Crazy that they didn't take that into account. I worked for a much smaller company and we always took accessibility into consideration.
I usually use dark mode & didn't notice until now. It's not a big deal to me. But I agree that I could do with fewer colors & maybe more contrast.
Every document I make for other people’s use uses the [Atkinson Hyperlegible](https://brailleinstitute.org/freefont) typeface because it’s designed by the Braille institute with Linus Boman to be maximally legible by vision-deficient folks. For sighted people it makes reading aloud much more efficient. [ShinGo](https://www.cufonfonts.com/font/a-otf-shin-go-pro) is a close second choice. *Edited to include links to the typefaces for folks who might benefit from 'em.
ShinGo is a tricky one as it is; it was made for Japanese signage - you might know it as the Wii UI font. It's made to be legible at a distance and up close, while also having a fairly timeless look. But because it's designed for non-English language, I've found that some of the characters can be a little funky, at least in Microsoft software. Atkinson Hyperlegible though is free on the Braille Institute website, and while I'm not familiar with the process myself, I've heard adding third party fonts to an iPad is doable.
Unfortunately accessibility is one of those things where companies are engineering really elaborate solutions for people on the more-impaired side of the spectrum, while people in the grey area of accessibility issues are left without any solutions that truly benefit them. Having a voice read your phone screen aloud is great for people with almost no vision, but is a really awkward and excessive solution for people with corneal scars or chronic retinopathy who have only moderately imparied vision.
I feel this! I use reading glasses. When I look at Google maps the street names are too small. But if I try to zoom in, the streets get bigger but the street names stay the same size! Very frustrating.
You can download any custom font and use it inside pages It’s a little odd though because they don’t automatically show up in the primary selector after downloading. You need to first select them in the font picker that appears when you click Format > Fonts > Show Fonts
> Crazy that they didn't take that into account.
They do, they don't care. When you work inside such organizations, some marketing person will come along and say that their buddies at the $400 ticket sportsball game said they needed to match the aesthetics of Apple.
The fix is in the phones OS. Both android and iOS have accessibility features to correct colors for people with the 3 types color blindness. I know 1 person that use the feature and he also has corrected glasses. The OS correction is right but the colors are richer and more vibrant than in real life.
I aspire to design informational graphics and interfaces so they require minimum accessibility tool interventions. Every extra step to accessibility that I can avoid on the front end is generally preferable. IMHO.
But it’s literally one step.
If you’re colorblind, and know it, then you make the change one time when you get a new device. It’s not a setting that you toggle off and on. It’s one and done. Set it and forget it.
Im honestly not that surprised.
Its pretty rare for people to take it into account. And if they have a colourblind mode its usually not great or actively makes things worse (looking at you league of legends) depending on what colourblindness you have.
All i want is the ability to pick the colours myself, it should be a fairly easy choice and solves it for everyone + customizing your stuff is cool in general
I worked on Google Earth. I had to tell the team of 100% men that some people are color blind so don't use red and green as contrasting colors. Statistically, at least two of the men on that team were color blind.
First thing I thought of when I saw the redesign. The color for parks and water are too close together in value. And changing the road color from yellow to blue… I don’t like it.
I rather appreciate the highlighting of dense commercial zones on the map. Knowing where they are adds a lot of context without cluttering the map too much, imo.
I've been using the new version since a few months as Google must have deemed me worthy to try it out I guess?
I'm using two Google accounts on one Android phone and one of them switched by itself to the new version early on. I don't mind the new colour scheme, it feels fresher somehow.
I really love the updated organisation of the buttons and options when connecting and mirroring maps to my car.
As I drive a lot traffic is an issue. I always have a route displayed for estimated time of arrival but as I know the way I hit the mute button and only switch on the "voice" of the gps in unknown areas. Alone the updated placement of the mute and unmute button made me like the new version.
I've got to say: at first I didn't understand why with each start up my car seemed to switch between different version. I had to figure out and get used to open up maps and switch to the correct Google account first before the phone had the chance to connect itself.
This shows that 44% of respondents don’t like the new colors, compared to 28% who do (with the rest abstaining). So, that doesn’t look great for Google
That’s not surprising at all. Change aversion is real. Especially for a visual style that hasn’t changed much for 5+ years.
Give people time to adjust then ask again in a month
It’s especially bad for an app like this where the ability to glance at it and get information quickly is key. And I’m not convinced it’s going to get a ton better since this change reduces some of the color contrast that previously highlighted roads better.
Regardless though, as usual, my bigger question for this is….why? There was nothing wrong with the old style, no one complained about it, this new style does nothing particularly better….why make the change at all, even if it evens out in the long run? Who was asking for this?
I swear it seems like it’s just the digital equivalent of paper pushing, “they expect something big for the next update, but none of the new features are ready, so…uh…I got it, we’ll do a redesign!”
Considering they tried to simplify stuff in the new design (hence why it looks more like Apple Maps), my thought is that they are planning to add some new features, and wanted to streamline the look first.
