Google Maps

We’re a long way from the days of pulling a map from a car’s glove box, unfolding it, and trying to puzzle out a position. Now, your smartphone is your map and GPS device. Google’s been at the forefront of this revolution courtesy of Google Maps, one of the earliest navigation apps. Over the years, Google has expanded Maps with useful features that let you plot a commute, take a virtual stroll through a neighborhood, receive voiced turn-by-turn navigation, or find cool things to do in your area. Apple Maps has crept within striking distance, and Waze works well for driving, but Google Maps is a more fully featured navigation app that stands out as our Editor’s Choice winner.

Where to Find Google Maps

Google Maps is free on every platform, and its ubiquity is a key strength. Most Android phones have Google Maps preinstalled alongside several other Google apps. It's roughly the same app on iOS and iPadOS devices.

There's voiced turn-by-turn navigation with many helpful map tools. Glanceable Directions puts key navigation instructions right on your lock screen during your trip. If you don't own a smartphone, you can access Google Maps through any web browser, and Google's browser maps are more detailed than the ones Apple Maps is currently testing in beta.

Moving Around Town

Google Maps greets you with a colorful, high-contrast map of your immediate area. It’s very readable, with white for general streets, bright yellow for highways, green for parks, blue for waterways, and gray or dull yellow for buildings. If you've activated your device's location-based services, the app displays a blue dot reflecting your position, with a vision cone denoting the rough direction you’re facing. Maps is immensely helpful for getting around your immediate area.

A search bar lets you input the name of a city, town, business, or street, backed by an autocomplete feature based on Google searches. If you’re looking for a CVS Pharmacy, for example, you can type in “CVS,” “pharmacy,” or its street address to get a list of nearby locations. They’re laid out in helpful cards that you can swipe through. Each card has the location's name, address, distance from your current position, a Call icon, and a Directions icon that lets you quickly find a route there.

Helpful icons point to frequent search categories, which include gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, parks, gyms, and EV charging stations. A recent Google Maps addition lets you see all the public restrooms in New York City. In testing, the app accurately displayed a public restroom icon for toilets on the south side of Madison Square Park; it also revealed restrooms on the east side of Bryant Park. This can save you money, as you no longer need to buy coffee in a cafe to relieve yourself. We hope this feature soon rolls out to other cities and towns.

The Layers icon changes the displayed map. There are three map types: the Default version, the Satellite version that pulls real pictures from Google’s watchful eyes floating in orbit, and the Terrain view that shows topography and elevation (the latter is great if you’re a hiker). The Layers menu includes map overlays featuring helpful live traffic information, public transit and bicycle routes, and a 3D overlay that shows polygonal buildings.

Google Street View is a mode that lets you check out any major road and look around in a 360-degree, panorama fashion. It's extremely useful if you need to match a landmark with your current location. That said, some Street View images are woefully out of date, displaying photos from years ago. On the upside, Street View also lets you take virtual tours inside select buildings, so you can see a shop's layout without leaving the couch. Apple Maps has Street View-like functionality with its cool Look Around feature, but it lacks Google Maps' indoor mapping, aside from some large airports and shopping malls. The Google-owned Waze lacks a Street View-like feature entirely.

Google draws from a catalog of location data, landmarks, photos, and reviews that keep it ahead of the pack. Google simply can’t be beat in terms of navigation and trip planning. Every location we searched for in NYC, and some nearby smaller cities, immediately popped up. Even hidden speakeasy bars couldn't hide from Google Maps. Waze draws on similar data but is focused on driving. As a result, it won’t help people who walk or bike around their towns or cities. Apple Maps is great in larger cities, but it’s playing catch up to Google in terms of the information it displays for smaller towns.

Adding Context to Your Life

Maps lets you access the extensive data that the search giant has collected. This information is neatly collected in tabs at the bottom of the app.

First, there’s Explore, which is all about local haunts. Searching a location reveals a host of additional information for the intrepid explorer. For example, if you’re in Los Angeles, you’ll receive suggestions for the best brunch and bar spots or historic landmarks you should check out. There are also crowdsourced photos of local vistas and hangouts, with useful directions and customer ratings.

The Go tab contains your frequently visited locations, and it displays estimated arrival times and traffic conditions. It also suggests trips based on your recent searches. The Saved section has locations that you’ve flagged, including the homes of your friends and family, bucket list spots, and favorite restaurants. If you want to add to Google’s considerable information database, visit the Contribute section. There, you can review businesses or add location photos. The Updates tab lets you read reviews, send messages, and receive notifications from businesses and people you follow.

For more, check out 23 Google Maps tricks you need to try.

Follow the Directions

Ready to hit the road? The starting point can be your current location as determined by GPS or another address. You can add multiple stops along your route, with a maximum of 10 stops per trip. The AI-powered Immersive View visually guides you through your entire path in select areas.

Once you’ve decided your route, Google Maps gives you an estimated transit time based on whether you’re driving, taking public transit, walking, cycling, or flying. The route is colored to show the current traffic: blue for smooth sailing, yellow for small delays, and red for bumper-to-bumper traffic. There are also multiple route options, helping you bypass rough traffic. Apple Maps displays similar information, though its small-town maps are less detailed than Google's. Google Maps also lets you download directions for offline use, which is especially handy when your cellphone suffers a spotty signal (you also download maps to your Wear OS smartwatch).

Once you’re on the road, Maps offers voiced turn-by-turn directions. You can mute the digital navigator, use Google Assistant vocal commands to reroute yourself, or search to add stops to your route. Google also offers an augmented reality option; if you’re on foot and give Maps access to your camera, the app overlays directions on the camera image. With Lens, you can also use your camera to orient yourself by scanning nearby landmarks.

Google Maps and Your User Data

Historically, Google Maps has lagged behind Apple Maps in the privacy realm. However, the app has received improvements. Location History is turned off by default. The app has an incognito mode that doesn’t save your search or location history. It doesn't personalize the maps with your Google data. Activated Location History is automatically deleted after three months. Your timeline of visited locations is stored on your device instead of online. Cloud backups have end-to-end encryption.

Despite this, past reports have noted that Google services still collect your location data even if you’ve used a privacy setting to prevent that. The data has unique identifiers not tied to you personally, but it’s still data Google has about you. If you want Google to stop tracking you, you must put in some work. Apple, on the other hand, is more concerned with privacy issues. For example, it keeps data on your device, not in the cloud.

Verdict: Google Maps Is the King of the Road

Google Maps is the most holistic mapping app on the market. It can give you quick directions, transit estimates, and even suggestions for what to do when you get to your destination. That said, Google still comes up short in its data collection; if you’re a privacy-minded person, you must jump through more than a few hoops to truly opt out. If you have an Android phone, Google Maps is an easy choice. On iOS, Apple Maps has gotten far better, but in some cases—especially smaller cities—Google’s app is still tops. Simply put, Google Maps is the most well-rounded mapping service for commuters, walkers, bikers, and urban explorers, earning it our Editors' Choice award for navigation apps.

Mike Williams contributed to this review.