Photo: MacRumors forums
Apple is working around the clock on building a more advanced Google Maps rival, and needless to say, the new-gen experience that the company announced a long time ago is playing a key role on this front.
The bigger problem, however, is that the new maps and the upgraded navigation capabilities are rolling out at a painfully slow pace to users worldwide.
This proves once again that Apple’s main focus is on the navigation experience in the United States, and at the end of the day, this kind of serves as a roadblock for the ambitious objective of turning Apple Maps into a global competitor to Google Maps.
But the good news is that more new-generation features are slowly becoming available for users worldwide. And this week, speed limits have started showing up in Switzerland as well.
Without a doubt, this is a feature that truly comes in handy for drivers out there, though, at first glance, the update doesn’t seem as reliable as you’d expect it to be.
Someone on Reddit says the displayed speed information is often inaccurate, so if you use Apple Maps for navigation, you’re strongly recommended to double-check the road signs as well.
Furthermore, it’s important to keep in mind that such updates go live for users in stages. This means not everybody living in Switzerland should see the update right now, especially as Apple is only making it available for a small subset of users before analyzing reliability data and eventually accelerating the rollout.
For many people out there, Apple Maps bringing speed limit information to Switzerland right now is too little, too late, especially given the entire feature lineup in Google Maps is already available for most users across the world.
The good news, however, is that Apple is truly committed to delivering an upgraded experience to drivers, both on the iPhone and on CarPlay. The 3D navigation model that was announced a long time ago (and which continues to be available in a very limited number of regions as well) is a great way to make the experience behind the wheel more convenient, especially when driving in a region where you’ve never been to.
However, it’s pretty clear that the Cupertino-based tech giant still has a long way to go when it comes to turning Apple Maps into a fully featured rival. The inaccurate data in Apple Maps, as well as the slow rollout of new features can only be good news for Google Maps, especially as its adoption remains at record levels. Not only on Android but on iPhone as well, as many people who want a refined navigation app behind the wheel give up on the native offering and switch to Google Maps.
This proves once again that Apple’s main focus is on the navigation experience in the United States, and at the end of the day, this kind of serves as a roadblock for the ambitious objective of turning Apple Maps into a global competitor to Google Maps.
But the good news is that more new-generation features are slowly becoming available for users worldwide. And this week, speed limits have started showing up in Switzerland as well.
Without a doubt, this is a feature that truly comes in handy for drivers out there, though, at first glance, the update doesn’t seem as reliable as you’d expect it to be.
Someone on Reddit says the displayed speed information is often inaccurate, so if you use Apple Maps for navigation, you’re strongly recommended to double-check the road signs as well.
Furthermore, it’s important to keep in mind that such updates go live for users in stages. This means not everybody living in Switzerland should see the update right now, especially as Apple is only making it available for a small subset of users before analyzing reliability data and eventually accelerating the rollout.
For many people out there, Apple Maps bringing speed limit information to Switzerland right now is too little, too late, especially given the entire feature lineup in Google Maps is already available for most users across the world.
The good news, however, is that Apple is truly committed to delivering an upgraded experience to drivers, both on the iPhone and on CarPlay. The 3D navigation model that was announced a long time ago (and which continues to be available in a very limited number of regions as well) is a great way to make the experience behind the wheel more convenient, especially when driving in a region where you’ve never been to.
However, it’s pretty clear that the Cupertino-based tech giant still has a long way to go when it comes to turning Apple Maps into a fully featured rival. The inaccurate data in Apple Maps, as well as the slow rollout of new features can only be good news for Google Maps, especially as its adoption remains at record levels. Not only on Android but on iPhone as well, as many people who want a refined navigation app behind the wheel give up on the native offering and switch to Google Maps.
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