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Comment by bhahn | Hacker News Reader

I just switched to an iPhone after being a long time Android user, and I've found Apple Maps directions not to be as good as Google Maps'. I live in central LA, and it regularly routes me through long and congested intersections.

Does anyone else feel this as well? Is it just my small sample size? I would like to continue using Apple Maps over Google Maps because of the integration with Apple Watch, but it's getting harder and harder each day to justify.

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As some one who exclusively uses Apple Maps on the west side of LA, I have found the routing to be similar or the same. The killer function for me is the HUD when I have it mounted on my dash. Light-years better. Also...the lane accuracy is unparalleled.

> The killer function for me is the HUD when I have it mounted on my dash.

What do you mean? That the phone's screen provides turn by turn instructions, while the car's screen provides more a trip/map perspective?

edit: i just realized that I can use the phone's screen for turn by turn, and have the car's screen display music, or whatever else!!!

> edit

That was just improved in iOS 13, shame it took so long.

Traffic data is just not as good with Apple Maps. In some places they aggregate reports from traffic reporting agencies, but user-reporting is dependent on people using it and opting in to sharing data, but this is a challenge with a privacy-focused approach.

I wouldn't be surprised if Apple is piggybacking off of other apps' GPS location requests to aggregate traffic data in order to compete with how Google Maps uses its own algorithms for traffic.

Over the last few years I've found Apple Maps get better and better in the Bay Area. I now default to Apple Maps as its routing, particularly for peninsula to city driving, is always faster/more efficient than Google Maps.

As a non Bay Area resident I can't say that compels me to think the app is any better. Seems like a lot of apps I use these days only work in the Bay Area.

Waze is by far the best routing. It's better than Tesla routing, which I thought used Google Maps, and it's better than Apple Maps. There's no point in experimenting with anything else because Waze is just so much better, it's effectively a waste of time to try anything else.

That's funny because I feel like I've read a few articles out there that did comparative testing of Google Maps vs. Apple Maps and, while Google's routing estimated a shorter ETA, the Apple Maps routing ended up being faster and more accurate to the estimate nearly every time. I don't really want to think I'm going to get somewhere fast. I actually want to get there faster and, more importantly, when the app tells me I'm going to get there.

From experience Waze will take you all over creation just to shave a minute. Sometimes it's just not worth it. But at least they present options.

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