I’ve started using Apple more as, unlike Google, they have house names. Many houses where I live have a name rather than a number; they’re impossible to find in Google Maps. I’ve also found the GM routing is increasingly aggressive, often sending me down single-track roads which may be technically quicker/shorter but no-one would choose as a route. Apple is usually more conservative and uses main routes which may be a few minutes slower but a much more pleasant and safer journey.
That said, Apple still locates many businesses by postcode, meaning they’re on the wrong side of the road or the entrance is completely wrong. They have a small ferry port near me about 1k away from the water in the middle of an empty field. That’s poor.
I know that my iPhone tracks my location because I had something like 80 locations listed as “Significant Locations” when I turned on Stolen Device Protection. Does Apple look at this data? They say they do not, and absent any proof I accept their claim. But they also once said they were going to scan the photos on our devices.
Apple has been beating the “security” and “privacy” drum for so long that many people think they can protect information that was sold/leaked by credit card companies and merchants, etc. long ago. I appreciate Apple’s efforts to protect as much information as may still be “private”, but there is much less of that today than some people would like to admit.
I turned off “Significant Locations” because they are the probably the most likely places where my phone might be lost or stolen.
As I mentioned in this thread a year ago, I use both Apple and Google maps depending on which has the features I need at the time. But I prefer to use Waze, if possible, because it has the most up to date traffic information. IMO.
Apple Maps has worked fine for me. I don’t recall when I last had Google Maps installed, and I only use on my MacBook out of muscle memory (and sometimes having to share routes with someone else). I also rarely use public transit and when I do, it’s in cities where Apple has it well-covered.
Neither Apple nor Google have “niche” features that would really make my longer trips easier to manage - overpass height checks, setting a custom highway speed to get more accurate ETAs, and avoiding narrow or other types of roads (aside from highways/tolls) being top of mind. I have to drop into specialty apps to get that.
Significant Locations long predates Stolen Device Protection. I saw a post about it on one of the Apple blogs, with instructions on how to turn it off.
I was surprised how detailed my location history was—it wasn’t just a few “significant” locations, it was a detailed record of everywhere I went with my iPhone. And it was on by default without informing the user of its existence or asking if they wanted it on. You had to know where it was buried in the settings.
I don’t even remember what the supposed benefit was prior to SDP, but I’ve had it off ever since. Like the recently announced Microsoft Recall feature, none of the collected data was supposed to ever leave your device, but I had a similar negative reaction to it.
There are many countries where authorities could demand access to your device and where a record of your “significant locations” could be dangerous. Apple collecting them without explicit authorisation is not good, regardless of where they end up.
For me that’s another win for Google. When in Spain and Portugal there were many places where Apple had no idea about any public transport. Google, while imperfect (and giving incorrect information on one occasion) had most bus information available.
Where I am in Scotland Apple only recommends getting a bus between two train stations.
I noted that in my last sentence, but I still don’t want it recorded, just as I don’t want something like MS Recall recording everything I do on my devices. I don’t even save my history for routine browsing.
I also don’t want a microphone always recording or transcribing everything I say and everything anyone says to me, even if it all supposedly stays on device.
I’ve noticed the new Journal app suggests I write about places I’ve just visited, which were not in Calendar or a destination in any mapping app.
I also use Waze for driving across town for its real-time routing. Of course it tracks me, as well as everyone else that uses it (and since Waze is owned by Google, I guess Google Maps does the same, perhaps sharing the crowd sourcing). Without the tracking the routing feature would be far less useful. Google’s tracking allows it to predict how busy a store will be at any time or day. This is all valuable to me and I don’t mind being tracked because of it.
I’d switch without any regrets if Apple removed Yelp from it. Honestly, I can’t believe that Apple chooses to partner with Yelp. I realize that they are behind, but…