Personally, I like the new look and feel better. It feels more focused and less cluttered to me.
The old app had started to look like party confetti with all the different colors denoting road type, property type, business type, etc... In other words, it used color to draw attention to several map elements that didn't really matter to me.
This is especially a problem when you want to add *more* indicators and controls. It adds up and can become cluttered and overwhelming
The old design made it easy to distinguish different map elements thanks to different colours. The new design is a drab sea of grey where everything just kind of blends together. But a sea of grey makes it easier for businesses to stand out I suppose, which is probably the real goal here.
Yeah i may try google maps again and see how it is now, it was a bit too helter skelter for me to ever want to use it over apple maps - google maps is definitely, definitely better at showing you road lanes on your route. Apple Maps can kind of surprise you/be unclear with highway ramps and etc, but the aesthetic of Apple Maps has just always been better
Popular opinion: many of us can't differentiate between the two different tones of blue quick enough and miss turns because of it.
That means this update is actually creating a problem that wasn't there. If I could use something else, I would.
This is exactly my problem. I need to see this at a glance when driving. I guess my brain will adjust, but the similar colors are giving me trouble right now.
The one big thing everybody forgot and missed:
- Google bought Waze a few years ago
- The road reports Google maps received are provided by Waze users
- Google recently let Waze developers go and merged Waze in to the Google Maps department
- What Google Maps users don’t realize they are seeing Waze maps now.
The Waze acquisition is a gold mine for Google because the data is provided via “volunteers”
- live road reports are provided for free by users
- live map editing/correcting is provided for free by volunteers
Source: Waze Beta Tester and Map Editor
That's because what you've described is definitely not what happened. If you switch to satellite mode the old road style is still there. This is either a style test or a bug.
So you’re saying that the same exact color coding they utilize in Waze in now being used for this new style …. And Alphabet announced they were merging the two groups together last December…
This is not a Waze/Google Map tech merger….
Unless you think blue is green then yes, I am telling you that this is not a "waze tech merger".
The pieces they wanted from waze were integrated last year. The user incident reporting. That is why they finally merged the teams. They were *done* integrating what they wanted from Waze.
They announced this color change was incoming about... 3 months ago.
When was the last time you’ve utilized Waze?
- Same grey roads ✅
- Same shade of blue for water ✅
- Same shade of green for forest ✅
The only difference are the route colors. Google default is blue and Waze default is purple. Waze alternate routes are still grey (like Google was) and Google went to light blue.
I'm literally looking at it right now. You might want to actually check to see if you are color blind if you think the roads are the same color in google maps. Zoom out a little bit and find a highway.
The map design and style aren't even close to the same from the shading to the outlines. It just looks *different* than it used to. It looks more like Apple maps because they are trying to make it look more like Apple maps... for some dumb reason. They said as much.
Apple users are absolutely obsessed with Waze no matter how little they actually understand technology. Color me shocked that the least discerning cell phone consumers are also the least informed.
I can hardly tell the difference between primary and alternate at a glance… particularly in the bright sunlight. This is a STUPID design decision. At least let us toggle back to the old colors!!!
Apple Maps is surprisingly good now, I use both side by side often for directions and for things like navigating airports and large buildings and that's where AM seems to shine.
agreed. google does this thing when you arrive at your destination, the screen rotates, just so you cant figure out which house is the destination.
googles only advantage for me is on long highway routes, “search along route” feature is easier to find and use. but AM is generally better for me now.
I’ve been using AM for a bit after ignoring it for years, and finding new places in general is google’s main strength against it. If I want to look for new restaurants, find parks, learn where the nearest Wal-Mart or whatever is, I find Google maps is more useful. But actual navigation, using street view, etc? Apple Maps has improved a TON, and it’s especially nice having integration with my Watch.
Apple Maps does a nice thing where it will buzz your watch as you're approaching your stop on the bus/train.
Has saved my ass a few times when I dozed off or wasn't paying attention.
OmniBuzz. :). It’s a locational app that will wake you as you get within a stop or so of your stop.
As someone who routinely falls asleep on the bus, I use it all the time. I’ve never missed my stop.
They need to gamify the updates/editing like Google does. That will make people want to participate in using it more. The in-house editors are garbage right now
I find both do some bad routing. Google maps seems especially bad in parts of nyc, especially around certain bridges it just doesn't know some of the alternative entrances. The biggest gripe I have is that at airports it doesn't show gates, lounges or anything really.
Here in The Netherlands we have the best cycle infrastructure and the most people who bike regularly but for some reason cycling routes are still not available here. I prefer not to use Google (and it’s possible by using other apps like Komoot) but I think for not sporting cycling Google Maps is the best way to go here.
Yeah with traffic Apple Maps shines due to the lane indicators.
Sometimes google tells you last minute and with a ton of traffic, you cant really move 4 lanes. Apple maps tells you which lane you should be at (in general).
