{"slug": "apple-maps", "name": "Apple Maps", "category": "other", "category_name": "Other software", "description": "Apple's built-in mapping and navigation app for iPhone, Mac, CarPlay and the web.", "recommenders": 9, "commenters": 22, "warners": 6, "score": 4.558, "rising": 2.36, "first": "2025-11-05", "latest": "2026-10-27", "why": "Liked for clear turn-by-turn driving directions and for routing that some find better than Google Maps in their area.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 9, "neutral": 6, "compare": 2, "warn": 6}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 3, 3, 1, 0], "listed": true, "loved": ["Turn-by-turn navigation", "Beats Google locally"], "caveat": "Weak POI data", "short_quote": "This is why I use Apple Maps and thankfully in the Bay Area it\u2019s more than at parity, it\u2019s frankly better", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.apple.com/maps/", "pricing": "free", "aliases": ["Apple Maps"], "verdict": [{"text": "Liked for clear turn-by-turn driving directions", "cites": [{"id": 796869584, "item_id": 49804349, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49804349", "by": "al_borland", "date": "2026-09-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I find Apple is better at turn-by-turn navigation", "excerpt": "I find Apple is better at turn-by-turn navigation, while Google is better at business and POI data. I will usually look stuff up on Google Maps, but use Apple Maps in the car for navigation. Google's navigation is (last I used it) bad at telling me what's next. I'll turn, it will say nothing, then wait until I'm right on top of something to tell me to do it... I find it stressful. I've seen several people in this tre", "context": "", "use_case": "in-car navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple has added persistent 'ads' to iOS, and it's driving users crazy"}, {"id": 759903873, "item_id": 47493992, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47493992", "by": "gib444", "date": "2026-03-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Apple Maps does driving directions way better in general", "excerpt": "Organic Maps is great for offline. It even did better directions in Europe recently, because Google Maps does not have an \"avoid unpaved roads\" option. Apple Maps does driving directions way better in general - better visuals, speech etc. It does foreign pronunciations better too IIRC. It's even not bad as a PWA on Android ( https://maps.apple.com ). Google Maps loves to say take eg \"exit Via Emilio Enrico\" on some r", "context": "", "use_case": "driving directions", "switched_from": "", "story": "Migrating to the EU"}]}, {"text": " and for routing that some find better than Google Maps in their area.", "cites": [{"id": 791739600, "item_id": 49483725, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49483725", "by": "ChrisMarshallNY", "date": "2026-08-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Around here (Long Island, NY), it's far better than Google Maps, and I use it all the time.", "excerpt": "I think it may depend on where you are. Around here (Long Island, NY), it's far better than Google Maps, and I use it all the time. I've heard that it falls down, in rural areas, though.", "context": "lives on Long Island, NY", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions"}, {"id": 791767424, "item_id": 49485464, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49485464", "by": "gxs", "date": "2026-08-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is why I use Apple Maps and thankfully in the Bay Area it\u2019s more than at parity, it\u2019s frankly better", "excerpt": "Does anyone else hate how Google Maps zooms in right before a turn? Yeah go ahead and completely change the scale of what I\u2019m looking at a night quite predictable time just as I\u2019m about to need the map the most to make a turn on a street I\u2019m not familiar with Absolutely fucking brilliant idea This is why I use Apple Maps and thankfully in the Bay Area it\u2019s more than at parity, it\u2019s frankly better All that said, this ", "context": "Bay Area user", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions"}, {"id": 782179984, "item_id": 48886249, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48886249", "by": "ericbarrett", "date": "2026-07-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is why I switched to Apple Maps.", "excerpt": "Same. This is why I switched to Apple Maps. Sometimes the Google detours would end in dangerous situations, like a left turn with no light across a major road. And it would be to save 2 minutes-ridiculous!", "context": "", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "The power of collaboration: How we can reduce traffic congestion"}]}, {"text": " The most common complaints are weak business and place data", "cites": [{"id": 796869584, "item_id": 49804349, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49804349", "by": "al_borland", "date": "2026-09-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I find Apple is better at turn-by-turn navigation", "excerpt": "I find Apple is better at turn-by-turn navigation, while Google is better at business and POI data. I will usually look stuff up on Google Maps, but use Apple Maps in the car for navigation. Google's navigation is (last I used it) bad at telling me what's next. I'll turn, it will say nothing, then wait until I'm right on top of something to tell me to do it... I find it stressful. I've seen several people in this tre", "context": "", "use_case": "in-car navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple has added persistent 'ads' to iOS, and it's driving users crazy"}, {"id": 791790464, "item_id": 49486904, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49486904", "by": "hooch", "date": "2026-08-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it's great", "excerpt": "Since the last time I tried, Apple Maps has come down from plotting some 30 petrol stations in the Sydney CBD to 2. There are in fact none. Apart from needing to copy and paste destination