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Apple introduces offline Maps—but how does it compare with Google Maps?
(arstechnica.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
It depends where you are. Apple Maps gets its data from different places depending on where you are. If you’re in any place with Apple’s “new map” which is data collected and maintained by Apple themselves, Apple Maps will be pretty dang good! Better than Google in most cases. This includes places such as the U.S., UK, Australia, France, Spain and many more. In some larger cities such as San Francisco, London, Melbourne, Paris and more, Apple Maps has a dataset (also collected and maintained by Apple) called the detailed city experience. This is pretty comfortably the most detailed map available and is super good! In other countries it’s hit or miss. The data will either come from Tom Tom, OSM, or a local provider. Sometimes this data is super good, sometimes it’s average, and sometimes it kinda sucks. But that’s all just the actual map bit. When it comes to locations on the map, chances are, Google will have more information. Personally, I prefer using Apple Maps (I’m in a location with the detailed city experience) but you’d have to have a look. Feel free to tell me your region if you’d like to know what data they have where you live
I find that Apple Maps is noticeably worse at directions in the countryside in the uk, but I just put up with it, as I try not to use google products. It’s definitely improved recently, but it’s still not reached parity