Google Maps Reviews

Pros
I like Google Maps because they've mastered the art of providing lots of features without making their application difficult to use or junky. I prefer this over the Maps app that comes with my iPhone because it's much easier to edit my trip. If I don't want to take a certain bridge or highway, Google Maps can show me alternate routes and the additional time it would take in one tiny place on the screen. I also love the audio settings. I use the GPS even when I know exactly how to get somewhere so that I can have the other information that the app provides like traffic updates, crashes ahead, and alternate routes that might make more sense to take as traffic picks up. I can set the audio to "alerts only" so that I can hear my music without all of the turning instructions, just the traffic alerts. I've also noticed that Google Maps memorizes maps. When I lose signal on my phone, I don't lose the GPS because Google Maps has already saved my trip in its memory. As a new driver, that made me feel really safe and assured. Lastly, I discovered another feature that I use all the time now. I live near a huge outlet mall and it was always a hassle to know which door was closest to the store that I wanted to go into. But one day, I put a store in my GPS (not knowing it was in that outlet mall) and Google Maps actually took me to the best entrance for that specific store. I love Google Maps and I wouldn't use another GPS application.

Cons
The only bad thing I can say about Google Maps is that it doesn't always know which direction I'm facing, which can be tricky. There's an arrow that follows along the path and shows you whether you're going in the same direction of the path or not. There were times when the arrow was pointing in a different direction than the path so, I made a U-Turn and later realized that I was actually going in the right direction before.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
When I'm online and I want to check to see how far someplace is from me, Google Maps is definitely the place I go to check. So I do use it a lot. And it is integrated into a lot of websites, so you can get directions from it, but I have learned the hard way that the directions Google Maps provides are not always that great. And when you're on a motorcycle, going somewhere you've never been before, that is not the time to have your GPS directions suddenly mess up. And that has happened more times than I can say. In one sense, the feature of being able to put yourself on the street and get a 360 view of what ANY place looks like is nice, because you know what to look for when you're arriving some where new. However, when I was looking up an address near me, out of curiosity, I swiped the map over my own house, and it was a little creepy to have a satellite view of my house, with my motorcycle and car in the driveway. It's a little Big Brother-ish to me, which is something that has been starting to really bother me a lot lately. I mean, really? Google now either has their own satellites or can access satellite views of the entire world? I thought that stuff was reserved for the government and the CIA. Yes, it integrates with a lot of platforms, as all Google products do. Yes, it has nice features and you can find out a lot of information through Google Maps. But ... again, do you really want a company that knows almost everything about you because of their seamless integration into your life and observation of everything you do, say, buy, sell, look at, search for, etc. online to include observation by satellite to such a detailed degree that you can see your exboyfriend sitting on your back porch smoking? And if they can do that, then how come they can't get the directions right?

Cons
Upon reflection, it appears that most of the things I listed in the pros section of this review are actually pretty negative, and I have to say, that is my general feeling about Google Maps. It's like undressing in front of an open window - there's no privacy at all anymore with Google. Ever wonder why they offer so many things for free? Look what they're getting in return - they know every detail about you. And even with this satellite sky-stalker ability, and all the nice little features they include on their app, the directions are almost always wrong when I've used it. Or clicking the "no tolls" option (because who wants to dig for change while they're on a motorcycle?) and surprise? They still send you via the toll road option. Or the GPS loses connection in the middle of a trip and you're no longer getting instructions via the earpieces in your helmet. I use Waze for all my travel needs now and it has never let me down. For a quick look up online if I need to know something, sure I'll use Google Maps. But that's about as far as I trust it anymore.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 4/10

Pros
Good for finding restaurants, etc. with reasonable feedback. I use TripAdvisor for in-depth research. The killer advantages are the location, directions, up-to-date opening times and busy times, built up by tracking Android phones in and out of the businesses.

