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-   -   Google Maps is the world's most-used navigation app; Google shares proof (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-entertainment/287141-google-maps-worlds-most-used-navigation-app-google-shares-proof.html)

According to reports, Google Maps is the world's most used navigation app on both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The tech giant recently shared numbers to prove just how popular its navigation app really is.

As per Mountain View-based search, Google Maps has over 2 billion users - making it part of a select group of products with similar milestones which include Google Chrome, YouTube and Android.



In addition to the users, Google Maps has 2 billion monthly users and 10 billion downloads on the Play Store. It also dominates the Apple store, despite of a native rival (Apple Maps) coming pre-installed on iPhones.

The other alternative to Google Maps is Waze. However, this navigation app is also a Google-owned product, and as of late 2022 figures, Waze had around 151 million active users. While the numbers could have improved since then, Waze still remains significantly smaller than Google Maps.

While reports suggest that Apple Maps could be bigger than Waze, Apple has not released any official figures.

Source: AutoEvolution

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Google maps has essentially taken over the navigation everywhere. 10 years ago, I was using Here/Nokia maps since it offered offline navigation back then. Google was pretty late for offline navigation though. But with increase in network coverage all over the world, the necessity for offline maps is dropping fast.

Not at all surprising, I have seen almost everyone using G-maps, even if they are on iOS device (Sorry Apple maps). Have used it extensively in various countries and it has performed flawlessly. Except India, I trust it blindly.

The 3 times it has let me down has only happened it when I have used the G-maps in India;

1) Took me from such a narrow road that the wing mirrors (OVRMs) of the car were touching the adjacent walls and had drains on either side of the street, with a cow sitting right in the middle of the street and there was no way to open the doors and come out, till I honked and made few sleepy souls uncomfortable, while on my way to Nainital.

2) Took me through a non existing road/village over damaged culverts/drains, and through some private farms, scrapped the underbelly at few locations, while on my way to Jaisalmer.

3) And the cake is when it took me through a dry river bed and I could see the bridge above but couldn't fly back to it, while on my way to Mumbai.

Till date I don't know why it diverted me to those routes.

I feel Google Maps is designed for auto drivers in India. Have switched to Apple Maps since quite sometime, it has got its share of issues like destination is sometimes not precise - but it's been improving steadily over the years.

I have tried many navigation apps. Here are my observations.

Google Maps: Most reliable probably because they have the most data. Works seamlessly with Andriod Auto.

Waze: Good UI. Lots of funky features. Doesn't show the real-time traffic though.
It also works very seamlessly with Andriod Auto.

Here WeGo: It has the best UI in a navigation app. Offline maps used to be its USP, but now others have caught up. It works well with the Android app. Sometimes, the traffic data is not updated. It looks like they lack data due to the few users in India.

Mappls: Lots of useful features. Being an Indian company, they have added lots of useful things to the app. But the app is cluttered and buggy. Also, it doesn't work well with Android Auto.

I really like Mappls. Also wanted to support them since it is made by an Indian company. But it's not reliable. The app will freeze multiple times while on Andriod auto. Here Wego is also good.
But I always go back to using Google Maps. It is simply the best out there.

While I use GMaps in urban driving, for remote areas, I prefer NaviMaps. It is offline so does not depend upon spotty internet.

While GMaps has the option of downloading areas, I find it too much of a chore to remember downloading before the start of the journey.

The only disadvantage of NaviMaps is that the data is usually 6 mts old. Some of the newer roads/highways are often not represented well. Otherwise, never had a problem with wrong directions because of poor internet

Its hands down Gmaps for me. The sheer accessibility and ease of navigation. In the year 2016, I did an entire Scandinavian Trip using Offline Gmaps. Mind you, I not only covered mainstream places like Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, but also interiors like Flam, Alesund, Bergen, Tromso to say a few.

Always prefer using Google Maps on my iPhone, even though it comes with Apple Maps pre-installed. One thing I've noticed is that Apple Maps doesn't update information as effectively as Google Maps. Sharing your location via Apple Maps on WhatsApp is practically useless.

Google map knows every hidden alley and side street better than some locals ! Occasionally it might suggest a 'short cut' through someone's backyard, but Google map literally trumps every other map out there when you need to reach your destination reliably. When you want to get there faster than your 'chai' can cool, you Google maps just flips into 'god mode'.

The remote interiors of Kyrgyzstan is the only time I had to really switch away from Google maps to maps.me app. Otherwise Google maps is always the best bet. I do like the UI of Apple Maps better but it doesn't really work well enough to become an alternative to Google maps in its current state.

