After six months, experiences start to show Apple Maps may be better than Google Maps

There was quite a bit of press coverage and angst over Apple Maps back when the iPhone 5 was released last September. After nearly six months, we are seeing that Apple Maps is much improved, and even critics like John C Dvorak are finding that Apple Maps may even be better than Google Maps.

Dvorak was in one car while Leo LaPorte and Lisa Kentzell took other cars as all three headed out to the same destination using Waze, Google Maps, and Apple Maps. I believe all were using the iPhone 5 for navigation and now that Google Maps for iOS is just about like Android, I think it was a fair test. While all people ended up at the test destinations, there were particulars during the navigation sessions that distinguished Apple Maps from the others.

I never had much of an issue with the performance of Apple Maps, but I did create a post covering several alternatives. Apple regularly updates its mapping data and it is still the default navigation solution on my iPhone 5. I prefer the lock screen functionality and ease of use even compared to something like Google Maps.

Nokia released its Here Maps solution for iOS and has native clients on Lumia Windows Phones. I would like to see a test, maybe I will conduct some of my own, comparing Here Maps with Google Maps and Apple Maps, since Nokia has the most experience of all in the GPS navigation area. I have used Nokia Maps for years, but it doesn't always have the easiest user interface and Apple definitely does a good job in this area.

I know the testing by Dvorak and myself are just a couple of points to consider and am curious if others are seeing solid performance out of Apple Maps. Google Maps has been around for a few years and like iOS, maybe it's starting to get a bit dated.

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