addresses from Google/Google Maps every time I use Apple Maps, it's great.", "context": "in Sydney", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions"}, {"id": 754983362, "item_id": 47186460, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47186460", "by": "nunez", "date": "2026-02-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Apple Maps for navigation (though I rely on Google Maps for reviews)", "excerpt": "Couldn't agree more. Kagi for search, Fastmail for e-mail, Apple Maps for navigation (though I rely on Google Maps for reviews). Once a realistic not-Office 365 alternative for docs and spreadsheets appears, I'm going to bail on Drive too. I've used Fastmail for a year now and haven't missed Gmail for a second. It even natively supports iOS push notifications for Mail, something Google refuses to implement. Same with", "context": "", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "Leaving Google has actively improved my life"}]}, {"text": " and a growing number of ads.", "cites": [{"id": 801309329, "item_id": 50081833, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50081833", "by": "cebert", "date": "2026-10-14", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Do you not use the same Apple App Store, Apple Maps, and Apple Podcast apps I use? The ads are becoming a real problem.", "excerpt": "> Apple (mostly) isn\u2019t in the business of selling ads. I\u2019d certainly trust this over most other options. Do you not use the same Apple App Store, Apple Maps, and Apple Podcast apps I use? The ads are becoming a real problem.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "New Apple TV 4K"}, {"id": 791188737, "item_id": 49449296, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49449296", "by": "revolvingthrow", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "warn", "quote": "the increasing monetization and push into services are a bigger issue imo.", "excerpt": "People are annoyed at apple\u2019s recent lack of polish in software, but the increasing monetization and push into services are a bigger issue imo. You pay the apple premium for hardware and the hardware is indeed great, but you\u2019re increasingly treated like a piggy bank. Line must go up. In regard to Maps: if all you want is a gps, there\u2019s many apps that use OpenStreetMap data. I use CoMaps myself. You download the map(s", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple Maps Ads Are Here, and There's No Way to Turn Them Off"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Turn-by-turn navigation", "summary": "Commenters say its driving directions, visuals and spoken prompts beat Google's.", "quotes": [{"id": 796869584, "item_id": 49804349, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49804349", "by": "al_borland", "date": "2026-09-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I find Apple is better at turn-by-turn navigation", "excerpt": "I find Apple is better at turn-by-turn navigation, while Google is better at business and POI data. I will usually look stuff up on Google Maps, but use Apple Maps in the car for navigation. Google's navigation is (last I used it) bad at telling me what's next. I'll turn, it will say nothing, then wait until I'm right on top of something to tell me to do it... I find it stressful. I've seen several people in this tre", "context": "", "use_case": "in-car navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple has added persistent 'ads' to iOS, and it's driving users crazy"}, {"id": 759903873, "item_id": 47493992, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47493992", "by": "gib444", "date": "2026-03-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Apple Maps does driving directions way better in general", "excerpt": "Organic Maps is great for offline. It even did better directions in Europe recently, because Google Maps does not have an \"avoid unpaved roads\" option. Apple Maps does driving directions way better in general - better visuals, speech etc. It does foreign pronunciations better too IIRC. It's even not bad as a PWA on Android ( https://maps.apple.com ). Google Maps loves to say take eg \"exit Via Emilio Enrico\" on some r", "context": "", "use_case": "driving directions", "switched_from": "", "story": "Migrating to the EU"}, {"id": 791767424, "item_id": 49485464, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49485464", "by": "gxs", "date": "2026-08-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is why I use Apple Maps and thankfully in the Bay Area it\u2019s more than at parity, it\u2019s frankly better", "excerpt": "Does anyone else hate how Google Maps zooms in right before a turn? Yeah go ahead and completely change the scale of what I\u2019m looking at a night quite predictable time just as I\u2019m about to need the map the most to make a turn on a street I\u2019m not familiar with Absolutely fucking brilliant idea This is why I use Apple Maps and thankfully in the Bay Area it\u2019s more than at parity, it\u2019s frankly better All that said, this ", "context": "Bay Area user", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions"}]}, {"label": "Beats Google locally", "summary": "Some users find it better than Google Maps where they live and have switched.", "quotes": [{"id": 791739600, "item_id": 49483725, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49483725", "by": "ChrisMarshallNY", "date": "2026-08-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Around here (Long Island, NY), it's far better than Google Maps, and I use it all the time.", "excerpt": "I think it may depend on where you are. Around here (Long Island, NY), it's far better than Google Maps, and I use it all the time. I've heard that it falls down, in rural areas, though.", "context": "lives on Long Island, NY", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions"}, {"id": 791767424, "item_id": 49485464, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49485464", "by": "gxs", "date": "2026-08-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is why I use Apple Maps and thankfully in the Bay