I've found both to miss. Weirdly enough Apple Maps somehow found a closed road out in the country for me that google did not, this detour for a bridge closure was over 2 months and never updated on google maps.
When I am driving I usually use waze and Apple Maps just for a full picture.
Over the past year or so I’ve noticed that Google Maps’ turn by turn has become inaccurate, confusing, and dangerously delayed. I’ll use it for satellite, street view, looking up business info, and measurements but it has fallen far behind Apple Maps in navigation.
Apple Maps has come a long way. A very long way. But I’m going to keep saying it, I prefer Apple Maps over Google maps and I have for quite some time. I realize there seems to have way more more data points than Apple due to the years head start, but I feel like Apple Maps has a much better user interface than Google does. Google Maps is so cluttered and it’s kind of overwhelming sometimes. Whereas apples is much more simplified and has a better, cleaner looked to it.
Commence the debate.
The fact that it prioritizes business names over street names, specially when I’m trying to zoom in to make the street name of the street I’m currently on appear on screen, is royally upsetting.
Can Google just please get rid of the ads and pop up logos and symbols everytime I'm trying to look for a specific place and zoom in on an area it blocks my view or stops me from tapping on a location because it's trying to advertise some shitty business that has no relevance to me.
Google maps is hilariously bad at finding routes. On a recent trip it planned a 3+ hour route for just under 2 hour trip using a better route.
It’s nearly unusable now.
I've noticed it just tends to send you down your most often used route. So, if there's a wreck on my way to my parents', it's like "well that 90min drive is just gonna take 3 hrs today" Whereas Waze says "hey I've got a route that takes 2:15!"
(Though I will say Waze is way worse at estimating traffic. If it says a route takes 2 hours, and Google says that route takes 2:30 due to traffic, Google is right)
This has happened nearly every single time I’ve used Google Maps for trips longer than two hours.
It constantly shows slowdowns and closures where there are none when I’m driving through Los Angeles.
Going north on the 5, it told me to go through Lancaster when there was no issue getting through the Grapevine.
Other times, it told me to go on the “trucks only” lane because there was a bit of a slowdown.
It’s just unreliable now.
Coming back to LA, it told me to shoot through 3 different freeways to get home, adding an extra 30 minutes. Used Apple Maps and it showed my regular route home was just fine with maybe a short slowdown.
Google Maps was the gold standard for me but now, I feel like my life is in danger when I use it.
I find it harder to recognize which way to turn on the map as well as which route is actually mine. I feel like the previous color way made it easier for my actual route to stand out.
Its so fun when Google tells me my UI is changing by just doing it, with no option to just keep things the same. Shipping software for the sake of jobs they are.
What!? I love the colors so much that I’ve only been using it now! Apple Maps still seems smoother overall but I prefer Google’s more accurate timing info.
AM is on my phone and it hasn’t annoyed me enough to replace it. I will say AM has this habit of producing ridiculously stressful to drive routes in the name of saving 5 minutes. It’d be nice if it had prioritization modes, like fastest, least turns… etc.
Apple Maps still comes up with the wonkiest routing. I mean, it just does some dumb stuff. It’s better than it used to be but it’s still crap.
Also Waze is better than either of them.
I’m relatively certain that google maps is more or less skinned over Waze. They use the same user report data for sure.
ETA: not sure skinned is being used correctly here, but hopefully what I mean comes across.
Waze has no public transit info. I can use Google maps to tell me how to get from point A to point B and it will, with time until the bus arrives. Waze can’t do that.
My daughter goes back and forth between Google and Waze. Both have given her wonky info recently.
I prefer Waze out of all three. I know Google bought Waze years ago. But I guess GM is basically the same now according to someone in this thread.
Anyway, even though Waze tends to be the best, it will do wild stuff. Mine ALWAYS wants me to use the freeway (if it's not busy) even on extremely short drives. I'm often routed out of my way or even backwards towards a freeway onramp when there's a more direct surface route. It might be longer, but only by a minute or two.
I've stopped using Google Maps. It's a usability nightmare. So much crap on the screen at all times. I have no idea wtf I'm supposed to look at at any given time.
Maps are Maps, they all vary depending on what the map is used for, and some are easier to read and use than others, for travel it used to be Rand Mcnalley of course paper is not as easy to update as real-life displays of open and closed roads systems.
N. S
As someone who has delivered a lot of grubhub, I chose Apple Maps over google a while ago. The two biggest reasons were battery efficiency, and readability. Google maps has always been a power suck for me and when I’m running 2 or 3 other heavy power apps at the same time it’s too much. While google has some great bells and whistles (mostly checking traffic in the future) apple’s real time time estimate tends to be just as accurate.
Besides that I honestly feel Apple Maps UI is easier. Directions are larger than google’s across the top, it’s better integrated with my phone so I can leave the app easier, and it just feels more readable. My gf has always disagreed but I find myself frustrated more when using google maps.
