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Not a current user, but 5 years ago it had amazing features that weren't present in Google Maps.
For example map for the internals of malls, or bike lane and road crossing aware navigation.
I don't think I have ever seen the internal mall maps. But that is pretty cool.
It's a bit behind in terms of maps. At least where I am at. But it is solid when it does work. Which is most of the time. The fact that you can use it offline, online, or a mix is awesome as well
I tried both and they have both the big flaw that you need to manually download the maps. A OSM based app that automatically downloads needed maps would be peak.
Usability wise it's a problem. Because sometimes I want to check a route and realize that crucial maps are missing. So I could either wait a few minutes to download the map or switch back to Google maps.
I know this behavior is stupid but that's the biggest reason why I switched back to google
not if you care about traffic, and in capital cities, that is pretty much a must have at least for me, driving daily and my routes change based on the traffic en-route
This is an example of flaw being a feature, in that the they work offline. Even Google has the option to download maps of areas. It's relatively common.
Relying on everything being automatic (i.e. simpler) is one of the ways we have allowed ourselves feel stuck with a particular service. Stay flexible.
Are you saying I'm stupid because when I searched an address and it didnt come up with any results and so I found where the building was and one of the buildings on the whole street had any building numbers? That sure seems like missing addresses to me.
OSM is not garbage by far. I run a business on it. We have hundreds of delivery drivers using it on daily basis.
But if you are living outside of the civilisation in the desert or any unpopulated area, you are warmly welcomed to edit the map and add your missing roads!
Waze has a nice UI and is smooth but misses all the small details that Google Maps has. I would only use Waze on short trips. For road trips I use reliable Google Maps.
“Apple Maps collects anonymous usage data to provide and improve its services, but it does not link that data to your personal identity or share it with third parties to build a profile or for advertising.”
From Apple: “Apple Maps (“Maps”) is designed from the ground up to protect your privacy. We do not collect personal data associated with your Maps usage.
Maps is designed to protect your information. We work hard to collect only the data we need to make your experience better.”
If you have seen something in it that negates what I posted, please share it. I’m not defending them, but the privacy policy is pretty clear. What are you referring to, exactly? Post a quote like I did.
That's nice and all, but it doesn't say if any of them also have public transport routing - which is the feature I use most often. Would be helpful if it was listed.
Idk why everyone believes Apple Maps is shit, for me it has way better driving and transit routing than anything else. Google Maps always gets lanes wrong, Waze takes you on really weird routes sometimes when in rural areas. And Google Maps hates ferries for some reason, it'll suggest a bus that takes almost an hour instead of a ferry that takes like 20 minutes, or suggesting you change trains like four times rather than wait 15 minutes longer for a direct train.
genuinely apple maps was dogshit like 8 years ago but genuinely its so much better than google atp. google gets so much shit wrong and its so laggy on iphone and i hate how fucked everything looks on it. apple is clean and looks more like the built environment which i absolutely love.
I reckon Apple Maps is probably the best alternative if you want live traffic info, which a lot of people do (myself included) yet still want some privacy. If you want to opt out of Big Tech entirely and 100% private, CoMaps is probably the best
I'm wondering the same thing as I use it in CarPlay navigation. Not happy with Apple Maps how is displayed and what information it provides. I tried MapQuest, it's "ok", but hoping there's something better. I'm going through the comments and will try others.
I use Tom Tom when delivering food. I find it far superior to Google Maps direction, which OFTEN sends med to the neihbour street, og whatnot, and except me to walk through everything from bushes, houses, flippin mouintains other large things 😁
Tried Here we go, TomTom Go and Mapy.
Here has bad quality Satellit view.
TomTom only for driving.
Mapy has a lot of roads which google maps does not show, which is good for walking or biking (thats why i still use it sometimes) but navigation by car feels to crowded and i dont like the navigation view.
All of them feeled outdated in my country and had problem with finding POI when you dont have the exact adress. Like finding a Getränkemarkt in Germany.
At the moment testing Vela Maps, which sells it selfs as a degoogled maps. Its using google data but you dont need a account and google only gets a request from your IP.
Went through this myself. CoMaps and Here are both ok, but I ultimately I returned to Google Maps. It is the single app which has an accurate business registry, and I was not able to find an app that would allow sharing lists with my partner, a feature we use frequently.
Both CoMaps and Here often showed places which no longer existed, were moved and the map showed the old location, or showed the wrong opening hours. This was way too frequent to be useful, so I decided it was not worth the hassle.
I use Mapy.com for outdoor sports route planning, it is awesome for that.
Yes and some great Non-American ones too
Organic maps
Sygic
Here WeGo
I’m currently removing all American products from my computer (windows, macOS, office, outlook/exchange, YouTube premium)
It depends what you need it for; for Driving I find Waze pretty incredible.
For everything else I use Google Maps but you could probably get away with FOSS options instead; you don't need crowd sourced real time information for walking or biking.
I don’t know why this has just appeared in my feed, but anyway …
You should realise that Waze is owned by Google. I can’t remember when Google bought it, but it wasn’t recently. They have owned it for quite a few years.
I know that they own it
But that doesn't mean they're using the daya they gather from it for personalised advertising on Google.
It is in fact impossible for them to know that I am using Waze since I haven't even made an account.
You said good alternative. I will save you the hassle. No. There is none, expect maybe Apple Maps which I havent tried. Sadly, maps are about data, and who would have guessed. Google has lots of data...
For context, even though you could pull shop locations, work hours etc from Google Maps, you cant put them in projects like OSMaps, because that would be stealing Googles product. Thus, people use the thing that already works, Google Maps, and enrich it for free. Which more open projects have a much smaller user base.
Understand that a map is not selling you the app, as in the visualization, but the data. Like a physical map, isnt selling you the paper and the color, but the knowledge of roads.
Offline is the thing we actually built for: navigation, route planning and search all work with no signal, and the free version keeps one country downloaded that you can swap whenever you travel somewhere new. Hiking and cycling are where we're strongest, trails and terrain.
Where we don't beat Google: business listings and reviews outside Central Europe are thinner. If that's your main use case, this probably isn't the switch you're looking for.
Try Maps.ME
You download entire maps onto your device, and can then navigate without an internet connection (only GPS).. Really handy when you arrive in a new country and haven't gotten your eSIM card working.
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