> i'm guessing outside of the bay area/the US, orders of magnitude better
On the contrary, iOS 5 maps (Google bitmap tiles) and iOS 6 maps (Apple vectors), were generally comparable in Rome during the month of September. Neither was ideal, and cross referencing both helped.
For driving, Navigon Europe beat them both quite handily.
What's more, during my visit to Italy, the iOS 6 maps improved several times. As one example, in early September the areas between streets were a single background color, but by the time I left, they showed shaded buildings for every block.
By now, the historic center is rendered in astonishing "3D buildings" mode, making the hybrid view the easiest way to orient yourself among the maze of twisty streets and fantastic landmarks. Google Earth is cool, but doesn't look like the real city in miniature, and has severe memory problems showing Rome when zoomed close enough for rectangular instead of triangular buildings. I'm not going to say Apple's view "annihilates" Google Earth, but it feels like a completely new generation of technology by comparison.
Using the new Google Maps, asking for transit directions in Rome today says none are available for the region.
Doing the same in Apple maps offers to launch Navigon Europe on my phone which has "Urban Guidance" for Rome, but also gives me a list of local data specialist apps such as In Arrivo! HD (which claims to have real time bus positions).
All this said, when browsing Rome the new Google Maps app is significantly more speedy than the iOS 5 version, though it suffers from the early Apple Maps problem of having no data for roads (much less POIs) when zoomed out even a little, and when zoomed in a bit, is very challenging to read at a glance and still misses most points of interest.
> Google has everyone beat in finding things.
In the Trastevere restaurant neighborhood, Apple's data shows 10 restaurants for every 1 on Google Maps, any of which can be tapped to see a photo of the building and read reviews on Yelp. Google Maps, if zoomed in far enough, eventually shows you the POI, and can be tapped for a street view panorama rather than the actual storefront.
The wildly popular local seafood hangout "Fish Market"[1] shows up on Apple Maps with 3.5 stars and 5 reviews, but doesn't show up at all on Google Maps. Searching for it sends you to the other side of the Tiber, to an actual fish market.
My point isn't that Apple Maps data is better, but that to a local who is looking for differences, either product can be shown to come up short. This suggests neither is "orders of magnitude" (presumably meaning at least 100x) better than the other, even when comparing this new offering rather than the iOS 5 version.
On the contrary, iOS 5 maps (Google bitmap tiles) and iOS 6 maps (Apple vectors), were generally comparable in Rome during the month of September. Neither was ideal, and cross referencing both helped.
For driving, Navigon Europe beat them both quite handily.
What's more, during my visit to Italy, the iOS 6 maps improved several times. As one example, in early September the areas between streets were a single background color, but by the time I left, they showed shaded buildings for every block.
By now, the historic center is rendered in astonishing "3D buildings" mode, making the hybrid view the easiest way to orient yourself among the maze of twisty streets and fantastic landmarks. Google Earth is cool, but doesn't look like the real city in miniature, and has severe memory problems showing Rome when zoomed close enough for rectangular instead of triangular buildings. I'm not going to say Apple's view "annihilates" Google Earth, but it feels like a completely new generation of technology by comparison.
Using the new Google Maps, asking for transit directions in Rome today says none are available for the region.
Doing the same in Apple maps offers to launch Navigon Europe on my phone which has "Urban Guidance" for Rome, but also gives me a list of local data specialist apps such as In Arrivo! HD (which claims to have real time bus positions).
All this said, when browsing Rome the new Google Maps app is significantly more speedy than the iOS 5 version, though it suffers from the early Apple Maps problem of having no data for roads (much less POIs) when zoomed out even a little, and when zoomed in a bit, is very challenging to read at a glance and still misses most points of interest.
> Google has everyone beat in finding things.
In the Trastevere restaurant neighborhood, Apple's data shows 10 restaurants for every 1 on Google Maps, any of which can be tapped to see a photo of the building and read reviews on Yelp. Google Maps, if zoomed in far enough, eventually shows you the POI, and can be tapped for a street view panorama rather than the actual storefront.
The wildly popular local seafood hangout "Fish Market"[1] shows up on Apple Maps with 3.5 stars and 5 reviews, but doesn't show up at all on Google Maps. Searching for it sends you to the other side of the Tiber, to an actual fish market.
1. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d334907...
My point isn't that Apple Maps data is better, but that to a local who is looking for differences, either product can be shown to come up short. This suggests neither is "orders of magnitude" (presumably meaning at least 100x) better than the other, even when comparing this new offering rather than the iOS 5 version.