4 Apple Maps features that Google Maps still doesn’t have

When it comes to traveling the world, the battle between navigation apps is fiercer than ever. For years, many people’s go-to choice was Google Maps. It contained all the data, all the street views, and all the initial momentum. But the landscape has changed dramatically over the past few generations of software, transforming competitor Apple Maps from a punchline to an option that’s actually worth taking seriously. In fact, today the app even offers a host of fantastic features that Google Maps doesn’t have.

If you’re wondering how to choose between Google Maps and Apple Maps, know that it’s not just about finding the quickest route to a new restaurant. It’s about how the interface feels to use, how it respects your screen time, how useful it is if you go offline, and how safely it lets you get through terrible city traffic. Apple has devoted endless resources to making your driving, walking, and hiking experiences smoother and more intuitive than what Google offers. By relying on tighter software design and cleaner visuals, Apple has quietly built up an arsenal of unique tricks that immediately seem like indispensable tools.

So, without further ado, here are four noteworthy features that show exactly where and how Apple Maps outperforms Google Maps.

Losing cell service on a remote hiking adventure is a guaranteed way to increase your anxiety. Although Google Maps allows you to download a map offline, this process requires you to enter a giant, imprecise rectangle of a city or entire region and then download the data for use later. It works well enough for driving, but it lacks the precise details you really need when venturing off the beaten path for a hike. It looks more like a basic, old school paper map.

Apple Maps completely flips this script and makes things much more useful for outdoor enthusiasts and explorers. Instead of just downloading a massive, vague grid, Apple Maps lets you create and save incredibly specific, point-to-point custom travel routes. Before you lose your cell signal, the app lets you map out a precise trail network with details like exact topographic data and elevation changes.

Apple then saves your new personalized route directly to your device for fully active turn-by-turn guidance, even in a dead zone. This tailored approach means your journey can stay on track, no matter how far you travel. Having guaranteed step-by-step directions like this in your pocket gives hikers a level of confidence and safety that a basic offline road map simply can’t provide. And while there are drawbacks to using Apple Maps instead of Google Maps, Apple’s convenient offline feature isn’t one of them.

Trying to follow a robot’s voice instructions in heavy, chaotic traffic is universally stressful. Google Maps relies on strict distance measurements, barking commands at drivers to make a turn in 800 feet or a quarter mile. Unless you have some sort of innate sense of spatial awareness, this mathematical style of navigation causes you to split your time between looking at the road and glancing at your screen to determine which intersection the app is actually talking about. This creates a frustrating distraction just when you need to watch the road the most.

Apple Maps solves this headache by giving you turn-by-turn directions, just like a real human would. Since it has meticulously mapped out the actual place names, it uses them to guide you as you drive. So, for example, it will tell you to go past the current light and then turn left at the next stop sign. It’s much more accurate and useful than Google’s approach, and makes driving in unfamiliar neighborhoods much less stressful. And beyond that, it keeps your eyes firmly focused on the road and transforms a screen-dependent ride into a smooth, safe ride.

The whole point of wearing a smartwatch is to stop you from looking at your phone all day, and why should that idea stop when you have to move around a busy city? When you use Google Maps on a handheld device, the device relies on generic buzzes that alert you of an upcoming turn. You always end up awkwardly needing to raise your wrist while snaking down a crowded sidewalk just to see if you should head left or right. This technically works, but it’s clunky compared to Apple’s setup.

Apple Maps solves this problem by turning navigation into a tactile language you can feel. The company has integrated its Taptic Engine technology into its new watches, and this system delivers tapping patterns on your wrist. An upcoming left turn feels like three sets of double taps, while a right turn triggers a quick series of 12 taps. You will receive a long vibration once you arrive at your final destination.

Once you have this memorized, you can focus on your destination. This tactile approach completely changes the way you explore new areas and enjoy the scenery. Instead of squinting at a small digital map to make sure you’re heading in the right direction, Apple Maps makes it easy to stay focused on the road, while your wrist silently guides you to your destination. It seems like you should be using secret and hidden Apple Watch features, but they’re just built into the software.

Yes, Google Maps will get you where you need to go, but as soon as you swipe to reply to a text (although we don’t recommend texting while driving) or change songs, your map disappears. Until you return to the app, you’re forced to rely on background audio alerts or easily ignored push notifications to know your next move. This makes multitasking unnecessarily clunky and even a bit dangerous.

Since Apple builds both the iPhone and the software that runs it, its integrated board enjoys advantages that no competing ecosystem can match (although the same goes for Google). As soon as you start a route and switch to another app, Apple Maps shrinks neatly into the dynamic island at the top of your iPhone screen. This gives you a constant, live updated display of your next ride at all times, even when using other apps. Tapping on it instantly gets the full map.

This same seamless integration supports your lock screen. Instead of a basic notification bubble, your locked phone displays a full-screen map with live directions. It feels less like a standalone app and more like an essential part of the phone, making the travel experience frictionless. Overall, Apple’s suite of navigation features make walking or driving easier. Frankly, hats off to Apple; technology should help make our lives easier.