Area it\u2019s more than at parity, it\u2019s frankly better", "excerpt": "Does anyone else hate how Google Maps zooms in right before a turn? Yeah go ahead and completely change the scale of what I\u2019m looking at a night quite predictable time just as I\u2019m about to need the map the most to make a turn on a street I\u2019m not familiar with Absolutely fucking brilliant idea This is why I use Apple Maps and thankfully in the Bay Area it\u2019s more than at parity, it\u2019s frankly better All that said, this ", "context": "Bay Area user", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions"}, {"id": 782188849, "item_id": 48886803, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48886803", "by": "nostrademons", "date": "2026-07-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "My brother-in-law switched to Apple Maps for similar reasons: he's finding it simply gives better results nowadays.", "excerpt": "I've noticed that Google Maps has started sucking a lot lately, routing us onto routes that take 2-4 minutes longer when a faster route is clearly available or taking us on nonsensical detours, and I wonder if this experiment is a reason why. There's a hidden cost to this, and that's trust in the mapping app. I've stopped using Google Navigation for routine trips where I know how to get to the destination. It used to", "context": "", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "The power of collaboration: How we can reduce traffic congestion"}]}, {"label": "Sensible routing", "summary": "People who switched cite Google's pointless or risky detours as the reason.", "quotes": [{"id": 782179984, "item_id": 48886249, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48886249", "by": "ericbarrett", "date": "2026-07-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is why I switched to Apple Maps.", "excerpt": "Same. This is why I switched to Apple Maps. Sometimes the Google detours would end in dangerous situations, like a left turn with no light across a major road. And it would be to save 2 minutes-ridiculous!", "context": "", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "The power of collaboration: How we can reduce traffic congestion"}, {"id": 782188849, "item_id": 48886803, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48886803", "by": "nostrademons", "date": "2026-07-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "My brother-in-law switched to Apple Maps for similar reasons: he's finding it simply gives better results nowadays.", "excerpt": "I've noticed that Google Maps has started sucking a lot lately, routing us onto routes that take 2-4 minutes longer when a faster route is clearly available or taking us on nonsensical detours, and I wonder if this experiment is a reason why. There's a hidden cost to this, and that's trust in the mapping app. I've stopped using Google Navigation for routine trips where I know how to get to the destination. It used to", "context": "", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "The power of collaboration: How we can reduce traffic congestion"}]}, {"label": "Accurate estimates", "summary": "Users call it reliable and accurate for timing on drives.", "quotes": [{"id": 780964642, "item_id": 48810290, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48810290", "by": "Cider9986", "date": "2026-07-06", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Apple Maps, which I find accurate", "excerpt": "I use CoMaps, it works great. You get notified in the app to download the updated maps you selected every 2 weeks or so. Could be wildly different than that, just what I notice. It's timing estimates are often 5-15 minutes off Apple Maps, which I find accurate, on ~two hour drives, but I imagine it depends on the traffic. To improve OpenStreetMap, which CoMaps uses as the data source, I use StreetComplete[1]\u2013it puts ", "context": "", "use_case": "drive time estimates", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps \u2013 FOSS Offline Maps"}, {"id": 780317730, "item_id": 48769858, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48769858", "by": "jitl", "date": "2026-07-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Google Maps and Apple Maps are both reliable where I drive (Miami).", "excerpt": "I have a boring Mercedes mid-size SUV. Carplay works. I can skip/repeat tracks using the standard control on the steering wheel; the instrument cluster shows the current track the same way it's done with connected phones forever. On the center console screen, we use the Carplay view with 3 splits - one for Spotify, two for navigation (map & next direction). Google Maps and Apple Maps are both reliable where I drive (", "context": "", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "CarPlay Is Additive"}]}, {"label": "Trails and terrain", "summary": "Commenters say it often handles hiking trails and geographic labels better than Google.", "quotes": [{"id": 772755234, "item_id": 48297202, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48297202", "by": "lisplist", "date": "2026-05-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "For hiking trails, Apple Maps has often been superior.", "excerpt": "I switched to DDG about a year ago and it works fine for me. For some queries, Google still surfaces better results, but DDG is good enough that I don't really miss it. The only Google service I haven't been able to replace is YouTube - no real alternative. I still use Google Maps as well, but could probably switch to Apple maps without missing much. For hiking trails, Apple Maps has often been superior. I briefly tr", "context": "", "use_case": "hiking trails", "switched_from": "", "story": "DuckDuckGo search saw 28% more visits after Google said people love AI mode"}, {"id": 786331233, "item_id": 49145702, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49145702", "by": "jameshart", "date": "2026-08-02", "stance": "compare", "quote": "Apple Maps does a better job at this.", "excerpt": "I do find it interesting that while modern map apps do a great job of replacing road atlases, and we can get satellite