Cons
I used to like the reminders of places I had been to leave feedback. Recently, the review entry window has been changed to provide updates and suggestions whilst you are typing in. Mostly these are not needed and a mild irritant. The real pain is that all these updates are now setting my typing entry point back to character one so the end of a word I am typing ends up as corruption at the start. This needs to be deleted then re-centering my input to complete the word. In one medium-sized review this happened over a dozen times. I will no longer leave reviews on Google Maps. The other problem is a lack of a support route. I Googled the problem 3 ways only to get sent to the interface for business owners! There IS an option to leave feedback about errors on Google's maps. I used this two months ago to highlight that the postcode for my street was now centred wrongly in the middle of a wood after being correctly placed for many years. The result of this has seen many tradesmen and delivery drivers calling from the business park on the other, main roads, side of the woods. This error has still not been corrected. I have moved to using my TomTom App for all route planning however Google Maps is still best for restaurants, hotels garages and tourist locations.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 6/10

Pros
Google Maps is an absolute must for any of my navigational needs. It has reshaped the way people drive. There are no more needs to have paper maps. The searching feature of google maps is very friendly using normal language. Just ask google maps to find the best place for ice cream near me and it does it. The reviews and photos that people add to the maps are very helpful in deciding where to go. It is also a great way to avoid traffic as it updates in real time. I love the feature that you can use voice search while already on a rout to find pit stops such as gas stations along the route and it tells you the extra amount of time it will take before you decide what extra stop to add.

Cons
The navigation no longer will reroute users to side streets. The desktop version used to have a feature that would show you photos taken by users in the area. I would often use this to scout shooting locations for my business. This feature is either hidden or no longer in service. This function would be a great resource to me if it was added to the phone app. The Google MyMaps feature is a great idea but falls flat do to security issues. ANyone with access to your specific map can easily copy the map and reuse it for their own purposes. I would like the ability to share my maps that I have created with others without the fear that they can copy it and share it with others whom I do not want them to have access to my content.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Google Maps is a great service that beats almost every other mapping service. I use it personally and for business: 1) It just works! Google maps are accurate and detailed, in most cases you can easily find what you are looking for. The voice navigation is mostly on point, though it can be a bit misguided at times. You can follow the 2) Business listings on Google Maps are a godsend, being able to find a business listing on Google Maps is much more intuitive than say Apple Maps. Also simply adding a location link from say Whatsapp usually gets the location on point 3) Maps API is good for developers. It is easy to build apps on top of Google Maps and you get instant access to the accuracy and depth of Maps, we have used it to plug into our applications that rely on mapping. 4) Offline functionality is very useful. Even if you do not have a connection, you can still use Google Maps to find your way around.

Cons
My biggest frustration with Google Maps is when recalculating directions to a location, it always uses the main route, in many cases there are other routes that can be used but it seems it only can only handle 2 alternative routes not more than that.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 8/10

Pros
In my experience, it has always proven to be the most accurate for directions. I love that I can see traffic and be alerted when there are accidents with automatic route changes to prevent me from getting stuck in traffic. When I add calendar events to Google Calendar, I enter the location of my destination and my calendar alerts me at my requested interval and includes traffic analysis. I have examples of times I would intend to leave for a client's 20 minutes in advance but my calendar notification displayed letting me know there was heavy traffic and the estimated travel time would be 35 minutes. Without Google Maps and calendar integration, I am empowered with the tools to be consistently on time.

