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Comment by epoxyhockey | Hacker News Reader

My bet is that the end users aren't even going to notice. I switched my website maps from Google to OSM/Leaflet and absolutely no one noticed or cared enough to email me about it.

Disclaimer: I didn't use OSM's default/ugly color palette. Disclaimer #2: I have used iOS 6 maps, and the most visible change (other than the color palette) is that subway markers are clickable and that Yelp is more tightly integrated into the pin details.

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Changing the maps you use on your web site and changing the maps on a person's smartphone are hugely different.

Without knowing more about your web site I can't do a detailed comparison, but unless people use your web site every day, on the move, to search for transit, business and social locations then the use cases just aren't the same. Not to mention that the biggest issue with Apple Maps is the dismal coverage outside of the US.

Here here. We switched our website's map system from Google to OSM/Leaflet when they jacked up the Maps API price. We love the new platform. But we just use it for yelp-like "create a bounding search zone and annotate places" effects.

If I had to use the same system to actually route myself from place to place, it would drive me insane. As an actual mapping product, Google Maps is peerless.

I live in NYC and use my phone to navigate subways everywhere. I'll notice.

End users maybe won't notice if they live in a major city and never want to leave. My town (which is small, but not nowhere: a fairly major tourist destination near a large city) has gone from detailed satellite imagery to no more than about 500 total pixels. You don't need to be a power user to see that kind of regression.

Do you actually use the satellite imagery that often? Most people I know used it once, to look at their house, then switched it back to the map view.

For Apple, they just need to license more satellite data, which they no doubt will. Google maps satellite coverage was pretty sketchy in the early days too.

Well, it's kindof nice to get high resolution satellite photos when you're getting walking directions in a city you've never been in. Atleast I found this useful on Android.

Not a dealbreaker, I guess, I'd just be mildly annoyed if I lose that

One of my colleagues who is a foam at mouth rabid Apple supporter said he is switching to Android because of this. He lives in San Francisco and uses the public transit stuff extensively and now is screwed.

Transit, traffic and street view are being removed for a large number of users. They'll notice: http://theunderstatement.com/post/31855177665/quantifying-th...

It's easy to notice the difference in the map app. Click the bus route button. Instead of the normal times listed, you get rerouted to a blank page on the App Store.

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