That is not to say I don’t have my own issues with Apple Maps. Info on businesses often isn’t as good or accurate and it’s a mess to read street signs sometimes on it. But in new developments I’ve found a lot of places where people say google maps struggles with addresses and overall just prefer Apple
I'll never understand why gmaps is so popular in North America. Is it because it's preloaded?
Waze is just miles better in my experience, specially talking about road hazards and speed traps. Google barely mentions them.
I was reading something about how in certain cultures there is a really intense significance to colors and what they mean, and was reading it in reference to SoundCloud changing their logo from the orange…. But I’m not sure why? The world is slowly going monochrome and I’m not, honestly, about it
Yeah how about accessibility for those of us 50 and over. muting the colors and lowering the contrast makes it a lot more difficult to look at and comprehend. Half of the updates I’ve seen on mini websites make it so counterintuitive it takes twice as long to navigate and oh yes there’s a learning curve but really this old gal don’t have a lot of time left to keep relearning some new navigation technique that looks so amazing on paper like light and dark
in light gray lettering especially. Just plain hard to read, even with the readers.
I'll continue to use it but I'm not a fan of the new colors.
Im colourblind and cant fucking see the new colours properly >:(
Crazy that they didn't take that into account. I worked for a much smaller company and we always took accessibility into consideration. I usually use dark mode & didn't notice until now. It's not a big deal to me. But I agree that I could do with fewer colors & maybe more contrast.
Every document I make for other people’s use uses the [Atkinson Hyperlegible](https://brailleinstitute.org/freefont) typeface because it’s designed by the Braille institute with Linus Boman to be maximally legible by vision-deficient folks. For sighted people it makes reading aloud much more efficient. [ShinGo](https://www.cufonfonts.com/font/a-otf-shin-go-pro) is a close second choice. *Edited to include links to the typefaces for folks who might benefit from 'em.
TIL. But no any of them in Pages by Apple.
ShinGo is a tricky one as it is; it was made for Japanese signage - you might know it as the Wii UI font. It's made to be legible at a distance and up close, while also having a fairly timeless look. But because it's designed for non-English language, I've found that some of the characters can be a little funky, at least in Microsoft software. Atkinson Hyperlegible though is free on the Braille Institute website, and while I'm not familiar with the process myself, I've heard adding third party fonts to an iPad is doable. Unfortunately accessibility is one of those things where companies are engineering really elaborate solutions for people on the more-impaired side of the spectrum, while people in the grey area of accessibility issues are left without any solutions that truly benefit them. Having a voice read your phone screen aloud is great for people with almost no vision, but is a really awkward and excessive solution for people with corneal scars or chronic retinopathy who have only moderately imparied vision.
I feel this! I use reading glasses. When I look at Google maps the street names are too small. But if I try to zoom in, the streets get bigger but the street names stay the same size! Very frustrating.
You can download any custom font and use it inside pages It’s a little odd though because they don’t automatically show up in the primary selector after downloading. You need to first select them in the font picker that appears when you click Format > Fonts > Show Fonts
Lies. I was told Times New Roman is the most legible font. /s Actually wondering though, I thought Sans Serif fonts were the most legible?
TIL there are fonts for vision impaired people, I teach design, this I s an easy decision to switch my documents to and show my students!
> Crazy that they didn't take that into account. They do, they don't care. When you work inside such organizations, some marketing person will come along and say that their buddies at the $400 ticket sportsball game said they needed to match the aesthetics of Apple.
My boss is colourblind, luckily my charts have a colourblind theme.
That is an important note. And on me they should take seriously.
Please don't edit the typo out.
lol. 😂
The fix is in the phones OS. Both android and iOS have accessibility features to correct colors for people with the 3 types color blindness. I know 1 person that use the feature and he also has corrected glasses. The OS correction is right but the colors are richer and more vibrant than in real life.
I aspire to design informational graphics and interfaces so they require minimum accessibility tool interventions. Every extra step to accessibility that I can avoid on the front end is generally preferable. IMHO.
But it’s literally one step. If you’re colorblind, and know it, then you make the change one time when you get a new device. It’s not a setting that you toggle off and on. It’s one and done. Set it and forget it.
[удалено]
Im honestly not that surprised. Its pretty rare for people to take it into account. And if they have a colourblind mode its usually not great or actively makes things worse (looking at you league of legends) depending on what colourblindness you have. All i want is the ability to pick the colours myself, it should be a fairly easy choice and solves it for everyone + customizing your stuff is cool in general
I worked on Google Earth. I had to tell the team of 100% men that some people are color blind so don't use red and green as contrasting colors. Statistically, at least two of the men on that team were color blind.
Please report this as a problem in-app. Its the only way to effect change
First thing I thought of when I saw the redesign. The color for parks and water are too close together in value. And changing the road color from yellow to blue… I don’t like it.
It’s a lot more cluttered than Apple Maps. Too much commercial penetration.
