Friends Kingdom: Re: [iPad] GPS Experiences across all 3 GPS apps: Waze, Apple Maps, Google

Wow. Did you write all that? Thanks!

On Dec 28, 2015, at 1:20 PM, Myrddin Wyllt myrddinwyllt1964@gmail.com [iPad] <iPad@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

First let me qualify I use my GPS a lot. I am bad at using maps and finding places and the GPS can mostly be a lifesaver when it works well to get me new places or the same places I go every day by a variety of routes depending on traffic.

First let me qualify what I mean by "using it a lot" because of the people I know they tend to only use it when going places they do not know how to go to. I occasionally use it for walking directions and public transportation directions for myself and others.

I use all 3 to see how they take me to unknown places and EVERY DAY to take me to places I know how to get to (home to work and vice versa) to see if they take the way I usually go or better ways. So even though I work at same place and shop at same stores I use the GPS to guide me there. I do use Google Maps/Nav, Apple Maps and Waze and have tried them for the same routes over several weeks and months to see how they differ. I drive in a very dense area (DC, Maryland, Virginia lots of traffic and new constructed roads and businesses). I use it for short errands as well as everyday commutes, and for some long trips (drives to South Carolina, North Carolina, pennsylvania, West Virginia, Southern and Central Virginia) and a variety of job interviews (I am a consultant) that may be 1-1.5 hours away where I don't know destination area or route at all.

On Android I use Trapster with Google Maps to help avoid speed traps and generally know where speed cameras are (sometimes at bottom of hills to ensure the driver had a little extra speed as a revenue raising mechanism in Montgomery County Maryland in particular)

OBSERVATIONS
By far the most accurate is Google Maps. It gets some things wrong (it thinks my house is on wrong side of streets, and sometimes is a block or 2 off on some obscure businesses) but on the whole it has the most accurate information. I do have friends who send complaints to Google about accuracy issues and Google does correspond and fix Google maps accordingly. I lack the free time to do so, so have not corrected them in situations where it is wrong like thinking my house is across the street from real location.

Apple maps has the friendliest display and clearest for 2 reasons: they have really big print on upcoming street names at intersections, and unlike Google maps do not flood the screen with names of roads you are not turning on. Also Google Maps and waze tends to warn you up to 100 ft before turns, i.e. .2 miles, .1 miles, down to 100 feet. Apple map shows you 100ft, 90 ft, 80 ft, down to 10 ft from your turn very useful in some of the dense situations I am in where many roads are close to each other in big city and signs may be hidden by trees or hard to spot. But some of it's data for Baltimore City is just way wrong blocks off and given how dense things are there and trouble reading building numbers and difficulties turning around when past somewhere I had to give up using Apple Maps to go anywhere in Baltimore City, Waze and Google Maps do way better job in Baltimore city.

So of course I wish Google maps improved their intersecting street to be larger print like Apple Maps is since I often have to use it since its database is just better.

Both suffer from previous location caching. Sometimes I start a drive and the GPS does not figure out where I am currently and assumes I am starting at the location I used it last night so that can be disconcerting. Happened frequently on my 5c and almost never on my 6+.

Waze is the best in terms of adjusting your route to traffic. If a car accident or construction or traffic jam appears ahead Waze will without asking me start to suggest how to bypass it by taking exists and side roads around it. Don't know how good Apple Maps is at that. Google Maps as of of a year ish ago has an update that will ask you if you want to re-route to avoid traffic but it asks you and you have to respond or it still takes you to heart of traffic, unless you specifically agree to re-routes. Waze I don't need trapster or the like (which is good since I never found it on Apple only Android) because it not only warns me of cops and speed tracks it warns me of accidents and potholes and vehicles on side of road as all Waze users can press 2 buttons and report such things they observe quickly for all users,

All of them have some quirks you learn to accept.
> If you enter an area where several major highways cross (in Virginia we have a spot called the "Mixing Bowl" where 95, 395 and several highways connect. Sometimes Google Maps upon entering a place where several highways intersect may suddenly start telling you to turn on roads that were not part of it's route. Ignore that and hopefully you were paying attention to the turn they originally suggested there. Its like that cluster of highways temporarily make it want to consider other ways home.
> It is better than humans at working around traffic if accidents or jams occur, and a regular commuter not using a GPS is heading home same time as you Waze will win if unexpected traffic pileups occur. But not better at getting you home fastest. A real expert in area will always win at that unless they hit a unexpected jam. I know this because me and Fiancee leave same place for 20 minutes ish drives home and she always beats me without a GPS. If you know an area well you can ignore some of the directions a GPS gives you and go your preferred way and let it recalculate and adapt.
> certain destinations will put it in circular loops where it keeps circling a place and even if it was within sight (which you may not recognize if you have never visited that destination before) it pays to keep your eyes peeled even more than usual to match picture of building in GPS to your destination in case it is +/- 1-3 blocks off. Fortunately Waze and Google Maps lets you take a picture with Camera and upload to them so others can see a picture that helps.
> Waze and Google Maps when you start will choose quickest route and that may change in a 30 minute -1.5 hour commute and a regular commuter may know some routes get congested quick at certain times of day.
RESULT: When I leave anywhere and Waze gives me a route I sometimes press the route button and notice the 3-4 routes it considered are only 3-6 minutes time difference and pick the route I prefer. They almost always choose quickest but 3-6 minutes is not a big difference and some of the routes may be more complex or become trafficky so you may want to take the simpler one that takes a few minutes more.
> in my area we have "pay express lanes" and they are well supported by Waze and Google Maps (not sure about Apple will try it this week) so sometimes I check those because they can reduce my commute in half if I am willing to pay. Its 4 clicks to turn it off and 4 clicks again to turn it on in Waze and you have to re-enter the destination they could make that less steps and more elegant/

All 3 are better than the TomTom and Garmin dedicated GPS I have seen people use. When those dedicated put people on strange incorrect long routes I rescued with with saner routes from my phone. For some reason their default map databases are way out of date compared to free phone apps.

Google Maps has best search if you misspell a destination (Waze and Apple not so much). All have amazingly bad habit of literally at time suggesting destinations in other countries (I am not kidding) I am in US on East Coast have typed in 157 Elm street or a slightly mispelled store or business destination and even though that might be a few blocks away had them all suggest locations in middle of US, West Coast, Helsinki, Germany, etc. so they have a ways to go in the common sense department ....

All can get really unreliable if you get off course and cell/data tower speeds are low (i.e. I usually have 4g or 4g LTE but if it becomes 3g or 2e or the like it can be useless unless you stay exacty on course, The better ones do cache all directions in case you lose connectivity. I lose connectivity in many places I go because T-Mobile has less towers in some of the rural areas I pass through and less towers than AT&T or Verizon as well in some populated areas that are medium sized.

I am sure there are things I am forgetting but these GPS apps have helped me get many many many places on time and helped me when lost. I cannot imagine life without them and before them I frequently got lost and had to stop and ask directions or carry maps in the car. The only big tip I have for people who like to take scenic routes or who may have spotty connectivity is a compass app is great. If I know my destination is say North east if my GPS lets me down (because of traffic) and I take exits and side roads and alternate less trafficky highways I use a compass to make sure I am on track.