Key Takeaways
- Apple Maps is a reliable alternative to Google Maps, with unique features for undecided travelers.
- Waze offers fun features like personalized voice navigation, calendar integration, and in-app music.
- Mapquest delivers credibility and dependability for straightforward navigation.
When talking about the best and most trusted navigation apps on the market today, it’s safe to say that Google certainly has itself a healthy bit of the market share. However, for one reason or another, there are some smartphone users out there who might not want to be boxed into a corner and are looking for an alternative to Google Maps.
The good news here is that there are a couple of applications that can offer the same kind of ease of use and updating that people are used to finding in Google Maps. The once unchallenged ruler of this category is not longer the juggernaut it once was. If you’re ready to move on from Google Maps and give something else a try, here are a couple of options to play around with.
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1 Apple Maps
The obvious alternative for some
Apple Maps
Apple Maps is Apple’s own navigation app.
Apple Maps is a bit of a no-brainer when you’re looking for alternatives to Google Map with one big caveat. While Apple would obviously rather you use their mapping software over Google’s on their devices, there’s also the fact that you can’t use it unless you’ve got an iPhone, iPad or Mac.
Apple Maps got a bit of a bad rap when it was relatively new because it tended to send people to the wrong location. To the Cupertino company’s credit, it’s worked hard to fix those kinds of errors and it’s safe to say that direction wise, it’s as dependable as Google.
Where Apple sets itself apart might be, ironically enough, if you’re not sure where you want to go.
Where Apple sets itself apart might be, ironically enough, if you’re not sure where you want to go. The app includes a function that will allow you to find things to do if you happen to find yourself in an unfamiliar city. Just click on the search maps function, and there will be some guides to check out if you’re still trying to plan your day.
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2 Waze
Have a little fun on your drive
Waze is one of those mapping apps that for some reason, still feels like it’s a bit under the radar. That’s not from a lack of trying.
Waze
Waze is a subsidiary company of Google that provides satellite navigation.
Regarding sheer features offered in a navigation app, Waze really does take the cake. The application allows you to connect your calendar to tell you when to leave and how long it will take to get there. It also offers the ability to listen to music through the app rather than having to open it separately and go back and forth.
You can even record the common turn instructions and use your own voice to lead you to where you’re going.
The neatest little bell or whistle of Waze, though, is that you can choose from a myriad of voices to navigate you around town. In fact, should the mood strike, you can even record the common turn instructions and use your own voice to lead you to where you’re going.
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3 Mapquest
The granddaddy of them all
Mapquest
MapQuest is a free online web mapping service. It launched in 1996.
Mapquest doesn’t offer a ton of features that you won’t find in the other navigation apps. What Mapquest does offer is a piece of software that has been around in one form or another since the early 1990s. Not only was Mapquest around before all of the other applications that are usable on smartphones, but it was also around before smartphones.
What Mapquest does offer is credibility and dependability.
What Mapquest does offer is credibility and dependability. This isn’t the app for you if you’re looking for all kinds of different features and the bells and whistles Waze or Apple Maps has. But if you’re looking for an app that just gets the job done and has been getting the job done since people had to print the route instructions off in order to have them in the car with them, Mapquest is that pick.
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4 Here We Go
Simplicity done right
Here We Go
Here WeGo is a web mapping and satellite navigation software developed by HERE Technologies. It is accessible on both web and mobile platforms.
Here We Go is another app that offers simplicity above all else. Like Mapquest, this app isn’t going to do a whole lot behind tell you how to get somewhere and how long it will take to get there. However, it is viewed as one of the best for its built-in public transportation routing.
It is viewed as one of the best for its built-in public transportation routing.
Here We Go also offers traffic updates so you won’t find yourself at a dead end in construction zones and it allows you to save any locations you’d like for easy access later.
The bottom line is that if you’ve soured on Google Maps for one reason or another, there are options out there that can really suit whatever need or desire someone has when they are using navigation apps to safely guide them from Point A to Point B.
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