and photogrammetry overlays that give us immense insight into how maps relate to the context on the ground, and we do have pretty good topographic mapping apps (though sadly not built in to the big map apps like Google or Apple), but one kind of map that we used to get in paper atlases but can\u2019t expl", "context": "", "use_case": "physical map labelling", "switched_from": "", "story": "Folding Paper Globes"}]}, {"label": "Calendar integration", "summary": "One user says it works well with addresses saved in Calendar.", "quotes": [{"id": 789428594, "item_id": 49339287, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49339287", "by": "tengwar2", "date": "2026-08-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "occasionally Apple Maps (works well with addresses in Calendar)", "excerpt": "Yes, of course. In my case Waze to get there efficiently, OSMand App for topographic maps, and occasionally Apple Maps (works well with addresses in Calendar) and Sygic. I use them in the car, and on my bike: ruggedised CarPlay / Android Auto screens are rapidly displacing ruggedised satnavs on bikes. Playing audiobooks and podcasts is handy, as is getting text messages read out with dictation for reply, but it's nav", "context": "drives and bikes", "use_case": "navigation from calendar addresses", "switched_from": "", "story": "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Weak POI data", "summary": "Users still rely on Google for businesses and reviews, and report wrong place data.", "quotes": [{"id": 796869584, "item_id": 49804349, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49804349", "by": "al_borland", "date": "2026-09-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I find Apple is better at turn-by-turn navigation", "excerpt": "I find Apple is better at turn-by-turn navigation, while Google is better at business and POI data. I will usually look stuff up on Google Maps, but use Apple Maps in the car for navigation. Google's navigation is (last I used it) bad at telling me what's next. I'll turn, it will say nothing, then wait until I'm right on top of something to tell me to do it... I find it stressful. I've seen several people in this tre", "context": "", "use_case": "in-car navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple has added persistent 'ads' to iOS, and it's driving users crazy"}, {"id": 791790464, "item_id": 49486904, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49486904", "by": "hooch", "date": "2026-08-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it's great", "excerpt": "Since the last time I tried, Apple Maps has come down from plotting some 30 petrol stations in the Sydney CBD to 2. There are in fact none. Apart from needing to copy and paste destination addresses from Google/Google Maps every time I use Apple Maps, it's great.", "context": "in Sydney", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions"}, {"id": 754983362, "item_id": 47186460, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47186460", "by": "nunez", "date": "2026-02-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Apple Maps for navigation (though I rely on Google Maps for reviews)", "excerpt": "Couldn't agree more. Kagi for search, Fastmail for e-mail, Apple Maps for navigation (though I rely on Google Maps for reviews). Once a realistic not-Office 365 alternative for docs and spreadsheets appears, I'm going to bail on Drive too. I've used Fastmail for a year now and haven't missed Gmail for a second. It even natively supports iOS push notifications for Mail, something Google refuses to implement. Same with", "context": "", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "Leaving Google has actively improved my life"}]}, {"label": "Ads and monetization", "summary": "Commenters complain about ads and Apple's push into paid services.", "quotes": [{"id": 801309329, "item_id": 50081833, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50081833", "by": "cebert", "date": "2026-10-14", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Do you not use the same Apple App Store, Apple Maps, and Apple Podcast apps I use? The ads are becoming a real problem.", "excerpt": "> Apple (mostly) isn\u2019t in the business of selling ads. I\u2019d certainly trust this over most other options. Do you not use the same Apple App Store, Apple Maps, and Apple Podcast apps I use? The ads are becoming a real problem.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "New Apple TV 4K"}, {"id": 791188737, "item_id": 49449296, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49449296", "by": "revolvingthrow", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "warn", "quote": "the increasing monetization and push into services are a bigger issue imo.", "excerpt": "People are annoyed at apple\u2019s recent lack of polish in software, but the increasing monetization and push into services are a bigger issue imo. You pay the apple premium for hardware and the hardware is indeed great, but you\u2019re increasingly treated like a piggy bank. Line must go up. In regard to Maps: if all you want is a gps, there\u2019s many apps that use OpenStreetMap data. I use CoMaps myself. You download the map(s", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple Maps Ads Are Here, and There's No Way to Turn Them Off"}]}, {"label": "Siri destination search", "summary": "Voice navigation through Siri in CarPlay can pick wildly wrong destinations.", "quotes": [{"id": 768753168, "item_id": 48047073, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48047073", "by": "drcongo", "date": "2026-05-07", "stance": "warn", "quote": "discovered why so many people hate it", "excerpt": "I used to quite like Apple Maps, but then I tried to switch to it for navigation in CarPlay and discovered why so many people hate it. Me: \"Hey Siri, navigate to {exactly the same hospital I went to yesterday}\", Siri: \"I found a McDonalds 309 miles away, it has a trip advisor rating of 2 stars, want that one?