Regular updates bring more features to Apple's Maps

Apple’s decision to replace Google Maps and use its own Maps app has been met with almost universal criticism and the company seems to be taking the complaints to heart. The Cupertino-based company has been slowly but surely improving its Maps app over time, according to Loop Insight.

The company has updated the app to support a number of features. For example, Japanese users can access toll road notifications and improved pronunciation of roads during turn-by-turn navigation mode. The 3D flyover mode has made it to a number of countries outside the US, including Spain, Germany, England, Ireland and Denmark. As of yet, though, there’s no sign of improvements to the app for India.

Has been improved over time

Many users decided to ignore the existence of Apple’s Maps app completely and started using Google Maps when the search giant made the app available on the iTunes App Store. Earlier this month, Google introduced its map in more countries. The update to the app also brought Google Contacts integration, which lets you look up a contact’s name on the map; the latter’s address will appear as a suggestion (i.e. if you have saved their address) and all the user has to do is tap on their name to see the address.

More from News & Analysis

What is the US HIRE Bill and why is India’s $250-billion IT sector worried? Is the internet dead? What's this theory that OpenAI's Sam Altman says might be true?

Maps has also received new search icons that allow users to find local places easily and quickly. Users can tap on the new icons for restaurants, coffee shops, bars and other types of places to view nearby locations. Users can choose to have the distance shown either in kilometres or miles.

Google Maps has proved to be a wildly popular app on the App Store. In December last year, less than a week after its release on iOS devices, Google Maps managed to surpass 10 million downloads, according to Google’s SVP of Commerce and Local, Jeff Huber. Huber said the app crossed the 10 million download count in less than 48 hours of its release.

Google claims Maps for iOS is designed from the ground up to combine the comprehensiveness and accuracy of Google Maps with an interface that makes finding what a user is looking for faster and easier.

According to Google, the app shows more of the map on the screen and turns mobile mapping into an intuitive experience. One can preview where they want to go with the Street View feature and see inside places with Business Photos to decide on a table, or see if it’s better at the bar. There are also features such as voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation, live traffic conditions to avoid jams, and if one wants to use public transportation, they can find information for more than one million public transit stops.