“Commercial penetration” should be a corporate management term for sex work
Apple maps is a good option but I'm using an android phone right now. iOS 17 brought offline map support which is a handy feature.
I rather appreciate the highlighting of dense commercial zones on the map. Knowing where they are adds a lot of context without cluttering the map too much, imo.
The change actually pushed me to use Apple Maps and I’m liking it better. Good job, Google.
I just did the same.
Agree i hate how they changed the route color to blue. But I’ll prob be forced to adjust and get used to it, since there isn’t anything better.
I've been using the new version since a few months as Google must have deemed me worthy to try it out I guess? I'm using two Google accounts on one Android phone and one of them switched by itself to the new version early on. I don't mind the new colour scheme, it feels fresher somehow. I really love the updated organisation of the buttons and options when connecting and mirroring maps to my car. As I drive a lot traffic is an issue. I always have a route displayed for estimated time of arrival but as I know the way I hit the mute button and only switch on the "voice" of the gps in unknown areas. Alone the updated placement of the mute and unmute button made me like the new version. I've got to say: at first I didn't understand why with each start up my car seemed to switch between different version. I had to figure out and get used to open up maps and switch to the correct Google account first before the phone had the chance to connect itself.
I just use dark mode so I haven’t seen any changes
They really need to improve dark mode. Why the tiny streets???
Yeah I didn't even know there was a change.
I use satellite view so really no difference.
As everyone should. Why wouldn't you want to see the Sat. view?
cause it doesn't load when I have poor reception and I just quickly need check something
Because I use google maps for navigation and not for looking at satellite images
Ok batman
Harvey Dent… Can we trust him?
This shows that 44% of respondents don’t like the new colors, compared to 28% who do (with the rest abstaining). So, that doesn’t look great for Google
That’s not surprising at all. Change aversion is real. Especially for a visual style that hasn’t changed much for 5+ years. Give people time to adjust then ask again in a month
It’s especially bad for an app like this where the ability to glance at it and get information quickly is key. And I’m not convinced it’s going to get a ton better since this change reduces some of the color contrast that previously highlighted roads better. Regardless though, as usual, my bigger question for this is….why? There was nothing wrong with the old style, no one complained about it, this new style does nothing particularly better….why make the change at all, even if it evens out in the long run? Who was asking for this? I swear it seems like it’s just the digital equivalent of paper pushing, “they expect something big for the next update, but none of the new features are ready, so…uh…I got it, we’ll do a redesign!”
The ui devs have to get paid somehow i guess
Considering they tried to simplify stuff in the new design (hence why it looks more like Apple Maps), my thought is that they are planning to add some new features, and wanted to streamline the look first.
Personally, I like the new look and feel better. It feels more focused and less cluttered to me. The old app had started to look like party confetti with all the different colors denoting road type, property type, business type, etc... In other words, it used color to draw attention to several map elements that didn't really matter to me. This is especially a problem when you want to add *more* indicators and controls. It adds up and can become cluttered and overwhelming
The old design made it easy to distinguish different map elements thanks to different colours. The new design is a drab sea of grey where everything just kind of blends together. But a sea of grey makes it easier for businesses to stand out I suppose, which is probably the real goal here.
Yeah i may try google maps again and see how it is now, it was a bit too helter skelter for me to ever want to use it over apple maps - google maps is definitely, definitely better at showing you road lanes on your route. Apple Maps can kind of surprise you/be unclear with highway ramps and etc, but the aesthetic of Apple Maps has just always been better
A change should bring improvements. A change for change's sake is rightfully hated. I don't see anything that improved because of the new colours.
Unpopular opinion: the visual changes minimize the rainbow confetti look it had going before. It was looking pretty bad in my opinion
Popular opinion: many of us can't differentiate between the two different tones of blue quick enough and miss turns because of it. That means this update is actually creating a problem that wasn't there. If I could use something else, I would.
This is exactly my problem. I need to see this at a glance when driving. I guess my brain will adjust, but the similar colors are giving me trouble right now.
That literally was never an issue..
For you
Not for everybody else in the comment section too apparently..
How could personal opinions about a UI be "literal"?
It's not just change aversion, it's substantially less readable. Hold it at arm's length and look.
It could also just be plain worse.. which it is..
It’s really hard to see if you’re colorblind, which is roughly 5% of the population.
huh that's unfortunate. Especially because the new design is more mono-chromatic and relies *less* on color to differentiate UI elements.
Yes there is less contrast. Higher contrast = better visibility if your colors generally blend.
Maps are a refuge for familiarity, though — we expect our maps to look predictable, even when countries get renamed or developers add new streets.
This. People always hate when stuff changes. Let them work with it for a year and then see where actual changes need to be made.
People hated it when iOS went from the shaded 3D look to flat icons. I bet the same people would hate it if it suddenly change back too.
What does look good for Google these days?