\". I've never sworn at Siri so much as I do in my car.", "context": "", "use_case": "car navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ads on Apple Maps"}]}, {"label": "Regional quality", "summary": "Quality may vary by location and is reportedly weaker in rural areas.", "quotes": [{"id": 791739600, "item_id": 49483725, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49483725", "by": "ChrisMarshallNY", "date": "2026-08-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Around here (Long Island, NY), it's far better than Google Maps, and I use it all the time.", "excerpt": "I think it may depend on where you are. Around here (Long Island, NY), it's far better than Google Maps, and I use it all the time. I've heard that it falls down, in rural areas, though.", "context": "lives on Long Island, NY", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions"}]}, {"label": "Offline map expiry", "summary": "Downloaded offline maps disappear after 30 days.", "quotes": [{"id": 768723152, "item_id": 48045197, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48045197", "by": "m463", "date": "2026-05-06", "stance": "warn", "quote": "only problem is: apple offline maps last 30 days then disappear.", "excerpt": "You know what I do? I have a second iphone. main iphone - mostly revolves around phone and messages. lockdown mode. no bluetooth, no wifi, no location services, privacy stuff all restricted. I also do some web browsing. I run adblock which lets you filter lots of stuff. apple id signed out. and my second iphone - offline iphone. I install it using ethernet with outside connection (usb->ethernet dongles work for iphon", "context": "runs a second offline iPhone", "use_case": "offline maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ads on Apple Maps"}]}, {"label": "Rough edges", "summary": "Users cite a useless Guides feature, slow unlocking while navigating, and poor built-in clustering for developers.", "quotes": [{"id": 733711696, "item_id": 45856981, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45856981", "by": "kwertyoowiyop", "date": "2025-11-08", "stance": "warn", "quote": "The \u201cGuides We Love\u201d feature in Apple Maps is my a great example of this. When I first saw it I was appalled by its complete uselessness.", "excerpt": "The \u201cGuides We Love\u201d feature in Apple Maps is my a great example of this. When I first saw it I was appalled by its complete uselessness. It\u2019s hard to understand how an Apple team could have created and actually shipped such a waste of space. Edit: deleted a couple of company references that weren\u2019t needed to make my point.", "context": "", "use_case": "maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple is crossing a Steve Jobs red line"}, {"id": 747672320, "item_id": 46729520, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46729520", "by": "left-struck", "date": "2026-01-22", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I switched to apple maps because of some egregious privacy violation by google maps", "excerpt": "I\u2019m not sure it it\u2019s a bug but I can\u2019t believe more people aren\u2019t talking about it: When you use apple maps and your phone is locked and you want to unlock your phone, for some reason it takes like 5 seconds or something to unlock the phone which feels like forever. The ui feeling insanely unresponsive and weird, you have to swipe further than usual and it takes way longer. It feels like the phone is fighting you! Ho", "context": "", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "Bugs Apple Loves"}, {"id": 777094640, "item_id": 48568415, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48568415", "by": "ChrisMarshallNY", "date": "2026-06-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I found that the built-in AM clustering truly sucks, so I wrote my own.", "excerpt": "I have an app that is heavily map-based. It's an iOS app that uses Apple Maps (I know, I know, controversy, yadda, yadda; but there's a good reason -many of them, in fact- that I use Apple Maps). I found that the built-in AM clustering truly sucks, so I wrote my own. It's not perfect, but delivers a much better experience than the native one.", "context": "iOS app developer", "use_case": "maps in iOS app", "switched_from": "", "story": "Map Clustering Is Not My Favorite"}]}], "who": [{"by": "hooch", "context": "in Sydney", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49486904", "date": "2026-08-29"}, {"by": "gxs", "context": "Bay Area user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49485464", "date": "2026-08-28"}, {"by": "ChrisMarshallNY", "context": "lives on Long Island, NY", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49483725", "date": "2026-08-28"}, {"by": "tengwar2", "context": "drives and bikes", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49339287", "date": "2026-08-17"}], "tags": ["for CarPlay drivers", "for Google Maps switchers", "for hikers", "for iOS developers"], "use_cases": ["navigation", "in-car navigation", "navigation from calendar addresses", "physical map labelling", "drive time estimates", "maps in ios app"], "compared": [{"slug": "google-maps", "name": "Google Maps", "co": 17, "switched_from": 5, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "comaps", "name": "CoMaps", "co": 5, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "organic-maps", "name": "Organic Maps", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "carplay", "name": "CarPlay", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "openstreetmap", "name": "OpenStreetMap", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49477564", "title": "Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48881967", "title": "The power of collaboration: How we can reduce traffic congestion", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48043010", "title": "Ads on Apple Maps", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50258521", "title": "New 14\u2011inch MacBook Pro with M6", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50071310", "title": "New Apple TV 4K", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49801939", "title": "Apple has added persistent 'ads' to