Products · Product
Apple Maps
Raised as a usability problem by 314 people on Hacker News over 17 years (2010–2026), in 168 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
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- 6Street names disappear when zoomed inUnreviewed
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- 4Street names disappear when zoomed inUnreviewed
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Exact address searches return irrelevant far-away resultsUnreviewed
20102026- MacOS Maps doesn't behave as expected beyond simple location searches2026-04-21
- Place search shows poor info, few photos, and hard-to-scan hours and distance2025-10-29
- Search for a specific IKEA store returns no matching result, showing offices and redundant search hits2025-03-21
Poor at helping users discover places, so they switch to Google MapsUnreviewed
20102026- Maps are awful and hard to rely on, even offline2024-02-28
- Apple Maps is poor at helping users discover places, so they use Google Maps instead2023-12-21
- Desktop Apple Maps app is so poor that people use Google Maps in a browser instead2023-11-02
Street names disappear when zoomed inUnreviewed
20102026- Street names are displayed too sparsely, making it hard to orient yourself2024-07-25
- Map lines are too faint and labels are hard to read, especially in rural areas2023-09-01
- Can't figure out how to find the name of the upcoming street2023-08-07
Address links open Apple Maps instead of Google Maps, can't be removedUnreviewed
20102026- Removing Apple Maps makes addresses open a missing-app error, even with Google Maps set as default2026-05-26
- Addresses fail to open in the chosen navigation app after uninstalling Apple Maps2025-10-25
- Shared Apple Maps links fail to work on Linux in any browser2024-07-25
Routes take bizarre detours and sometimes wrong destinationsUnreviewed
20102026- Must add waypoints between every exit to stop it rerouting, and saving or viewing the map breaks the route2026-07-06
- Routes to the wrong place frequently, and the interface keeps getting more cluttered2026-04-20
- Gives confusing routes with unnecessary u-turns and bad exit guidance2025-10-11
Map position lags 1-2 seconds, causing missed turnsUnreviewed
20102026- Position indicator lags behind, especially at roundabouts, so the turn is missed2023-07-18
- Map zoom and animation speed change near turns, so user misjudges distance and misses turns2022-02-26
- Position lags behind actual location, making turns harder to make while driving2021-10-12
Maps are often wrong, requiring manual checksUnreviewed
20102026- Gives confusing, wrong navigation directions and offline maps break2025-03-21
- Phone maps misplace location, mis-orient, and route aggressively onto side roads2023-04-15
- Turning off location for Maps shows a message and then fails to find the user's location2022-09-27
Can't reliably find shops or restaurants due to sparse business infoUnreviewed
20102026- Can't find restaurants that exist, as if they weren't there2025-07-12
- Business information and reviews are severely lacking compared to Google Maps2025-06-24
- Can't find shops or restaurants reliably because business info is sparse2023-07-18
Tapping photos or reviews opens Yelp in the App StoreUnreviewed
20102026- Viewing Yelp photos full screen forces a prompt to download the Yelp app2026-04-21
- Must install the Yelp app and create an account to see reviews and pictures2022-05-11
- Sent to install the Yelp app just to read restaurant ratings2021-09-20
Map takes up to a minute to display and is slow to zoomUnreviewed
20102026- Map image loads so slowly the user gives up waiting2023-08-07
- Map becomes very laggy and almost unusable in 3D mode2020-12-14
- Zooming is very slow and the map can't be dragged or items clicked2019-01-16
Endless zooming on approaching turns makes the map hard to glance atUnreviewed
20102026- Endless zooming in and out on approaching turns makes the map hard to glance at2023-08-07
- Map constantly zooms in and out, so turn distance is impossible to read at a glance2021-11-22
- Zoomed too far in, can't see upcoming turns; no distance or direction text; can't drag map ahead2013-11-11
Map view resets pan and zoom when app becomes inactiveUnreviewed
20102026- Map view keeps resetting pan and zoom when app becomes inactive2025-12-08
- Panning the map often fails to load results for the visible area2025-02-16
- Map keeps snapping back to the pin when user tries to pan2024-01-30
Turning voice directions on or off takes several taps while drivingUnreviewed
20102026- Turning voice directions on or off now takes several tiny taps while driving2022-08-05
- Voice directions read out too much detail, with no option for shorter prompts2022-05-10
- Muting voice announcements now takes several taps and waits on tiny icons2022-02-27
Turn guidance lacks lane detail; place search returns distant results firstUnreviewed
20102026- Continuous route line gives no visual indication of where turns are2021-11-10
- Directions give wrong turn timing and rerouting, so user must check street names2020-09-01
- Turn guidance lacks lane detail and place search returns distant results first2018-02-21
Search lacks a search-in-this-area optionUnreviewed
20102026- Search interface is frustrating to use2026-04-21
- Search is terrible and lacks a search-in-this-area option2023-08-07
- Search is nearly non-existent and guesses the wrong place when it can't find a match2017-08-31
Transit view hides approaching and intermediate stopsUnreviewed
20102026- Clunky UI, and businesses shown in wrong locations, with thin transit details2023-07-18
- Transit view shows only origin and destination stops, hiding the approaching stop and remaining stops2022-08-09
- Transit view is hidden; user took months to discover it by hovering2013-11-11
