The Best iPhone Navigation Apps of 2022 - BestApp.com (2023)

FAQs

Which navigation app is most accurate? ›

Other additional features like street view, satellite images, voice navigation make Google Maps one of the most favored GPS apps. Updates you about live traffic. Google Maps Offers street view, accurate ETA, and offline navigation.

Google Maps

Everyone needs a trusty navigation app on their phone, and Google Maps is a favorite for good reason. Map your way to your destination, and find out how long it will take with real-time updates and traffic conditions. Plus, find nearby stores, restaurants, hotels, and more with this easy-to-use app.

Google's Maps (a native Android app) and Waze (Google's driver-focused navigation app) are available in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Apple Maps comes pre-installed on every iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, but there's no Google Play Store version.

Waze only provides routes for cars, motorcycles, and taxis. And like Apple Maps, you can add just one pit stop. However, Waze is the most comprehensive if you want to get local traffic updates; live traffic updates include alternate routes, accidents, road work, police, potholes, and speed traps.

The best alternative is Google Maps, which is free. Other great apps like Waze are OsmAnd, Organic Maps, MAPS.ME and HERE WeGo.

If you want a navigation app that focuses on getting you from one place to another in the fastest way possible, choose Waze. If you want a more informative map view with more additional features, choose Google Maps. There's no clear winner here, with both Google Maps and Waze offering excellent service.

Google Maps is the clear winner for the amount of data present and available. It sources its vast collection of information gathered from businesses, websites, users, and more. Apple Maps has a lot of data too, but even if it uses crowdsourced data similar to Google, it isn't sourcing from as many locations.

CityMapper. Unlike Google Maps, the scope of CityMapper is quite narrow, but it skillfully does its job better than any other app.

Go to your phone or tablet's settings app. Tap Language and input. Tap Text-to-speech output.

Is Waze more accurate than Google Maps? ›

Both Google Maps and Waze have good parts, as well as their share of issues. Google Maps seems to be more reliable, accurate and has better real-time traffic, whereas Waze has a larger army of fans who think the app is amazing who love its voice prompts feature. However, updates caused issues for both apps.

Your iPhone includes a GPS chip like the one found in standalone GPS devices. The iPhone uses the GPS chip in conjunction with cellphone towers and Wi-Fi networks in a process called assisted GPS, which helps calculate the phone's position.

Use Siri or open Maps to get turn-by-turn directions, traffic conditions, and estimated travel time (not available in all regions). Note: To get directions, iPhone must be connected to the internet, and Location Services must be on.

Google Maps comes free Android devices and may be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store.

Apple, meanwhile, told us as recently as December 2020 that Apple Maps has “hundreds of millions” of users. From this, we can infer that Apple Maps has at least 200 million users and at most around 900–950 million users.

Waze is a great navigation tool for any driver looking out for police traps, traffic updates, and accident reports. It's these customizable alerts that allow for users to set unique routes and allow for social integration.

Once again both services are about on par with each other. Both Apple Maps and Google Maps will give you accurate public transport information and reasonably similar routes if you're looking to walk or cycle between locations.

TomTom GO gets traffic data from over 400 million vehicles worldwide, whereas Waze gets traffic data from the users on the road. Depending on the location, one can perform better. One thing Waze does better is allowing to search for business names and addresses together.

GOOGLE MAPS: Free It comes pre-installed on all Android smartphones and is also available for download for iPhone users.

Does Waze show all cops? ›

Yes it will show you the police that have been tagged by users. If a cop posts and no Waze user has seen/tagged them then they will not show up.

Waze ran a dedicated carpooling app, Waze Carpool, which was first launched in 2016 and was available in the USA, Brazil, and Israel. Google has announced that the app will be retired in 2022, citing COVID-related changes in commuting patterns that led to a sharp decline in carpooling.

But there is more. The app also uses a small icon of a tiny face in a police hat to warn users if police are nearby, either in speed traps or parked on the side the road. It obtains that information when other users who are driving further up the road input data into the system.

If you value privacy above all else, or are happy with the default Mapping app on your iPhone, go with Apple Maps. However if you prefer a service that offers more information and puts your data to work improving what you see, then go for Google Maps. It's all up to you.

iOS is generally faster and smoother

Having used both platforms daily for years, I have encountered way fewer hiccups and slow-downs using iOS. Performance is one of the things iOS usually does better than Android.

An iPhone's location is usually extremely accurate, within 15 to 20 feet of the actual device. However, many factors can affect the location's accuracy. iPhones use several different methods to approximate its location, but will always optimize to be as accurate as possible.

Google Maps is perhaps the best online mapping program available for the public, not only it is rich in information, the data provided are more up to date with good driving directions, however, accuracy of data can be somewhat misleading since anyone can edit the map and submit the information.

Simply turn on the voice navigation in Maps on iPhone:

Step #1: Go to Settings from your iPhone. Step #2: Scroll and tap Maps. Step #3: Choose Driving & Navigation settings. Step #4: Check Loud/Normal/Low Volume under the Navigation Voice Volume.

Go to Settings > Maps > Navigation & Guidance. There are various options here. Ensure that you enable volume directions. You can also change whether to pause spoken audio for voice directions.

Why can't I hear my Maps directions? ›

You won't hear Google Maps' voice navigation if your device's volume is low or muted. Press the Volume Up button on your phone to increase navigation voice volume. If your phone is hooked to your car's speaker, use your car's volume control to increase Google Maps' volume level.

If you value privacy above all else, or are happy with the default Mapping app on your iPhone, go with Apple Maps. However if you prefer a service that offers more information and puts your data to work improving what you see, then go for Google Maps. It's all up to you.

Once again both services are about on par with each other. Both Apple Maps and Google Maps will give you accurate public transport information and reasonably similar routes if you're looking to walk or cycle between locations. Google Maps takes the lead once again though.

Bing Maps

The interface is similar to Google Maps but cleaner and leaner without losing any features. There are layers to the maps – road, aerial, and streetside – plus public transportation and walking maps for those without a car. And there are even 3D views.

The moment you select Driving or Satellite maps, you will start seeing local traffic conditions. Orange color on the road means slowdowns and red means heavy/stop-and-go traffic.

GPS satellites use an atomic clock to send timestamped signals that are insanely accurate. If your phone is in position to receive 4+ strong satellite signals, most phones GPS should be accurate within 20 feet. A weak signal can quickly reduce that to 100+ feet or even 1,000+ feet!

Does iPhone GPS work without data? Yes, the GPS receiver in iPhones remains active even if no data is available. But you might want to consider getting an app built specifically for offline GPS navigation as Apple Maps provides limited offline support.

Location services get their location from a combination of GPS, cellular towers, wifi signals, and bluetooth signals. Its accuracy depends on how many of those signals it is getting at any point in time. Sometimes it can be accurate down to less than a meter and other times it is is the size of a city block.