iOS, and it's driving users crazy", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"neutral": 1, "warn": 1}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"compare": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-02": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-03": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"warn": 2, "recommend": 1}, "2026-06": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 1}, "2026-08": {"compare": 1, "neutral": 1, "warn": 1, "recommend": 3}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {"warn": 2}}, "quotes": [{"id": 804171808, "item_id": 50260738, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50260738", "by": "k310", "date": "2026-10-27", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I don't even use GPS any more, since I trashed Apple Maps", "excerpt": "I don't want AI. I am preparing for a jump (back) to Linux. \"Choice\" disappeared, and yes, I know about the \"fix\" [0] Maybe this idea may be foreign to many, but personal computers were something I built from bags of parts socketed and/or soldered onto S-100 cards, and that experience was the foundation of most of my career. I was a Henry Higgins, and proud of my Eliza(s). While I get along cooperatively with Eliza (", "context": "older long-time computer user", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "New 14\u2011inch MacBook Pro with M6"}, {"id": 801309329, "item_id": 50081833, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50081833", "by": "cebert", "date": "2026-10-14", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Do you not use the same Apple App Store, Apple Maps, and Apple Podcast apps I use? The ads are becoming a real problem.", "excerpt": "> Apple (mostly) isn\u2019t in the business of selling ads. I\u2019d certainly trust this over most other options. Do you not use the same Apple App Store, Apple Maps, and Apple Podcast apps I use? The ads are becoming a real problem.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "New Apple TV 4K"}, {"id": 796869584, "item_id": 49804349, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49804349", "by": "al_borland", "date": "2026-09-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I find Apple is better at turn-by-turn navigation", "excerpt": "I find Apple is better at turn-by-turn navigation, while Google is better at business and POI data. I will usually look stuff up on Google Maps, but use Apple Maps in the car for navigation. Google's navigation is (last I used it) bad at telling me what's next. I'll turn, it will say nothing, then wait until I'm right on top of something to tell me to do it... I find it stressful. I've seen several people in this tre", "context": "", "use_case": "in-car navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple has added persistent 'ads' to iOS, and it's driving users crazy"}, {"id": 791790464, "item_id": 49486904, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49486904", "by": "hooch", "date": "2026-08-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it's great", "excerpt": "Since the last time I tried, Apple Maps has come down from plotting some 30 petrol stations in the Sydney CBD to 2. There are in fact none. Apart from needing to copy and paste destination addresses from Google/Google Maps every time I use Apple Maps, it's great.", "context": "in Sydney", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions"}, {"id": 791767424, "item_id": 49485464, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49485464", "by": "gxs", "date": "2026-08-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is why I use Apple Maps and thankfully in the Bay Area it\u2019s more than at parity, it\u2019s frankly better", "excerpt": "Does anyone else hate how Google Maps zooms in right before a turn? Yeah go ahead and completely change the scale of what I\u2019m looking at a night quite predictable time just as I\u2019m about to need the map the most to make a turn on a street I\u2019m not familiar with Absolutely fucking brilliant idea This is why I use Apple Maps and thankfully in the Bay Area it\u2019s more than at parity, it\u2019s frankly better All that said, this ", "context": "Bay Area user", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions"}, {"id": 791739600, "item_id": 49483725, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49483725", "by": "ChrisMarshallNY", "date": "2026-08-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Around here (Long Island, NY), it's far better than Google Maps, and I use it all the time.", "excerpt": "I think it may depend on where you are. Around here (Long Island, NY), it's far better than Google Maps, and I use it all the time. I've heard that it falls down, in rural areas, though.", "context": "lives on Long Island, NY", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions"}, {"id": 791188737, "item_id": 49449296, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49449296", "by": "revolvingthrow", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "warn", "quote": "the increasing monetization and push into services are a bigger issue imo.", "excerpt": "People are annoyed at apple\u2019s recent lack of polish in software, but the increasing monetization and push into services are a bigger issue imo. You pay the apple premium for hardware and the hardware is indeed great, but you\u2019re increasingly treated like a piggy bank. Line must go up. In regard to Maps: if all you want is a gps, there\u2019s many apps that use OpenStreetMap data. I use CoMaps myself. You download the map(s", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple Maps Ads Are Here, and There's No Way to Turn Them Off"}, {"id": 789428594, "item_id": 49339287, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49339287", "by": "tengwar2", "date": "2026-08-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "occasionally Apple Maps (works well with addresses in Calendar)", "excerpt": "Yes, of course. In my case Waze to get there efficiently, OSMand App for topographic maps, and occasionally Apple Maps (works well with