I can install either Google Maps or Apple Maps on my motorcycle head unit, which made me wonder which was best for navigation. So I spent a 4-day biking vacation in the Philippines comparing the routes the two apps suggested. Rather than choosing four easy highway journeys, I wanted something that would force them to make some difficult decisions, including mountain roads, twisting curves, long highways, potentially hazardous sections, and, finally, a winding route toward the coast.
Race 1: Dingalan to Baler
Would either app choose the mountain shortcut?
The first stage was designed to test how the apps handle a road with two options: one shorter but decidedly more difficult than the other.
From my holiday home in Dingalan, I set Baler on the Pacific coast as the destination, with the more southerly route known for challenging mountain passes. With over 65 kilometers of “twisties,” the roads are narrow, steep, and rough, making the route considerably more demanding than the distance on the map might suggest.
This was my first test: would Google Maps and Apple Maps recognize that the shortest route isn’t necessarily the easiest?
Test 1 conclusion: Google Maps won here because it provided two sensible options with different distances, estimated times, and road qualities, and I ultimately chose the more difficult (yet fun and scenic) route. Apple Maps didn’t even suggest the more interesting option.
Race 2: Baler to Cervantes via Tabuk
Can the apps handle a long journey with very different roads?
The second stage completely changed the test’s character. From Baler, it was about 6 hours of mile-munching to Tabuk, which lies at the gateway to Mountain Province. After that came some very tricky terrain, with elevations up to 1,800 meters, landslides, potential road closures, and rough road surfaces with the occasional water crossing.
Mountain roads introduce a completely different set of considerations, where a route that looks perfectly reasonable on a digital map is considerably less attractive in reality. I compared not only the routes but also how much each app was willing to deviate from the obvious road, and questioned exactly what it was asking me to do.
Test 2 conclusion: On this long journey, I once again gave the advantage to Google Maps, which produced a more coherent route (after disabling the default fuel-saving feature), whereas Apple Maps suggested backtracking the way I had come, with a highly impractical route that was over 14 hours, compared to Google’s 11:45 suggested route time.
Race 3: Cervantes to San Juan
Difficult trekking turns to fast sweeping curves and highway speed
By now, the bikes were well warmed up, and everything became intuitive. From Cervantes, the route toward San Juan takes you through well-paved Mountain Province terrain before eventually dropping toward the surf town of San Juan along a fast coastal highway.
This is where I became less interested in the individual turns and more interested in how the apps constructed the entire journey. Would they choose mostly similar routes? Would one try to shave time off by using smaller (likely more dangerous) roads? Would either app produce a bizarre diversion that looks efficient on a map but makes little sense in reality?
Test 3 conclusion: Both apps produced very similar, accurate results, though Google Maps was spot-on with its ETA, giving it a slight advantage.
The real winner wasn’t the app with the shortest ETA
More information turned out to be more useful than a faster prediction
After completing all three stages, I spent the fourth day resting and contemplating the results of my experiment. I ultimately found that I cared less about which app claimed it could complete the journey quickest and more about why the apps chose the routes they did.
On the straightforward roads of test 2, there wasn’t much between them, but later in the day, as things turned tricky, I found that having alternate routes, and understanding why the app would choose one over another, took priority over simply making good time.
Of course, a navigation app isn’t supposed to make me a road engineer, and if Apple Maps routinely gave me the optimal route that saves head-scratching while I consider alternatives, then simplicity would be an advantage. However, on longer road trips, where I don’t know the lay of the land, I’d rather have more information to understand which alternatives exist than unquestioningly trust a given arrival time.
Google Maps was the overall winner, for its detailed suggestions
Race 1 tested whether the apps understood that the shortest route isn’t necessarily the easiest. Race 2 tested their ability to construct a coherent route across very different roads. And Race 3 tested how confidently they handled fast-flowing traffic through provincial and highway conditions.
Neither Google Maps nor Apple Maps is universally better, and on a simple commute, there’s likely very little between them. However, ultimately, Google Maps came out the clear winner here because it offered me more information and more ways to make the decision myself. As I came to realize, having that knowledge is usually far more important than shaving a few minutes off your ETA.