Apple Maps Significantly More Popular Than All Other iOS Mapping Apps, Including Google

After a rough launch last year, Apple Maps appears to be doing very well for itself, with 35 million U.S. iPhone owners using the app in September 2013, versus 6 million iOS users of the downloadable Google Maps according to data from comScore and The Guardian.

The data remains a little fuzzy as neither Google nor Apple publicly release their usage figures, but if they are even close to correct, Apple has largely succeeded with its Maps rollout and Google has lost a tremendous number of Maps users in just a year.

It's likely that Apple's success is largely due to the incredible advantage default apps hold on mobile platforms, with the majority of users finding Apple Maps to be "good enough" and not looking for an alternative.

Googleapplemaps
According to comScore, Google Maps has gone from 81.1 million mobile U.S. users last year to just 58.7 million this year, a drop of more than 20 million. At the same time, the total number of iPhone and Android phone users in the U.S. increased from 103.6 million to 136.7 million. comScore attributes this significant drop largely to the introduction of Apple Maps as the default app on iPhones, as well as an increasing share of younger users that don't use any mapping application.

ComScore's data shows that in September 2013, 35m used Apple's maps at least once during the month, out of a total iPhone population of 60.1m. The 58% usage on the iPhone is reckoned to reflect the growing number of younger users who do not use mapping services; the proportion of iPhone users who use any mapping service, including Google's, has been dropping since April 2012, according to ComScore's data.

Wood said: "The thing is, on an iPhone all roads lead to Apple's maps. They're putting this front and centre for users, and getting more confident." For Google, he said, "They're very fortunate that Android is a big source of data - they will be very relieved at that." He cautioned that US iPhone users might be more eager to use Apple's maps because there seem to be fewer errors there compared to other regions, including Europe.

35 million iPhone owners used Apple Maps in September, out of 60.1 million total iPhone owners in the United States, some 58 percent. Based on The Guardian's modeling, this means roughly 8.3 million iPhone users are using an alternative mapping application like Google Maps, with approximately two million of those using the pre-iOS 6 default Google Maps application because they have not upgraded to a newer version of the iOS.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Tuesday July 15, 2025 11:07 am PDT by
Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, and now a more specific timeframe has surfaced. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that Apple's public betas should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23. In other words, expect the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more to be available at some point next week. Apple will be releasing...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iPhone 17 Colors

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Revealed in Latest Leak

Wednesday July 16, 2025 6:50 am PDT by
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. MacRumors concept In a report for Macworld today, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The report includes ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
Apple Hornsby

Apple Store Near Sydney Permanently Closing Later This Year

Monday July 14, 2025 6:14 pm PDT by
Apple today said its store at the Westfield Hornsby shopping mall, in Hornsby, Australia, will be permanently closing in October. Apple Hornsby In a statement shared with Australian tech news website EFTM (via Reddit), Apple said that it has decided not to renew its lease at Westfield Hornsby. Apple said all affected retail employees will be given the opportunity to work at Apple's nearby...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...

Top Rated Comments

NotAdvisable Avatar
152 months ago
Well it is the default mapping application for iOS now... nothing too surprising.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Harmush Avatar
152 months ago
It's still rubbish in the UK.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
levitynyc Avatar
152 months ago
Stockholm Syndrome.

I recently has my daughter's first birthday party and 3 people got lost solely because Apple Maps sent them to the wrong location.

I don't plan on using Apple Maps for a very long time.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
slffl Avatar
152 months ago
It's more popular because it's better! I use maps and GPS on a daily basis and every time I give Google maps a try it fails me. Apple maps is by FAR the best navigation app out there!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jrlcopy Avatar
152 months ago
It still returns the worst results for me in NY.

Google def has better routing through incomplete addresses, such as, "10 w 23th" but if I enter that into apple, the I'll end up in Bangladesh.

But google also tosses me to Brooklyn for some reason every once in a while, and google likes to zoom out and show me results all over the metropolitan area instead of just in the little box I'm zoomed into.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheRainKing Avatar
152 months ago
Like others have said, it's crap in the UK.

And of course it's more popular, it's a default app.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)