After years of playing catch-up, Apple Maps is close to parity with Google thanks to improved city-based Guides, cycling navigation, and satellite imagery features. In fact, Apple Maps comes out on top in one essential area: user privacy. It's still missing a few capabilities and doesn't go as deep in some areas as Google Maps, which remains our Editors' Choice winner for navigation apps, but it's clear that Apple is on the right route with its focus on protecting your data.

Availability: Primarily for Apple Devices

Apple Maps is free and comes preinstalled on every Apple Watch, iPad, iPhone, and Mac. It's an Apple-exclusive app, so Android users can't download it on their phones and tablets. Conversely, Google Maps is available on Apple's platforms.

Unlike Google Maps and the driver-focused Waze, Apple Maps previously lacked a browser-based version. Apple now offers a beta version of web maps for the Chrome, Edge, and Safari browsers on iPad, Mac, and PC. This is a significant upgrade that helps close the Google gap, but Apple's web maps are still missing key public transit and street view features. Apple has also released the MapKit JS code that lets web developers add Apple Maps services to websites. For example, the privacy-focused DuckDuckGo search engine now uses it for map-related searches and route planning.

(Credit: Apple/PCMag)

Interface and Ease of Use: Clear Design and Business Listings

Apple Maps has a basic skeleton map that's similar to Google Maps, with clearly labeled interstates, local businesses, and street names. The interface also features a button to reorient to your current location, an icon that opens the app's Settings section, a search bar, and a widget that showcases your search area's air quality and temperature. In the Settings section, you can toggle between map, public transit, and satellite views, as well as toggle real-time traffic indicators. Like Google Maps, Apple Maps has voiced turn-by-turn directions.

Apple Maps syncs with your region's day and night cycle, presenting a Light mode during the daytime and a Dark mode at night. Google Maps has this option, too. However, we couldn't find a way to toggle this behavior within Apple Maps. It's based on your device's system settings, so it can be a bit annoying if you prefer one mode over the other.

Apple Maps does a slightly better job of highlighting major businesses and stores in your area than Google Maps. Say you have Best Buy, Home Depot, Walmart, and Wegmans all nearby; Google only shows the first three unless you zoom into the map. I'd hazard that the app is prioritizing sponsored businesses, as they come complete with unique logos and nameplates. In our tests, Apple Maps displayed all the local, major businesses at a glance. It also showcased highly rated hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants.

(Credit: Apple/PCMag)

Location Details: Searches, Guides, and Look Around

When you search for a specific address or business in Apple Maps, the app takes you to the location, gives you the distance from your current location, pulls reviews from Yelp, and offers directions. Location cards highlight business hours, phone numbers, relevant Yelp photos, and other helpful information (such as whether it accepts credit cards or provides free Wi-Fi). 

For certain cities, Apple Maps displays Guides, a curated list that highlights a city's recommended destinations. For example, Guides showed us Los Angeles' best flea markets and local beaches after we searched within the city. These guides are spotty, though, as they're from third-party sources. Unfortunately, not every city has accompanying Guides; Cincinnati and Detroit lack adjoining Guides as of this writing.

Apple Maps can give directions regardless of whether you are traveling by bicycle, car, foot, public transportation, or ride-sharing services. The app shows multiple route options, and color-codes traffic by severity. Although Apple Maps defaults to finding directions based on your current location, creating a different starting point is easy. You just tap the current starting location to bring up a search bar. It's a far more intuitive search solution than what Waze offers. That app makes you jump through hoops to select a different starting point. Apple Maps might also soon gain more natural language search options.

Although Apple has a fleet of camera-equipped cars to scan the world, Google still has more robust maps. Using Google Maps, I viewed the internal layout of a local Best Buy. In a more useful illustration, Google Maps let me switch between multiple floors within the Washington State Convention Center. Likewise, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has internal maps with multiple floors highlighting bathrooms, escalators, and phones. This type of internal mapping is an area where Apple Maps falls short. Apple lets you see indoor maps of select areas like airports and shopping malls, but Google simply offers more.

The app put up a good fight in smaller towns. A search for Gorham, New Hampshire, gave me a clear, concise look at the town's local businesses. Google Maps knows where the businesses are when you search for them, but their listings aren't quite as clear. You might have to zoom in a bit to see everything.

Apple's cool Look Around feature recalls Google's Street View. I enjoy its implementation, as it gives you 360-degree location views and a side-by-side map for additional context. On the other hand, Google's Street View is a full-screen affair that's somewhat cumbersome.

That said, Google is working with more data. Google Maps Street View has an internal location view option. It also covered more of the town in our Gorham search, whereas Apple's Look Around feature offered nothing. International travelers will find even less information: Look Around is available only in 35 countries, with limited coverage in each nation. Google Maps tops it by offering Street View in more than 80 countries.

(Credit: Apple/PCMag)

Navigation Tools: Fly All Over the World

Apple Maps fully integrates with Siri, which lets you ask Apple's voice assistant for directions. The commands work well, though we found that asking for directions to a location wouldn't immediately present us with a route. Instead, it gave us a series of route buttons, including one based on our current location and other recent searches. I wish it would just automatically create a route like Google Maps.

The app's satellite view is a little odd, adding a more intense angle to its terrain photographs. This makes sense, however, when you see Apple's absolutely stunning 3D Flyover view. Apple Maps combines satellite imagery with 3D models to create a truly impressive view of major cities. These flyover maps resemble tiny dioramas, and I could spend days looking at them. 

Apple Maps lets you set home and work locations for frequent commutes. You can also save locations as favorites, making it easy to find directions at the press of a button. Apple's app caches routes when you look them up. You can also save maps for offline use (perfect for hiking routes) as you can with Google Maps. That's one of the many reasons to give Apple Maps a try. It's worth noting that Apple's maps are vector-based, which keeps their data size lower.

Does Apple Maps Protect Your Privacy?

Apple's commitment to privacy extends to its mapping app. Apple Maps keeps most of its data, such as directions and recent searches, on your device. It also ties data to random identifiers that reset over time, leaving no history of your travels—an excellent touch. Google falls short in this regard. Google Maps does let you delete the data it collects, but it hides those options.