addresses in Calendar) and Sygic. I use them in the car, and on my bike: ruggedised CarPlay / Android Auto screens are rapidly displacing ruggedised satnavs on bikes. Playing audiobooks and podcasts is handy, as is getting text messages read out with dictation for reply, but it's nav", "context": "drives and bikes", "use_case": "navigation from calendar addresses", "switched_from": "", "story": "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI"}, {"id": 786331233, "item_id": 49145702, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49145702", "by": "jameshart", "date": "2026-08-02", "stance": "compare", "quote": "Apple Maps does a better job at this.", "excerpt": "I do find it interesting that while modern map apps do a great job of replacing road atlases, and we can get satellite and photogrammetry overlays that give us immense insight into how maps relate to the context on the ground, and we do have pretty good topographic mapping apps (though sadly not built in to the big map apps like Google or Apple), but one kind of map that we used to get in paper atlases but can\u2019t expl", "context": "", "use_case": "physical map labelling", "switched_from": "", "story": "Folding Paper Globes"}, {"id": 782188849, "item_id": 48886803, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48886803", "by": "nostrademons", "date": "2026-07-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "My brother-in-law switched to Apple Maps for similar reasons: he's finding it simply gives better results nowadays.", "excerpt": "I've noticed that Google Maps has started sucking a lot lately, routing us onto routes that take 2-4 minutes longer when a faster route is clearly available or taking us on nonsensical detours, and I wonder if this experiment is a reason why. There's a hidden cost to this, and that's trust in the mapping app. I've stopped using Google Navigation for routine trips where I know how to get to the destination. It used to", "context": "", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "The power of collaboration: How we can reduce traffic congestion"}, {"id": 782179984, "item_id": 48886249, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48886249", "by": "ericbarrett", "date": "2026-07-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is why I switched to Apple Maps.", "excerpt": "Same. This is why I switched to Apple Maps. Sometimes the Google detours would end in dangerous situations, like a left turn with no light across a major road. And it would be to save 2 minutes-ridiculous!", "context": "", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "The power of collaboration: How we can reduce traffic congestion"}, {"id": 780964642, "item_id": 48810290, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48810290", "by": "Cider9986", "date": "2026-07-06", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Apple Maps, which I find accurate", "excerpt": "I use CoMaps, it works great. You get notified in the app to download the updated maps you selected every 2 weeks or so. Could be wildly different than that, just what I notice. It's timing estimates are often 5-15 minutes off Apple Maps, which I find accurate, on ~two hour drives, but I imagine it depends on the traffic. To improve OpenStreetMap, which CoMaps uses as the data source, I use StreetComplete[1]\u2013it puts ", "context": "", "use_case": "drive time estimates", "switched_from": "", "story": "CoMaps \u2013 FOSS Offline Maps"}, {"id": 780317730, "item_id": 48769858, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48769858", "by": "jitl", "date": "2026-07-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Google Maps and Apple Maps are both reliable where I drive (Miami).", "excerpt": "I have a boring Mercedes mid-size SUV. Carplay works. I can skip/repeat tracks using the standard control on the steering wheel; the instrument cluster shows the current track the same way it's done with connected phones forever. On the center console screen, we use the Carplay view with 3 splits - one for Spotify, two for navigation (map & next direction). Google Maps and Apple Maps are both reliable where I drive (", "context": "", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "CarPlay Is Additive"}, {"id": 777094640, "item_id": 48568415, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48568415", "by": "ChrisMarshallNY", "date": "2026-06-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I found that the built-in AM clustering truly sucks, so I wrote my own.", "excerpt": "I have an app that is heavily map-based. It's an iOS app that uses Apple Maps (I know, I know, controversy, yadda, yadda; but there's a good reason -many of them, in fact- that I use Apple Maps). I found that the built-in AM clustering truly sucks, so I wrote my own. It's not perfect, but delivers a much better experience than the native one.", "context": "iOS app developer", "use_case": "maps in iOS app", "switched_from": "", "story": "Map Clustering Is Not My Favorite"}, {"id": 772755234, "item_id": 48297202, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48297202", "by": "lisplist", "date": "2026-05-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "For hiking trails, Apple Maps has often been superior.", "excerpt": "I switched to DDG about a year ago and it works fine for me. For some queries, Google still surfaces better results, but DDG is good enough that I don't really miss it. The only Google service I haven't been able to replace is YouTube - no real alternative. I still use Google Maps as well, but could probably switch to Apple maps without missing much. For hiking trails, Apple Maps has often been superior. I briefly tr", "context": "", "use_case": "hiking trails", "switched_from": "", "story": "DuckDuckGo search saw 28% more visits after Google said people love AI mode"}, {"id": 768753168, "item_id": 48047073, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48047073", "by": "drcongo", "date": "2026-05-07", "stance": "warn", "quote": "discovered why so many people hate it", "excerpt": "I used to quite like Apple Maps, but then I tried to switch to it for navigation in CarPlay and discovered why so many people hate it. Me: \"Hey Siri, navigate to {exactly the same hospital I went to yesterday}\", Siri: \"I found a McDonalds 309 miles away, it has a trip advisor rating of 2 stars, want that one?