On Wednesday, Apple announced that Apple Maps is now available on the web in beta. While the Maps app is available on all Apple devices, you can now use Apple’s navigation app virtually any device with a supported web browser. The question is: will you?
The web app looks to be a similar, but stripped-down, experience to the app you’d find on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac: You can search for addresses and businesses, see turn-by-turn directions for your chosen route, click on locations on the map to learn more about them and browse related guides wherever you are in the app. Missing a LOT of Apple Maps features at this time, including Look Around (Apple’s version of Street View), bike and public transit directions, the ability to plan a route at a specific time, 3D environments, traffic maps, and, most importantly, the ability to sign in to your Apple ID.
As it stands, this version of Apple Maps is by far the most limited and doesn’t even benefit from the simple ability to get directions from one Apple device to another. But Apple notes that it’s in beta, and the more people test it, the more likely it will resemble the full app we’re all used to in the future.
Apple Maps has caught up to Google Maps
Apple Maps has certainly come a long way since its infamous introduction in 2012. The app that once told drivers to take a sharp right directly off the Brooklyn Bridge is now fully usable as your go-to app. dedicated navigation. In fact, many, if not most, iPhone owners do. The fact that Apple includes Maps as the default navigation app when you set up a new iPhone likely contributes to this, but there are other reasons you might enjoy Apple Maps over Google Maps: Maybe you prefer the map aesthetic of Apple vs. Google, or overall user interface choices. . Maybe you like the integration of Apple Maps with iOS, so you can ask Siri for directions, share your ETA via iMessage, or get your map planning on other Apple devices.
There are many features, big and small, that can make you the Apple Maps team. But, functionally, both apps are pretty similar these days: Both will highlight the best routes with similar ETAs, offer public transit and bike routes, let you report hazards on your route, and more. Which ones you use really comes down to personal preference, likely driven by habit (perhaps you’ve always used Google Maps over Apple Maps) or exclusive features on a platform.
…but not on the web
For me, this is why I can’t see myself ever choosing to use Apple Maps on the web, even if/when it resembles the main app. Occasionally I’ll choose to use it on my iPhone: I tend to switch between Apple Maps and Google Maps (sometimes Waze), just to keep up with any new features in between. But when it comes to using maps on the web, it’s Google Maps every time, for two specific reasons: First, Street View. Look Around is definitely expanding, but Apple just hasn’t mapped the entire world multiple times like Google. Street View is both useful and fun, and roughly 50% of the reason I open the web app.
My second reason has to do with user ratings. I just prefer Google reviews to Yelp, which Apple Maps stands with. Look, I know Apple can’t use Google reviews in its app, but Yelp? Where does clicking the review take me to another website or app entirely? No thanks: If I’m researching a dinner reservation or a destination on my computer, it’s going to be Google Maps.
I imagine it will be the same for many people who use a maps app in a web browser: If you’re on your iPad, of course, you can use Safari or Chrome to open Maps. But you can use Google Maps, or you can use the built-in Maps app on your iPad. The same goes if you’re on your Mac. But I’d be very curious to see how many PC users end up using the Apple Maps web app in Chrome or Edge. I can’t imagine it will ever be a large number.
Now, if Apple BEN end up covering most of the globe with Look Around, AND come up with a review system that can match Google Maps, then we’ll talk. Until then, it’s Google Maps on the web for me and whatever I feel like on my iPhone.