Cons
One con could be that using Google Maps requires service so depending where you are traveling, this could be a problem. However, once you start a route and get directions, I believe it downloads the route so it can always finish to completion even in no-service areas. Also, if you plan ahead knowing you will be in no-service areas, you can download areas of a map offline which is very helpful. The only other con I can think of is that Maps often tracks your history by default which proves helpful at times but if you have privacy concerns, you will need to explore your settings and disable this.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
-Saves my favorite places and labels -Can type in someone's name and route to their home -Remembers what I was looking up on Google Maps on computer and picks up where I left off -Saves recent searches -The layout and look is so much easier to see what's going on than Apple Maps -The route seems more direct/is usually shorter than the Apple Maps route

Cons
-Apple Maps will show on my Lock Screen whereas I have to keep my phone open to use Google Maps -Doesn't connect with hands-free so if I say "Hey Siri, take me home" it opens Apple Maps not Google Maps -Doesn't always remember the recent searches so I could have JUST looked for something and it now be gone -I wish if you close and open Google Maps it would open to the last route you did if within the last hour -When it re-routes to save me time, many times it says it found a 7 minute faster route, but if I select it my end time still doesn't change...why is that?

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Google maps is unrivalled in its location and information features. No maps applications has anything close to the detailed information on local businesses or places of interest. What’s more is the ability to save locations and group them in lists means you’ll never be short of ideas of restaurants to go or museums to visit. The fact this syncs with your google account meaning you can access all your saved locations on any platform is incredibly helpful when travelling. The live traffic updates and car navigation also means you can go without expensive sat nav systems. Google maps is free, easier to use and better than these.

Cons
I struggle to find any cons to google maps. There are occasions when the driving setting can take you down alternative routes but this is worse on other similar apps. Other than that there are no complaints and I couldn’t think of ways to improve this.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Google Maps has always been my Go-To navigation app whenever I travel. So much that I in-fact never use the in-built navigation system in my car but connect my android phone and use the Android Auto app to navigate using Google Maps. Functionalities such as Saving maps offline, adding routs with multiple stopovers have always been excellent and I generally use this as a guide to plan my trips. I've observed that while navigating, it tried to find the fastest route factoring in the traffic in various routes and the time predicted by Google has generally been spot on.

Cons
Not much of a con as such but guess it would be great if Google Maps can locate the speed breakers (bumps) on the road and also factor in the quality of the road when suggesting a route. While a rare event, I had once, taken my car on a road that was just wide enough for 1 car.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
The directions will always get you there. Where this app stands out is in two places. Unlike other apps Google Maps will let you take a look at your destination regardless of intent to get directions. I constantly use this app to rate the place where I go when on the road and it does a real nice job of recommending new places for me. Weather it is coffee shops, restaurants, or even grocery stores I get recommendations based on my and others reviews for matches.

Cons
Directions are not as great as Waze. Even though they now own Waze they have yet to come close to competing to the live time data and information that is available in Waze. I still save about 5-10 minutes on commuting directions through Waze. Also it does track every move, which is nice as a consumer to see how busy a place is, but as a user there is a trade off with privacy.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
The app is simple to use, free and you can quickly search your destination and track your movements. It adds up new features on a timely basis like traffic updates or locations of restaurants. There is a new feature which has enabled weather checks.The navigation feature helps the user to travel the shortest and best path with real-time tracking. With google maps, you can share your locations with your friends. It provides an approximate time estimate to reach a particular destination based on your mode of travel.

Cons
The application does not run in the background,It consumes a majority of your battery charge. It saves all your searches and this information can be used against you. The application takes time to load. These maps can be used by criminals. The data provided by maps might be out of date, or less accurate in some situations.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
Can you remember life before Google Maps? If you're anything like me, you'd rather forget. Mapquest was forgettable, Garmin was expensive....then came GMaps. The amount of data this app contains is awe-inspiring (and a little bit freaky). As someone who works in logistics, having instant insight into routing and traffic conditions changed the way we operated. The fact that this info was all free still blows my mind sometimes. Sure, Google may be watching you mow your lawn. But free GPS navigation and mapping has changed the lives of millions for the better.

Cons
"Your Timeline" feature is glitchy and a little intrusive, but can be easily turned off. One thing that confuses me greatly; why is Waze seperated from Maps? Both are owned by Google, but the experiences are totally different. Consolidation there wouldn't hurt...

