Launch the “App Store“ app, tap on the “Top 25” apps and you will notice – in the “Free” section — Google Maps is ranked in the highest spot possible. It took Google only a few hours to reach this position. And the app will stick to this top spot for a long time to come as they deserve it, at least that’s what iOS users believe.
At the time of writing this article, there are nearly 20000 reviews with 4.5 star rating to Google Maps app, indicating that iOS users have wholeheartedly embraced Google Maps app on their devices. Unfortunately for iPad users, Google Maps is available only for iPhone and iPod Touch users — all the iPad users have to wait for the optimized version, which we believe is on its way.
As is the case with every app, there are some positive and negative reviews posted about Google Maps. Some believe the older Google Maps app (the stock app) was much faster and accurate, while others — especially iOS 6 users who are missing Google Maps and are living with the buggy Apple Maps — have expressed their excitement and thanked Google by writing positive reviews and giving full marks to the app (by rating it 5 stars).
Everything that was available in the Google Maps stock app is up for grabs in the newer version. But there’s more. The new iOS app has a voice guided turn-by-turn navigation system, brings Street View (learn how to enable Street View), has a vector-based graphics and generates 3D viewing angle among many other things.
There’s no 3D flyovers or indoor maps available. Also, voice search is unavailable in the iOS version of Google Maps — Android users are lucky. However, at the end of the day, Google’s Map is a dream come true for some. The app has a great design, shows accurate information and is completely free to download.
It’ll be interesting to see if Apple brings a massive update to Apple Maps next year, but for now, Google Maps is miles ahead of any of the mapping application out there. And by launching Google Maps app, Google has clearly pulled the rug out of all the other mapping applications we are aware of — including Nokia Here, AR+ Maps, Maps+, Waze, and Apple Maps of course.
