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The location system on mobile phones has become an essential element for travelers and walkers, making traditional GPS machines obsolete . One of the best-known programs used to guide us along sidewalks and roads is Google Maps.
However, iPhone users have the Maps app integrated. So they have a choice. But, which is the best option? From this writing we are going to offer you a comparison of the two services to see which is more complete.
Apple Maps
When we entered the iPhone app, we found a simple interface with a map showing our location. Below, an inverted blind with an address bar and below it, our last visits If we lower the blind all the way down, we will arrive at an icon of a heart, which that will allow us to go to our favorite sites.
Settings
In the upper right corner we have a circular icon with a letter i. Marking it, we will go to the Settings. On the one hand, we can select the type of map we want to see: street map alone, with public or satellite transport In addition, we have the option of adding if we want that the state of the traffic be marked.
Then we can choose if we want to add a place to Maps.First of all, they give us the option to inform Apple of a company, or a street, that we don't see available in the app We will be asked to locate the place on the map, and then we must add the name and type of company. In this way, we participate by helping the app better reflect the reality of the environment.
The other option is internal. It allows us to select places that we consider as Home or Work It does not have to be a single address, it can be several. Once we have selected them, Maps will always offer us a direct link to find out how long we are from home.
Journey
When we select a direction to travel, we have the option to choose if we want to go by car, on foot, by public transport or even by shared taxi In practice, only the car or foot options work well. The public transport company usually reports that "there are no public transport routes between these locations available in Maps". This happens even if we mark that our destination is a train station. On the other hand, if we check the Shared Taxi option, the app sends us to another app, Mytaxi.
If we want to remember certain places for the future, when we mark the address we can associate it with a specific contact, or add it to favourites, to be able to find it from the start menu. These options are quite useful.
Google Maps
We now download the app of the competition, to see the differences. Initially, we have access to the map where our location appears. Already in that initial menu we can access, from the button in the upper right corner, to the simple view of the map, the satellite view or with reliefAlso in that same menu we can view the public transport lines, activate traffic warnings or bike lanes.
In the lower area we have a button to mark if we want Google Maps to recommend a place to eat, have snacks or drinks nearby of the location where we are.
One detail: in Apple Maps, to select an address, we have to type it. If we want to dictate it through the microphone, we must go through Siri. In Google Maps, however, we can use the microphone from the address bar itself.
Settings
If we press the button with three lines to the left of the address bar, a side menu will appear with a wide variety of options. The first is Your Sites.In this option we can establish which or which are the addresses that we consider Home or Work We can also establish a series of favorite sites, outstanding places or that we want to visit, to have them by hand. There is no limit to these sites.
Another option is to check our contributions. Each review or photo of sites that we have made from our account will appear there. We can also enable Location Sharing, which allows other users to know where you are in real time.
However, one of the most interesting options is that of Offline Zones. If there is an area that we visit regularly and we want to consult it without affecting our data connection, we can download it.
Thus, in the future we will be able to move around that area without having the data connected. Be careful, you can't download all of Spain, you only have a limit of 60 MB, which more or less occupies a city.It is also perfect when we are going on a trip, a situation where we are interested in preserving our data as much as possible.
Journey
When we want to select an address to go there, Google Maps gives us several options. He presents us with the street view so that we can confirm that it is the place, on the one hand. By default gives us the duration of the trip by car, but by checking the icon we can choose if we want to go like this, by train, on foot, by taxi or by bike.
In this case, thea public transport option works perfectly, giving us the best combination of train and metro. If we select the taxi option, the approximate prices of the trip in Mytaxi and Cabify appear, as well as the average waiting time until the car arrives. If we are interested in any of these options, we mark the open option, and there, yes, it takes us to the app of each company or to a download page.
Finally, if we select the three-point button in the address bar before starting to travel, we can choose the route options. There we can make decisions to make our journey faster in the future. If we have chosen public transport, we can mark which transport we prefer, and if we want a faster route or the one with fewer transfers. If we go by car, we can select if we prefer to avoid highways, tolls and ferries After all this, we will be ready to go to our destination.
Conclusion
Our impression is that Google Maps is a more complete application than Apple Maps Not only do you have more options to choose and customize navigation and the journey, but it is more intuitive. In the Apple app, we have to go around a lot to get to the places that are visible on Google Maps.In addition, the possibility of downloading zones or choosing our travel preferences are options that are not contemplated in Apple Maps, and that makes a difference. In this comparison, the victory goes to Google.
