I'm glad I still have Navigon on my iPhone 5, because I can't trust Apple Maps after what happened yesterday.
I've been playing around with Apple Maps since I got my new iPhone last Friday. Some reviewers have called it the worst Apple product ever. Don't know if I'd go that far, since when it works, Apple Maps handles turn by turn directions well.
But when it doesn't... you're not going to get to where you want to go.
Fortunately, I knew where Silver Falls Dermatology is in south Salem. I had a 1:45 pm appointment for a check-up and left home with just enough time to get there. I used Siri on the way to test out Apple Maps again.
"Where is Silver Falls Dermatology in Salem, Oregon?" Siri came up with an answer that looked correct when I glanced at the screen. Commercial Street. Yeah, that's right. I clicked on the link to get turn by turn directions.
Only problem was, when I got close to the clinic Apple Maps was telling me to head north for another 1.9 miles. I ignored the instruction. Sitting in the waiting room I took a closer look at the Apple Maps info for Silver Falls Dermatology.
First, it had the clinic at Commercial Street NE, rather than SE. Second, it had the wrong street number. I asked the receptionist if the clinic had any other offices in Salem. "No," she said. "This is it."
Apple Maps indicated the info came from Yelp.
Oh, great. Google Maps never has led me astray. Google Maps is tried and true (though I'm sure it isn't 100% accurate, just almost so). Now Apple has dumped Google Maps so it can offer its own in-house map system with turn by turn spoken directions.
Good intention. Bad execution. (Great for Navigon and other purveyors of GPS apps for the iPhone, though.)
I hope a Google Maps app returns to the iPhone. Until then, I'll use Navigon for navigating to places I've never been to before and only use Apple Maps for playing around purposes in familiar territory.
Comments