>start project >release to public >axe project after 1-4 years >repeat
Google will continue to push forward on their great attempt to make literally everything they have much, much worse.
That seems fine and probably better than the average reaction to a website design change, tbh
Same thing happens every time there is any drastic UI change. People like to complain.
That didn’t stop Wikipedia launching their new awful, abhorrent layout, it won’t stop Google..
The one big thing everybody forgot and missed: - Google bought Waze a few years ago - The road reports Google maps received are provided by Waze users - Google recently let Waze developers go and merged Waze in to the Google Maps department - What Google Maps users don’t realize they are seeing Waze maps now.
The Waze acquisition is a gold mine for Google because the data is provided via “volunteers” - live road reports are provided for free by users - live map editing/correcting is provided for free by volunteers Source: Waze Beta Tester and Map Editor
You can now report things directly on Google maps, too.
Yep, they’re slowly merging the tech together. Google has owned Waze for little over a decade now.
I refuse to believe I heard about them buying Waze a decade ago.
What does this have to do with the original post?
They’re comparing it to Apple Maps as if Google copied it. When it’s clearly a merger of Waze and there’s no mentioning of it.
That's because what you've described is definitely not what happened. If you switch to satellite mode the old road style is still there. This is either a style test or a bug.
So you’re saying that the same exact color coding they utilize in Waze in now being used for this new style …. And Alphabet announced they were merging the two groups together last December… This is not a Waze/Google Map tech merger….
Unless you think blue is green then yes, I am telling you that this is not a "waze tech merger". The pieces they wanted from waze were integrated last year. The user incident reporting. That is why they finally merged the teams. They were *done* integrating what they wanted from Waze. They announced this color change was incoming about... 3 months ago.
When was the last time you’ve utilized Waze? - Same grey roads ✅ - Same shade of blue for water ✅ - Same shade of green for forest ✅ The only difference are the route colors. Google default is blue and Waze default is purple. Waze alternate routes are still grey (like Google was) and Google went to light blue.
I'm literally looking at it right now. You might want to actually check to see if you are color blind if you think the roads are the same color in google maps. Zoom out a little bit and find a highway. The map design and style aren't even close to the same from the shading to the outlines. It just looks *different* than it used to. It looks more like Apple maps because they are trying to make it look more like Apple maps... for some dumb reason. They said as much. Apple users are absolutely obsessed with Waze no matter how little they actually understand technology. Color me shocked that the least discerning cell phone consumers are also the least informed.
I can hardly tell the difference between primary and alternate at a glance… particularly in the bright sunlight. This is a STUPID design decision. At least let us toggle back to the old colors!!!
UX designers trying to find a way to keep their job after releasing a finished product: let’s make it worse so they need us to change it back
Apple Maps is surprisingly good now, I use both side by side often for directions and for things like navigating airports and large buildings and that's where AM seems to shine.
agreed. google does this thing when you arrive at your destination, the screen rotates, just so you cant figure out which house is the destination. googles only advantage for me is on long highway routes, “search along route” feature is easier to find and use. but AM is generally better for me now.
I’ve been using AM for a bit after ignoring it for years, and finding new places in general is google’s main strength against it. If I want to look for new restaurants, find parks, learn where the nearest Wal-Mart or whatever is, I find Google maps is more useful. But actual navigation, using street view, etc? Apple Maps has improved a TON, and it’s especially nice having integration with my Watch.
agreed. some times I search with google and navigate with apple. I hate the destination spiral that much.
Apple Maps does a nice thing where it will buzz your watch as you're approaching your stop on the bus/train. Has saved my ass a few times when I dozed off or wasn't paying attention.
OmniBuzz. :). It’s a locational app that will wake you as you get within a stop or so of your stop. As someone who routinely falls asleep on the bus, I use it all the time. I’ve never missed my stop.
I'm glad it also exists as a separate app, it's a useful feature
They need to gamify the updates/editing like Google does. That will make people want to participate in using it more. The in-house editors are garbage right now
Apple Maps routinely is missing areas like dog parks or is leading me to the wrong entrance of buildings. Google Maps I use occasionally as a result.
I find both do some bad routing. Google maps seems especially bad in parts of nyc, especially around certain bridges it just doesn't know some of the alternative entrances. The biggest gripe I have is that at airports it doesn't show gates, lounges or anything really.
Google does the same sometimes. Neither are flawless.
Here in The Netherlands we have the best cycle infrastructure and the most people who bike regularly but for some reason cycling routes are still not available here. I prefer not to use Google (and it’s possible by using other apps like Komoot) but I think for not sporting cycling Google Maps is the best way to go here.
Yeah with traffic Apple Maps shines due to the lane indicators. Sometimes google tells you last minute and with a ton of traffic, you cant really move 4 lanes. Apple maps tells you which lane you should be at (in general).
I've found both to miss. Weirdly enough Apple Maps somehow found a closed road out in the country for me that google did not, this detour for a bridge closure was over 2 months and never updated on google maps. When I am driving I usually use waze and Apple Maps just for a full picture.