Settings > Offline Settings > Auto-download / auto-update offline maps (enable both).

I do wish Google merge the two into a single product. It is tough to switch from one to the other while driving (particularly so because Waze doesn't remember your destination if you switch out while in Android Auto) - Google is good for congestion/road conditions and Waze is for speed traps and the like. Both are needed.

There are some niggles with Google Maps though. For one, there is no label-free view in mobile (it is present in the web). It's search is often faulty (eg: scroll quite some distance away from your current location and do a search for something like "hotels near here". It will show the results anchored at your current location and not where you want to check). Crowdsourced POI data suffers from huge quality issues. Navigation does not learn from your own driving (a road near my home it claims is closed; but I have been driving through it every single day for the past many years. Yet even today Google refuses to acknowledge that road exists).

One feature I sorely miss - and I think this would be a technical challenge for them to implement - is layering of apps. For example, there is my own navigation. Then there is my Swiggy's "where is my order?". Uber's "your cab will be with you in 10 minutes". My daughter's school bus's live tracking feature. They all use Google Maps, but to check them I have to visit each of these individual apps. It would be tremendously useful if the Maps app could be layered with me-specific data provided by each of these apps.

Google maps, if you are able to review the directions shown before you start the trip and ensure that you stick to the main roads. GMaps loves to take you across extremely narrow and sometimes unnavigable roads, to get you to point B earlier. I did have a similar experience last week, so much so that a villager halted me and asked me "where are you going? your car will barely fit in" - but I was already too committed to the route and completed it, thankfully with nothing more than a few light scratches from shrubs that extended deep into the carriageway on both sides. Lesson learnt: Look at the directions given for those "GMap special shortcuts" - sometimes its difficult to spot early enough, but quite often you get a sense as you turn off a main road.

Google maps: Have mapped almost all the roads, businesses, and places, and combined with their search technology, it is easy to find the destination. It finds the fastest route. Not just riders & drivers, people using public transport use Google maps to get around and also to find the ticket price. No surprise that everyone uses it. It does have a few cons:
* Cannot find the destination with house numbers or by postal address (not always)
* The route sometimes takes through narrow lanes and is unsuitable for cars.
* It doesn't take into account the wait times at traffic signals.
* It doesn't do load balancing. All vehicles are sent to a particular road, creating congestion when an alternate road with the same ETA is available.
* Speed limit is not always shown.

Waze: I feel Waze is driver-friendly compared to Google maps. But it doesn't seem to route based on traffic conditions. It has good interface. In a new city, with unknown roads, I prefer Waze for better voice navigation.

PS: I had used MapMyIndia long back and I remember it had house numbers mapped out. I have heard Here maps have 3-dimensional views. I have not tried that.

Gmaps is good, but we have to use it judicially!
In city, the directions are pretty reliable, but not so in rural areas i.e. smaller towns & villages.
If you know the route, better not to depend on Gmaps.
Also when using Gmaps, better to avoid the shorter routes to save time, most the time it will be a narrow road & mostly badly maintained.

I absolutely love Google maps, and use it every time I sit in the car (yes, even for my daily office commute, because I enjoy the traffic and time estimates).

Is it always accurate? No. Especially when the traffic conditions are red. Google does underestimate how bad red/dark red can be.

Can it be followed blindly? Nope. Not unless you want to end up in narrow lanes your vehicle cannot fit through.

But does it work well 95% of the time? Yes!

The remaining 5%, one must use a certain degree of common sense. If my gut feeling tells me Google maps is guiding me onto an incorrect road, I will stop on the side, and study the route it is suggesting.

Anecdote: I recently went on a mini road-trip from Mumbai to Lonavala. It's not something one needs maps for. After the toll booth, Google maps was suggesting I get off the expressway and take the old Mumbai-Pune highway instead. I stopped the car momentarily on the side of the road, to understand why, and it showed that the ghat section of the expressway was completely jammed.

I decided to risk it and follow Google maps. It turned out to be the best decision ever! While on the old highway, we managed to catch a glimpse of the expressway. To say it looked like the most horrifying jam I've seen in a long time would be an understatement :eek:! I'm convinced there must have been an accident or a truck breakdown. Cars were simply not moving. It would have added an extra hour of uphill clutch management. Had I taken the regular expressway route without following maps, my left leg would have been beating my head with my foot.

Google maps has helped me more often than it has hindered me (which has happened on a few occasions), but as long as one understands and works around it's limitations, it is a godsend.