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The details of Apple Maps now go beyond Google Maps in many ways, whether it's about forms of construction or plant cover. This is the conclusion of designer Justin O'Beirne, who previously worked for the card division of Apple and has now developed a comprehensive comparison …
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O'Beirne begins with a complaint: Apple's more detailed mapping covers only 3.1% of the territory and 4.9% of its population. Apple has promised 100% coverage by the end of next year. The company also continues to improve coverage outside the United States.
But other than that, he's blown away by the level of detail available on Apple Maps.
But do not let its size fool you, it's a radically different map from before, with an impressive amount of vegetation details. […]
Apple has not just mapped the desert. Cities are also much greener […]
The most striking differences are in the small towns furthest away from the Bay Area, such as Crescent City. Crescent City is one of 52 county seats located in the coverage area of the new map. Surprisingly, 25% of these county seats had no vegetation or green area on the old map – and now they look completely different.
I feel tired of watching the work O'Beirne provides to create animated GIFs comparing old and new versions of Apple Maps, as well as comparisons with Google Maps and other mapping services. What is most remarkable is the extreme level of detail of Apple Maps.
What is truly remarkable in this new vegetation is its depth – up to grass and vegetation strips between roads, inside cloverleaf and even around the corner of houses.
In an exclusive interview, Apple told TechCrunch: "We do not think anyone doing this level of work is what we do," which is certainly true with regard to this house resolution vegetation detail. No one else has it.
O'Beirne gives examples of similar levels of detail in areas such as beaches, ports, racetracks, car parks and golf courses, where fine forms are shown instead of more typical general representations.
The details of the golf course, such as walkways, sand pits and greens. School details, such as baseball fields, race tracks and football fields. Park details, such as pools, playgrounds and tennis courts. And even tennis courts.
Construction footprints are now much more accurate, with some buildings being "spectacularly detailed". The Five Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, shown at the top of this room, is an example.
It's not that the new map is perfect. O'Beirne also reports a number of errors, including the poor height of several buildings. Some buildings still lack details and Google still has more businesses. But overall, he explains that the details of Apple Maps have at least caught up with Google.
All these details give the impression that Apple has not only bridged the gap with Google, but has exceeded in many respects.
The whole post is a really interesting read – including speculation about the methods used by Apple and the strange mistakes it made.
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