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Google Maps is a great tool for everything. Need directions, need to know where you are or are you looking for a good restaurant nearby? Google Maps can do all that. It does even allow you to actively participate, by rating places, sending photos and verify data and information about locations, stores and businesses. Even better: it is completely free of charge. It even works as a fully fledged navigational / GPS system, which can lead you safely to your desired destination – by food, by car or bike or even by public transport.

Cons
At times it is lacking precision and some features are not available all over the world. In addition at times it doesn't recognize the right location or wants to upload fotos, which are from a different place. Nothing big though and nothing that would be really a problem.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Street view is an excellent feature, which I genuinely can't image a world without. It makes visiting any new place easy and comfortable. The directions and live traffic feature make communing so much easier, saving me money and time. The ability to easily embed Google maps on to a web page is also of great benefit, we use this across the University website to provide directions to students and staff. This also integrates well with their Google calendar and other Google systems.

Cons
The mobile version of Google maps (especially on iOS products) has much to improve, the UI is often hard to navigate and some of the most useful features, like street view and directions, are hidden away behind menus. In regards to the desktop version I honestly can't think of a problem, this app is awesome!

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
I do like this app, and a lot, but sometimes it can get on my nerves. One day is the best app in the world and the next minute I´m lost around the city and the map has crashed. I like the features and above all things how easy is to use. People can say that there are better apps in this area but I respect the fact that this one has been on my phone since the beginning of times, and it will stay like that. Love it or hate it, but always with me.

Cons
I think it can improve the way the app interact with us when failing to do the job. I remember just driving around any place in heavy traffic, trying to figure out the right exit and when looking at the map, the car would be in some other spot away from the street, or behind in the same map from where I´m. It can get crazy sometimes.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 8/10

Pros
When i want to know info about a new place or directions to get there this is my go to app, i can do a search on my PC and send the address or navigation instructions to my phone painlessly. The navigation is really good, the possibility to add stops is amazing, it lets you plan a route with several points and takes them into account to give you a really good ETA. Offline maps is a "must have" if you're planning a trip or going to places where connectivity may be an issue

Cons
There's no information regarding blocked or damaged by weather roads, sometimes the navigation instructions direct you to impossible to follow routes There's no lane information, it may cause confusion or problems to someone new to an specific location

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
This is one of my most used apps. It's great for navigating while driving, and the directions are usually quite accurate and easy to follow. I find the time estimates between locations to be accurate as well, even taking traffic into consideration. I appreciate that Google Maps gives up-to-date information on traffic, allowing me to plan my route.

Cons
Sometimes Google Maps struggles to give clear directions when there is a fork in the road. Without street signs indicating whether the road I'm on continues down the left or right fork, Google Maps' direction to "continue straight" isn't very helpful. More than once I've guessed the wrong fork and had to turn around.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
I have used Apple Maps for a long time and Google Maps has far greater functionality. One pro is how it will alert you of traffic and has different status colors for how bad it is and will direct you to a different route if it will be faster. It also saves your information on your laptop and app for ease of use. You can also save locations and name them things such as home, school, work etc. This saves time when you don't have to type in the whole address. You can mark where you parked your car as well and it will tell you how to get back to it, which is a very handy feature to have for sure! It will also save favorites for you even if you don't label them.

Cons
One con is that this tool will redirect you too quickly sometimes and then you end up being on the road longer. It also is hard to find where to change settings such as an avoidance. You can put your phone on airplane mode and use it fine, but if you take a wrong turn, it stops navigating, which is really frustrating sometimes.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 8/10

Pros
I like that it has a voice application to speak to you while your driving. I like that it is about 99.9% always on the money and I make it to my correct location. I also like the fact that it gives me an estimated amount of time that it will take me to make it to my location.

Cons
If you do not have internet service you can not use the software on your phone.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Being a community map, it's always complete and has up to date information. It's amazing how smart it is, so if you want to go somewhere to eat you can just write restaurants and it'll show you everything you need to know around you! Also, one of the best features is to be able to download the maps, especially when you are traveling and you don't have internet access. The smart traffic when driving alwas works perfectly. Best map app ever!