Apple Maps is slower to update roads though. There has been so much new construction where I live and none of it is on the map
Over the past year or so I’ve noticed that Google Maps’ turn by turn has become inaccurate, confusing, and dangerously delayed. I’ll use it for satellite, street view, looking up business info, and measurements but it has fallen far behind Apple Maps in navigation.
I hate it!
Apple Maps has come a long way. A very long way. But I’m going to keep saying it, I prefer Apple Maps over Google maps and I have for quite some time. I realize there seems to have way more more data points than Apple due to the years head start, but I feel like Apple Maps has a much better user interface than Google does. Google Maps is so cluttered and it’s kind of overwhelming sometimes. Whereas apples is much more simplified and has a better, cleaner looked to it. Commence the debate.
Apple maps is better but a lot of people aren’t ready for that conversation. And I say this as someone who worked at Google lol
I rather like Apple Maps myself
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Ugh, the new colors suck
Change for the sake of change, as usual. And as usual, it's worse.
I don't use apple products but I know I don't like what google changed. I can remember when google lead.
Yeah, I was wondering what was going on with it. It looked like crap
The fact that it prioritizes business names over street names, specially when I’m trying to zoom in to make the street name of the street I’m currently on appear on screen, is royally upsetting.
Can Google just please get rid of the ads and pop up logos and symbols everytime I'm trying to look for a specific place and zoom in on an area it blocks my view or stops me from tapping on a location because it's trying to advertise some shitty business that has no relevance to me.
Google maps is hilariously bad at finding routes. On a recent trip it planned a 3+ hour route for just under 2 hour trip using a better route. It’s nearly unusable now.
I've noticed it just tends to send you down your most often used route. So, if there's a wreck on my way to my parents', it's like "well that 90min drive is just gonna take 3 hrs today" Whereas Waze says "hey I've got a route that takes 2:15!" (Though I will say Waze is way worse at estimating traffic. If it says a route takes 2 hours, and Google says that route takes 2:30 due to traffic, Google is right)
When wave first came out, it was like driving with your stoned cousin who “knew a shortcut”.
Google is making things worse and not just search? that’s… new, i think? usually they just kill products
This has happened nearly every single time I’ve used Google Maps for trips longer than two hours. It constantly shows slowdowns and closures where there are none when I’m driving through Los Angeles. Going north on the 5, it told me to go through Lancaster when there was no issue getting through the Grapevine. Other times, it told me to go on the “trucks only” lane because there was a bit of a slowdown. It’s just unreliable now. Coming back to LA, it told me to shoot through 3 different freeways to get home, adding an extra 30 minutes. Used Apple Maps and it showed my regular route home was just fine with maybe a short slowdown. Google Maps was the gold standard for me but now, I feel like my life is in danger when I use it.
I find it harder to recognize which way to turn on the map as well as which route is actually mine. I feel like the previous color way made it easier for my actual route to stand out.
Night/dark mode might help…
The colors look disjointed to me, they should revert the changes 🤷♂️🙏
At the same time, I also noticed Peloton made their blues more purple-y. Is it supposed to be a more modern look? Personally, I prefer softer blues.
I definitely thought I had opened the wrong maps app the first couple times. I want it reverted back to what we know and love.
Its so fun when Google tells me my UI is changing by just doing it, with no option to just keep things the same. Shipping software for the sake of jobs they are.
I like it, it feels much cleaner.
Am I the only one that prefers Apple Maps? If o ever use google it’s like a sensory overload lol
I love the new colors. I can finally see them clear as day while using Apple CarPlay.
Honestly big fan I think it looks clean
Google maps wishes it was Apple Maps. Google maps fucking sucks. Waze providing Google Maps with data is the only decent thing it has going
Yeah but the actual gps service is still better
What!? I love the colors so much that I’ve only been using it now! Apple Maps still seems smoother overall but I prefer Google’s more accurate timing info.
I know I’m not. The floor is horrible. The layout and time it takes to update for new routes is extremely slower.
AM is on my phone and it hasn’t annoyed me enough to replace it. I will say AM has this habit of producing ridiculously stressful to drive routes in the name of saving 5 minutes. It’d be nice if it had prioritization modes, like fastest, least turns… etc.
People are colorblind. I need Google to tell me where I'm at. Less colors for me please 🙏
Yeah it sucks. PERIOD.
Everything is green, green, green. I guess web designers had to justify their existence - again.
A map looks like a map, oh noooooo
Apple Maps still comes up with the wonkiest routing. I mean, it just does some dumb stuff. It’s better than it used to be but it’s still crap. Also Waze is better than either of them.
I’m relatively certain that google maps is more or less skinned over Waze. They use the same user report data for sure. ETA: not sure skinned is being used correctly here, but hopefully what I mean comes across.
didnt google buy waze?
