My problem is very basic: I want to see an uncluttered map, to be able to search for a particular address or street and be shown it on that map, and to get driving directions.
The driving directions are OK, but the uncluttered map isn't a thing anymore. Now, the map is obscured with with quick-search buttons, that pull-up thing showing "places of interest" at the bottom, and is populated with irrelevant (to me) pins showing random businesses.
It all just makes actually using the thing as a map more difficult.
> The problems most people have are finding places
Fair enough. That's why I say that Google Maps is not aiming at people like me. I want basic navigation, in a way that is as friction-free as possible. I also have zero interest in things like reviews, local guides, and that kind of thing.
Again, I'm not saying that what you want isn't important, or even that what you want isn't what most people want. It's just not what I want, and the presence of those things makes using the app for my use case more difficult.
So I just need a different product that is aimed more at my needs.