this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2024
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At this point, I’m surprised anybody (including myself) still buys/uses Google services, given how risky it is that you’ll become dependent on them and then they kill off the product(s). I really need to get off my ass and switch mail providers.
Most people will use whatever the default on their device is. Most phones that aren't iPhones come with Google apps and services set as default.
The only Google services I still use are YouTube and in rare cases Google Maps. But if YouTube continues to enshittify I'll stop using that. I've been using Google Maps mainly to get information about places to eat/sleep in cities, not really for navigation.
There was a time when the Google apps just worked, the applications were optimised for UX. Maybe I've just only noticed it now but the directions (and assistant in general) aren't as useful, reliable, and filled with sponsored stuff.
what do you use for navigation and how does it compare?
Google Maps was a great app and service, it had decent navigation and always a lot of information on a lot of places. Nowadays it's cluttered with features including a "news feed" with social network-like posts made by people on places in the area.
On iOS devices I can highly recommend Apple Maps nowadays. They completely overhauled their maps a few years ago and I got great results navigating with it. The app isn't bloated, it's fast, the map material looks great and their version of Street View is a lot more sophisticated.
For strictly navigating you can also check out TomTom AmiGO. It's a free variant of TomTom's navigational system. I wouldn't really use it outside of car navigation though.
I used to use Sygic a few years back, but they switched to a subscription model and keep nagging existing "lifetime" buyers to subscribe.
Apple Maps also straight up gives objectively better audio guidance (e.g. “move to the right lane to turn right at the next light” vs “turn right in 300 feet”).
Additionally the “directions” portion of the screen has large font and is clearly visible compared to Google’s tiny font on a window the size of 10% of the screen to show you more ads. (Yes, the reason some business appear at all zoom levels while others only pop up at street level is ads)
What a fall from grace. I remember when Apple Maps would direct people to drive through halfway built overpasses with 500 feet of open air at the end because it’s not built yet.