Search moves the map away from the user's current viewUnreviewed
20102026- Dragging the map accidentally moves place labels; category search ignores current map view2024-07-25
- After moving the map, search results don't refresh; user must pinch and scroll randomly and hope2022-05-10
- Search moves the map viewport unexpectedly, losing the user's current view2018-06-29
Trail data is missing and search is worse than Google MapsUnreviewed
20102026- Hard to find and navigate the train system compared to Google Maps2018-06-29
- Trail data missing and interface and search feel worse than Google Maps2016-06-24
- Missing transit info forces switching to Google Maps web, which is slower2012-09-28
Searches fail unless full street names are typedUnreviewed
20102026- Searches like 'Albertson's on Tropicana' fail unless you type full street names2018-06-29
- Must enter full addresses because saying a business name doesn't reliably find the place2018-05-24
- Street names not found in autocomplete unless typed in full2012-11-27
Rotating map view confuses users who prefer plain turn-by-turnUnreviewed
20102026- Map rotates by accident often, and the user never wants that2023-12-19
- The rotating map view is confusing to the commenter, who finds a plain turn-by-turn interface more intuitive2012-12-13
- Map rotates away from north, making it confusing to read outside 3D mode2012-10-14
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Tab bar options are greyed out and Cmd-T no longer opens a tab2026-09-29
- Spoken directions mispronounce UK street names, making them hard to follow2026-09-15
- Fixing a driveway location required business account signup, incorporation documents, and repeated back-and-forth approval rounds2026-09-12
- Must add waypoints between every exit to stop it rerouting, and saving or viewing the map breaks the route2026-07-06
- Tapping transport mode while routes load selects the wrong first route2026-07-05
- Removing Apple Maps makes addresses open a missing-app error, even with Google Maps set as default2026-05-26
- Reports of wrong directions get rejected and demand photos a month later, wasting the user's time2026-05-09
- Siri navigates to the wrong destination instead of the hospital the user went to yesterday2026-05-07
- Sponsored pins and results clutter the map and slow down finding places2026-05-07
- Offline maps expire after 30 days, leaving users unable to navigate2026-05-07
- Navigation view suddenly switches back to workout data mid-ride2026-05-03
- Workout prompt takes over the screen mid-ride, hiding the map until dismissed2026-05-02
- MacOS Maps doesn't behave as expected beyond simple location searches2026-04-21
- Search interface is frustrating to use2026-04-21
- Wrong gym timings, wrong routes, and won't detect home address from contacts in India2026-04-21
- Viewing Yelp photos full screen forces a prompt to download the Yelp app2026-04-21
- Shows suburbs by council names, which locals don't use, so places are confusing2026-04-20
- Routes to the wrong place frequently, and the interface keeps getting more cluttered2026-04-20
- Search always promotes guide content for an unrelated city, with no way to turn it off2026-02-12
- Phone takes ages to unlock with Face ID while Maps is running, feeling unresponsive2026-01-23
- Shared coordinates silently changed to a different destination 5km away2026-01-05
- Compass heading shows the wrong facing direction, so walking or cycling navigation misleads the user2025-12-14
- Map view keeps resetting pan and zoom when app becomes inactive2025-12-08
- Ads mixed in with results make the user fiddle around to find what they want2025-11-07
- Place search shows poor info, few photos, and hard-to-scan hours and distance2025-10-29
- Addresses fail to open in the chosen navigation app after uninstalling Apple Maps2025-10-25
- Gives confusing routes with unnecessary u-turns and bad exit guidance2025-10-11
- Must wait for animations to finish before scrolling or moving the map2025-09-06
- Can't find restaurants that exist, as if they weren't there2025-07-12
- Business information and reviews are severely lacking compared to Google Maps2025-06-24
- Fails to get directions or find destinations in Japan and Taiwan2025-06-10
- Search returns no results unless the hyphen is typed in house numbers2025-04-25
- Different UI layout is annoying to someone switching from Google Maps2025-03-24
- Gives confusing, wrong navigation directions and offline maps break2025-03-21
- Search for a specific IKEA store returns no matching result, showing offices and redundant search hits2025-03-21
- Searching for an app name shows a full-page ad for another app2025-02-16
- Business search results are out of date and missing hours2025-02-16
- Panning the map often fails to load results for the visible area2025-02-16
- Roads are hard to see even zoomed in, and minor roads vanish when zoomed out2024-07-26
- Routing requires clicking a POI; can't pick arbitrary map points, so typing names is needed2024-07-26
- Web version does not work in Safari on iPhone, blocking mobile users2024-07-25
- Street names are displayed too sparsely, making it hard to orient yourself2024-07-25
- Viewing photos of a place forces the user to open a separate app2024-07-25
- Dragging the map accidentally moves place labels; category search ignores current map view2024-07-25
- Search box doesn't get focus on opening, forcing extra mouse handling2024-07-25
- Submitting corrections for a moved store repeatedly gets no change in the listing2024-07-25
- Map text unreadable on ultrawide dark mode; sidebar stays tiny2024-07-25
- Multi-second delays and edit mode suddenly cancels during interaction2024-07-25
- Current location is placed over 200 miles off; clickable places don't signal they can be clicked2024-07-25
- Nearby gas station search jumps to a distant city; dropped pin cannot be removed2024-07-25