Well it looks like there is an upside to Apple Maps in iOS 6 after all. The app uses 80 percent less data than Google Maps, according to the experts from Onavo.
Which should save you a bob or two when out and about.
Apple Maps may be five times more efficient than Google Maps, but the latter does have an offline mode for Android. This lets you load a map before you go, and store it on your mobile. Which will be particularly useful for avoiding huge roaming charges abroad.
Apple Maps is more efficient because it uses vector graphics, and so doesn’t have to download map images every time you adjust the view. Which means it munches through less data.
“On Google Maps, the average data loaded from the cellular network for each step was 1.3MB,” Onavo says. “Apple Maps came in at 271KB – that’s approximately 80 percent less data!
“On some actions, such as zooming in to see a particular intersection, Apple Maps’ efficiency edged close to 7x.”
It’s more efficient in other modes, too. In Satellite View, Apple Maps uses about half as much data as Google Maps, Onavo found.
Apple CEO Tim Cook omitted to mention the data efficiency in his apology to customers last week. Though to be honest, no one wants to hear him harp on about how great Maps is when it’s been an unmitigated disaster.
Want to improve Apple Maps? Try this quick trick. It won’t mend everything, but it will give you more detail and make the maps more usable.
Link: BGR