\". I've never sworn at Siri so much as I do in my car.", "context": "", "use_case": "car navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ads on Apple Maps"}, {"id": 768723152, "item_id": 48045197, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48045197", "by": "m463", "date": "2026-05-06", "stance": "warn", "quote": "only problem is: apple offline maps last 30 days then disappear.", "excerpt": "You know what I do? I have a second iphone. main iphone - mostly revolves around phone and messages. lockdown mode. no bluetooth, no wifi, no location services, privacy stuff all restricted. I also do some web browsing. I run adblock which lets you filter lots of stuff. apple id signed out. and my second iphone - offline iphone. I install it using ethernet with outside connection (usb->ethernet dongles work for iphon", "context": "runs a second offline iPhone", "use_case": "offline maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ads on Apple Maps"}, {"id": 759903873, "item_id": 47493992, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47493992", "by": "gib444", "date": "2026-03-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Apple Maps does driving directions way better in general", "excerpt": "Organic Maps is great for offline. It even did better directions in Europe recently, because Google Maps does not have an \"avoid unpaved roads\" option. Apple Maps does driving directions way better in general - better visuals, speech etc. It does foreign pronunciations better too IIRC. It's even not bad as a PWA on Android ( https://maps.apple.com ). Google Maps loves to say take eg \"exit Via Emilio Enrico\" on some r", "context": "", "use_case": "driving directions", "switched_from": "", "story": "Migrating to the EU"}, {"id": 754983362, "item_id": 47186460, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47186460", "by": "nunez", "date": "2026-02-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Apple Maps for navigation (though I rely on Google Maps for reviews)", "excerpt": "Couldn't agree more. Kagi for search, Fastmail for e-mail, Apple Maps for navigation (though I rely on Google Maps for reviews). Once a realistic not-Office 365 alternative for docs and spreadsheets appears, I'm going to bail on Drive too. I've used Fastmail for a year now and haven't missed Gmail for a second. It even natively supports iOS push notifications for Mail, something Google refuses to implement. Same with", "context": "", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "Leaving Google has actively improved my life"}, {"id": 747672320, "item_id": 46729520, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46729520", "by": "left-struck", "date": "2026-01-22", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I switched to apple maps because of some egregious privacy violation by google maps", "excerpt": "I\u2019m not sure it it\u2019s a bug but I can\u2019t believe more people aren\u2019t talking about it: When you use apple maps and your phone is locked and you want to unlock your phone, for some reason it takes like 5 seconds or something to unlock the phone which feels like forever. The ui feeling insanely unresponsive and weird, you have to swipe further than usual and it takes way longer. It feels like the phone is fighting you! Ho", "context": "", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "Google Maps", "story": "Bugs Apple Loves"}, {"id": 746181728, "item_id": 46636358, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46636358", "by": "wcallahan", "date": "2026-01-15", "stance": "compare", "quote": "So I use Apple Maps, Mapbox, OpenStreetMap, and Google Maps", "excerpt": "I do a lot of maps API calls, and found I get better results (and can save money) by using multiple providers. So I use Apple Maps, Mapbox, OpenStreetMap, and Google Maps\u2026 sometimes to check the results with multiple providers, and sometimes to divvy up the free allotment. For anyone using Java/Kotlin/JVM, I made an SDK for Apple Maps: https://github.com/WilliamAGH/apple-maps-java which is one with a generous include", "context": "", "use_case": "maps API calls", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why NUKEMAP isn't on Google Maps anymore"}, {"id": 733711696, "item_id": 45856981, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45856981", "by": "kwertyoowiyop", "date": "2025-11-08", "stance": "warn", "quote": "The \u201cGuides We Love\u201d feature in Apple Maps is my a great example of this. When I first saw it I was appalled by its complete uselessness.", "excerpt": "The \u201cGuides We Love\u201d feature in Apple Maps is my a great example of this. When I first saw it I was appalled by its complete uselessness. It\u2019s hard to understand how an Apple team could have created and actually shipped such a waste of space. Edit: deleted a couple of company references that weren\u2019t needed to make my point.", "context": "", "use_case": "maps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple is crossing a Steve Jobs red line"}, {"id": 733152050, "item_id": 45822003, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45822003", "by": "TYPE_FASTER", "date": "2025-11-05", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "displays the next turn information from Apple Maps", "excerpt": "I think it drives the instrument cluster too. Maybe instead of a new head unit, what we will need in the future is an open version of Android Automotive OS, like Lineage for our cars. We use CarPlay with our Mazda. The heads up display on the windshield displays the next turn information from Apple Maps. Edit: it looks like Lineage has support for Android Automotive: https://lineageos.org/Changelog-30/", "context": "", "use_case": "navigation", "switched_from": "", "story": "GM Deprecating In-Car App Store for Models as Recent as 2020"}]}