First things first, for those of you who actually think Apple Maps can kill you because you follow GPS routes blindly, great news! Google’s Maps alternative has made it into the App Store. If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know why this is a good thing, let me explain. If you’re using iOS6, Apple’s Maps app is no longer powered by Google. Instead it is powered by Apple’s own mapping system which many find to be seriously underpowered, inaccurate, and lacking in features. [I actually like it over the past Google powered versions]. This caused a huge backlash, mainly with the media who blew it completely out of proportion causing a panic with consumers. No need to worry now because Google Maps is here to save the day! Seriously though, Apple allowed Google’s new native Maps app into the App Store and it is pretty good I’ll have to admit.

For starters, it’s really starting to look like Google’s app designers are getting much better making iOS apps. We got a stellar Gmail app update the other day that is fantastic as well as a better Youtube app, G+ app, and Google Drive app. I can’t say anything good about the Google Voice app however because it still stinks. Back to the Maps app, it’s much better looking than the previously Apple made, Google powered app. Maps load much quicker now thanks to the new vector based maps and even the satellite images seem to load just as quickly. Now, something I discovered that you don’t notice unless you zoom all the way in is that Google Maps actually displays 3D vector based buildings. It’s something that Apple Maps doesn’t do and is a rather nifty visual bonus. The UI is also very clean and minimal with a search bar up top and at the bottom, a bottom to lock onto your current location and a small pull tab that allows you to activate the traffic map, satellite view, or the transit map.

Speaking of search, let’s say I want to search for sushi restaurants nearby. I just type in “sushi restaurants” and it will graphically show you where all the nearby restaurants are with red dots. Large red dots seem to be the places with the most reviews while small red dots are those that have little to no reviews. If you click on a red dot, it’ll show you the name of the place at the bottom of the screen. You can also quickly switch between points by swiping on this area left and right. Not sure how it chooses which point to go to next as it sort of just does it randomly around the map. You can swipe up on this to reveal more information about this location like the address, phone number, website if it has one, menu, reservations, reviews, etc. You can also view the location in Street View, which is one of the features people no longer have access to when using Apple Maps.

One last area where many complained about the old Apple made, Google powered app was that there was no turn-by-turn voice guided navigation. This is one of the reasons the new Apple Maps is much better in my opinion, but, that may not be an advantage anymore. This new Google made Maps app now includes turn-by-turn voice navigation. That means that Google Maps is now a complete package offering maps, POI, Street View, and now voice guided, turn-by-turn navigation. Google Maps will now guide you step by step  towards your destination instead of just listing out the directions.

Overall, I’d have to say that the new Google Maps is a full featured app that will surely steer most people away from using Apple Maps. It does a lot of things right, but it also has a few disadvantages since it’s no longer the default mapping app. You can’t use it to look up addresses in your address book for instance or addresses found in your emails. Google Maps however is the better mapping app, at least for now, especially with the vast amounts of data and experience they have with maps. It’s clean, fast, and most importantly, Google. On that note, I’m still using Apple Maps, but will supplement that with Google Maps as it’s my experience that it’s never a good thing to rely on just 1 mapping app.

Google Maps is available now in the App Store for free. It is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 5.1 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.