When you personal an iPhone, one of many hardest choices you may must make is whether or not to make use of Apple Maps or Google Maps for navigation. At one time, even Apple would have informed you to make use of Google Maps over Apple Maps. That was in 2012 after Apple Maps was launched and a few international locations had been mislabeled, some weren’t given a reputation in any respect, some instructions had been screwed up, and following Apple Maps’ turn-by-turn instructions might have been harmful to your well being.
Apple CEO Tim Cook dinner not solely apologized, he informed customers, “Whereas we’re bettering Maps, you’ll be able to strive alternate options by downloading map apps from the App Retailer like Bing, MapQuest, and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their web sites and creating an icon on your private home display to their internet app.” However now Apple Maps is simply nearly as good and maybe even higher than Google Maps. One large distinction in favor of Apple Maps: whereas Google Maps would possibly inform you to show proper in a 3rd of a mile, Apple Maps is extra apt to say, “On the subsequent cease signal, flip proper” which is simpler to observe.
Apple Maps is the default navigation app on iOS
Apple is planning on giving some iOS customers the choice to vary their default navigation app when iOS 18 is launched subsequent September. As Apple wrote in a “Non-Confidential Abstract of DMA Compliance Report” launched final week, “Apple additionally plans to introduce a brand new default management for customers in Settings for navigation apps. Apple goals to make this answer accessible by March 2025.” This feature might be restricted to these utilizing their iPhones within the 27 EU international locations and is being compelled on Apple by the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
As soon as Apple provides EU iPhone homeowners the inexperienced mild to vary their default navigation app, we might see Google Maps and even Waze used to exchange Apple Maps. And there’s all the time the chance that Apple will permit iPhone customers in different markets exterior of the EU, possibly even these within the States, to vary their default navigation app subsequent March.