We’re a long way from the days when you had to pull a map from your car’s glove box, unfold it, and try to puzzle out your position. Now, your phone is your map and GPS device. Google has long been at the forefront of this revolution courtesy of Google Maps, one of the earliest navigation apps. Over the years, Google has expanded Maps with useful features that let you plot a commute, take a virtual stroll through a neighborhood, receive voiced turn-by-turn navigation, or find cool things to do in your area. Apple Maps has crept within striking distance, and Waze works well for driving, but Google Maps is still more capable than either, making it our Editors' Choice winner. 

Availability: Free to Use Wherever You Are

Google Maps is free on every platform, and its ubiquity is a key strength. Most Android phones have Google Maps preinstalled alongside several other Google apps. The experience is roughly the same on iOS and iPadOS. The apps offer voiced turn-by-turn navigation and many helpful tools. Glanceable Directions, for instance, puts key navigation instructions right on your lock screen during your trip.

If you don't own a smartphone, you can access Google Maps via any web browser. Google's browser maps are more detailed than the ones Apple Maps is currently testing in beta.

(Credit: Google/PCMag)

Interface and Ease of Use: Get Moving Around Town

Google Maps greets you with a colorful, high-contrast map of your immediate area. It’s very readable, using white for general streets, bright yellow for highways, green for parks, blue for waterways, and gray or dull yellow for buildings. If you've activated your device's location-based services, the app displays a blue dot at your position; a vision cone denotes the rough direction you’re facing. Maps is immensely helpful for getting around your immediate area.

A search bar lets you input the name of a city, town, business, or street, backed by an autocomplete feature based on Google searches. If you’re looking for a CVS Pharmacy, for example, you can type in “CVS,” “pharmacy,” or its street address to get a list of nearby locations. Google Maps lays everything out in helpful cards that you can swipe through. Each card has the location's name, address, distance from your current position, a Call icon, and a Directions icon that lets you quickly find a route there. 

Helpful icons point to frequent search categories, which include EV charging stations, gas stations, grocery stores, gyms, hotels, parks, and restaurants. A very useful Google Maps addition lets you see all the public restrooms in New York City. In testing, the app accurately displayed a public restroom icon for toilets on the south side of Madison Square Park; it also revealed restrooms on the east side of Bryant Park. This can save you money, as you no longer need to buy coffee in a cafe to relieve yourself.

The Layers icon changes the map display. Three map types are available: Default, Satellite (which pulls real pictures from Google’s watchful eyes floating in orbit), and Terrain (which shows topography and elevation). The latter is great if you’re a hiker. The Layers menu includes optional map overlays, such as for a 3D overlay (which shows polygonal buildings), live traffic information, and public transit and bicycle routes.

Google Street View is a mode that lets you check out any major road and look around in a 360-degree, panorama fashion. It's extremely useful if you need to match a landmark with your current location. That said, some Street View images are woefully out of date, displaying photos from years ago. On the upside, Street View also lets you take virtual tours inside select buildings, so you can see a shop's layout without leaving the couch. Apple Maps has Street View-like functionality with its cool Look Around feature, but it lacks Google Maps' indoor mapping, aside from some large airports and shopping malls. The Google-owned Waze lacks a Street View-like feature entirely.

Google draws from a catalog of location data, landmarks, photos, and reviews that keep it ahead of the pack. Google is simply unbeatable when it comes to navigation and trip planning. Every location I searched for in NYC and some nearby smaller cities immediately popped up. Even hidden speakeasy bars couldn't hide from Google Maps. Waze draws on similar data but focuses more on driving. As a result, it can't help if you tend to bike or walk around your town or city. Google Maps even pulls from Waze for driver-focused features, such as changing lanes and reporting weather incidents. Apple Maps works great in larger cities, but it’s playing catch-up to Google in terms of the information it displays for smaller towns.

(Credit: Google/PCMag)

Location Details: Add Context to Your Life

Maps lets you access the extensive data that the search giant collects. This information appears neatly in tabs at the bottom of the app. 

First, there’s Explore, which is all about local haunts. Searching a location reveals a host of additional information for the intrepid explorer. For example, if you’re in Los Angeles, you’ll receive suggestions for the best brunch and bar spots or historic landmarks you should check out. You also get crowdsourced photos of local vistas and hangouts, with useful directions and customer ratings.

The Go tab shows your frequently visited locations, along with estimated arrival times and traffic conditions. It also suggests trips based on your recent searches and can scan your screenshots to see where you've already been. The Saved section collects locations you flag, including the bucket list spots, the homes of your friends and family, and your favorite restaurants. If you want to add to Google’s considerable information database, visit the Contribute section. There, you can add location photos and review businesses. However, you can no longer follow other contributors. Unsurprisingly, Google Maps also leverages Google's Gemini AI tool for tasks such as summarizing user reviews for points of interest. Other tricks are also worth knowing, too.

Navigation Tools: Just Follow the Directions

Ready to hit the road? The starting point can be your current location as determined by GPS or another address. You can add multiple stops along your route, with a maximum of 10 stops per trip. The AI-powered Immersive View visually guides you through your entire path in select areas.

Once you determine your route, Google Maps gives you an estimated transit time based on whether you’re cycling, driving, flying, taking public transit, or walking. The route changes color based on the current traffic: blue for smooth sailing, yellow for small delays, and red for bumper-to-bumper traffic. You also get multiple route options, helping you bypass rough traffic. Apple Maps shows similar information, though its maps of small towns are less detailed than Google's. Google Maps also lets you download directions for offline use, which is especially handy when your cellphone suffers a spotty signal (you can also download maps to your Wear OS smartwatch).

Once you’re on the road, Maps offers voiced turn-by-turn directions. You can mute the digital navigator, use Google Assistant vocal commands to reroute yourself, or search to add stops to your route. Google also offers an augmented reality option: If you’re on foot and give Maps access to your camera, the app overlays directions on the camera image. With Lens, you can also use your camera to orient yourself by scanning nearby landmarks. For more, check out Google Maps vs. Waze.

(Credit: Google/PCMag)

Does Google Maps Protect Your Data?

Historically, Google Maps has lagged behind Apple Maps in the privacy realm. However, the app has improved somewhat. Location History is off by default, for example, and the app has an incognito mode that doesn’t save your search or location history. Google doesn't personalize maps with your Google data either. The company automatically deletes Activated Location History after three months. The app stores your timeline of visited locations on your device instead of online. Cloud backups have end-to-end encryption.

Despite these changes, past reports note that Google services still collect your location data even if you’ve used a privacy setting to prevent that. The data has unique identifiers that, although they don't relate to you specifically, Google can still collect. If you want Google to stop tracking you, you must put in some work. Apple, on the other hand, is better about privacy issues. For example, it keeps more of your data on your device, not in the cloud.