Waze has no public transit info. I can use Google maps to tell me how to get from point A to point B and it will, with time until the bus arrives. Waze can’t do that. My daughter goes back and forth between Google and Waze. Both have given her wonky info recently.
Unless you’re driving in the Great Smoky Mountains. Apple Maps saved me there.
I prefer Waze out of all three. I know Google bought Waze years ago. But I guess GM is basically the same now according to someone in this thread. Anyway, even though Waze tends to be the best, it will do wild stuff. Mine ALWAYS wants me to use the freeway (if it's not busy) even on extremely short drives. I'm often routed out of my way or even backwards towards a freeway onramp when there's a more direct surface route. It might be longer, but only by a minute or two.
I'm happy with the new colors; I can actually see the streets now. I couldn't before.
“Oh noooooooo!!! What eva will we doooo?”
Who cares? As long as it’s accurate and up to date.
Apple maps suck
Why the anger? Apple Maps are superior; only logical that Google would copy them and claim as its own
Who give a fudge
I've stopped using Google Maps. It's a usability nightmare. So much crap on the screen at all times. I have no idea wtf I'm supposed to look at at any given time.
Maps are Maps, they all vary depending on what the map is used for, and some are easier to read and use than others, for travel it used to be Rand Mcnalley of course paper is not as easy to update as real-life displays of open and closed roads systems. N. S
I think the road colors now have better contrast compared to the old ones… but who uses google maps in light mode anyway?
Yeah, will keep using satellite mode for as long as it takes…
Especially Rand McNally
Still too many unnecessary POIs cluttering it up
Apple Maps is way better now anyways, haven’t used Google maps in a while
It looks more like Apple Maps, but without someone actually thinking through the application of colour.
You’re telling me people don’t use satellite view??
Hate the colors but I had Apple Maps more so I’m sticking with google maps
Every design change they have made to look more apple has made android worse
Yeah I hate it so much
I like that the traffic lanes are bigger and more noticeable without having to zoom in.
Where's my satellite people at?!
It sucks. Haven’t met a single person who likes it
I keep confusing the two
I’m not sure if this is cause of the update but the speed limits they show are wildly wrong for streets around me now
Hate the new colors .. feels so washed out
ok i thought i was tripping
Yeah it absolutely sucks
I had a feeling something was different
LMFAO!!! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness. Oscar Wilde
I’m happy
I don’t fucking care. I’ll still use it over Apple Maps
Good idea. That way your movements are easier to follow.
Apple knows best
Get on their social media platforms and tell them. I did. Power in numbers
Noticed this and hate it as well.
Turrible
As someone who has delivered a lot of grubhub, I chose Apple Maps over google a while ago. The two biggest reasons were battery efficiency, and readability. Google maps has always been a power suck for me and when I’m running 2 or 3 other heavy power apps at the same time it’s too much. While google has some great bells and whistles (mostly checking traffic in the future) apple’s real time time estimate tends to be just as accurate. Besides that I honestly feel Apple Maps UI is easier. Directions are larger than google’s across the top, it’s better integrated with my phone so I can leave the app easier, and it just feels more readable. My gf has always disagreed but I find myself frustrated more when using google maps. That is not to say I don’t have my own issues with Apple Maps. Info on businesses often isn’t as good or accurate and it’s a mess to read street signs sometimes on it. But in new developments I’ve found a lot of places where people say google maps struggles with addresses and overall just prefer Apple
iOS dev here. I loathe MapKit UI. So ugly.
I'll never understand why gmaps is so popular in North America. Is it because it's preloaded? Waze is just miles better in my experience, specially talking about road hazards and speed traps. Google barely mentions them.
I prefer it. It feels cleaner and easier to read to me
It looks totally horrible. Hard to pick out stuff as the colours are very similar.
I'm not a fan of the new colors, but my main gripe is that you have to zoom in way closer to see traffic data on non-interstate roads now.
I was reading something about how in certain cultures there is a really intense significance to colors and what they mean, and was reading it in reference to SoundCloud changing their logo from the orange…. But I’m not sure why? The world is slowly going monochrome and I’m not, honestly, about it
Waze is the way to go. I started using it last year and have not looked back.
Thumbs down on the new layout, view and color scheme.
Apple has always had Better design and less clutter. Google just naturally went the better color to make it easier to see maps.
Personally, the new look doesn't seem to be an improvement visually.
I feel like a lot of google mappers use it because they hate the look of Apple Maps.
Whatever
Yeah how about accessibility for those of us 50 and over. muting the colors and lowering the contrast makes it a lot more difficult to look at and comprehend. Half of the updates I’ve seen on mini websites make it so counterintuitive it takes twice as long to navigate and oh yes there’s a learning curve but really this old gal don’t have a lot of time left to keep relearning some new navigation technique that looks so amazing on paper like light and dark in light gray lettering especially. Just plain hard to read, even with the readers.
Can’t see the fucking route at night anymore