Cons
Sometimes the star-rating is not as accurate as it could be. There should be a better way to qualify the different aspects of a place. Also, it would be great if there was a pricing characterization.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
When I'm on the go, I typically use my map apps built into my iPhone, but I occasionally will use Google Maps when searching on my computer. The pro of Google Maps is a lot of companies use it. Typically when you click on highlighted map address online (Yelp, facebook, etc), the default is google maps.

Cons
The big con about Google Maps is that the routes it provides are not always the quickest, or best routes. I used Google maps a lot when I lived in a rural area (and it was great for that), but now that I live in a very populated area with roads constantly changing or going under construction, the maps aren't as useful. Google Maps doesn't seem to quite know all the quicker routes and definitely doesn't take in consideration lights. Not knowing the area, Google maps once told me it was 7 miles from somewhere, but it didn't consider that I would hit every single red light along the way and the 7 miles took nearly an hour. I would also find myself using Google maps and notice that several people ahead of me will make the same award path and I do, and realized we're all likely using Google maps. It would literally take these strange paths thru neighborhoods, with speed bumps, and uturns, heavy potholes, even gravel roads and same strange turns as the people in front of me for miles. Just because there is a road there, doesn't make it the best option, but I guess Google can't determine areas that have speed bumps or gravel roads yet. Google maps isn't as intuitive as Waze which will give you minute by minute updates and alt routes to take. My biggest con with Google maps, was on a personal level. I moved to a new home. Completely new address that hasn't ever been in a system yet. We had our address set up with the PO for months, and it took Google nearly 8 months for them to get our address in their system. We had to share our address using coordinates with friends and family for months because Google wouldn't update their maps. You can submit a change or incorrect address, but you cannot add a new address easily. And when you do, you cannot see the progress of your change, like if Google has actually reviewed it or not, or the ETA on being approved. Being that so many companies use Google maps, it was difficult to order things online and have them shipped to my home. Many businesses didn't recognize my address as being valid since they rely on Google maps so heavily. It would be nice for Google, as large of a company as they are to offer some sort of customer service option or an easier way to contact them. Their FAQ and guides for adding new map addresses is lacking.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 5/10

Pros
I love Google Maps. I literally use it all the time as a sales rep. I travel often and don't know the areas I am going, so Google maps is the perfect tool to find the office i'm heading to with just my voice! It integrates with all of the tools on my phone, I can drop a pin for friends to find me, and I love the up to date traffic and time estimations. Powerful.

Cons
I don't have any complaints! One feature i'd love to be a little more simple but isn't a big deal would be seeing multiple a-z trips on one map. Be able to show two or three different routes for different locations on one map (just for trip planning).

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
As a Google Trusted Photographer, I publish virtual tours on Google Maps for my clients and forms the single most important dataset I can create to help clients and their shoppers. Google Maps is by far the most advanced publicly available mapping system in the world and the other players have a long way to catch up.

Cons
Be careful about the data you see - when you notice that a business is not verified (it says "Do you own this business?" in those cases) then the data may not likely be up to date. Some road data may also not be up to date if the Street View car has not been around in some time to update that area.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
I like that you are able to search and find pretty much any business or restaurant around you quickly and efficiently with directions. It also provides reviews on every business, which can show you if the place is well serviced or not. I like being able to explore food and drinks nearby as well!

Cons
Just as you can find food nearby, I wish there was an easy way to find stores nearby. It’d make shopping easier if you are not familiar with the area and are not looking for a specific store. Additionally, some of the directions are told a little to late at times which can cause you to miss a turn or an exit. Also, some of the businesses that are on the map no longer exist there or they do not have a new business that is there, but this is not frequent or persistent problem. However, I’ve run into a few problems with street name changes (perhaps errors) and went around in circles looking for the street. It would be nice to be able to request a change from the app.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 8/10