sidewalks to be used with Apple Maps.
Apple Maps has been greatly improved over the years, and while the consensus opinion is that Google Maps is still better, the gap between the two is extremely narrow. For example, in iOS 18, Apple added a “Notes” feature to Apple Maps that even Google Maps doesn’t offer its users. It’s not exactly a feature that Apple has promoted heavily. To access it, once you are looking up the directions to a location, you’ll see a round button containing a plus symbol (+). Press it, and a new section appears that says, “Add a Note.”
Tap on “Add a Note” and you will be sent to a page where you are prompted to write what you want to remember about the place you are getting directions to. Only the person whose device is being used to write the note will be able to see it. For example, you might want to remind yourself when you’re driving to the Benihana located on West 56th Street in New York City that the steak and chicken dinner is to die for.
This is a great unheralded feature that Apple Maps users should be able to find a reason to use and Google Maps users will want to have.
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