One way or another, we usually have the best navigation system in our trouser pockets, whether it’s an iPhone or an Android cell phone. But which navigation app for the smartphone is really so convincing in the end that the professional testers like it? Stiftung Warentest gives an unequivocal verdict on the solutions from Google, Apple and Co.
Stiftung Warentest already took part in the summer of last year (issue 08/2021). Series of navigation apps to the chest (source: Stiftung Warentest). This includes paid and free offers for Android and Apple’s iPhone (iOS). Which ones were convincing, which ones failed? Six months later, the results have not lost their importance.
Stiftung Warentest determines the best navigation app for Android and the iPhone
In practice, the respective apps were installed on a OnePlus 7T and on an iPhone 11. Both apps that access offline maps and corresponding material online were tested. Positive: There really aren’t any real losers, because almost all apps get a good result. The only exception is the navigation app from OsmAnd: it costs 8 euros a year and then only achieves a satisfactory rating of 2.7. All other test participants deliver a better result across the board.
On Android wins with a score of 1.9 but not Google Maps, but just before the fee-based one TomTom Go Navigation. The biggest advantage of TomTom is the core discipline, i.e. the navigation itself. No other app can match it. However, TomTom is at a disadvantage when it comes to handling, Google Maps catches up again and ends up in second place overall with a rating of 2.0.
Curious: Google Maps wins on the iPhone
Curiously, it turns out on the iPhone under iOS a slightly different picture, because neither TomTom Go Navigation nor Apple’s own map app wins the gold medal. She goes with one Score of 1.9 on Google Maps and this of all things on an Apple cell phone. Apple (maps), Sygic (GPS navigation) and TomTom (Go navigation) share a good rating of 2.0 in second place.
We show you a great tip for Google Maps for Android users im the following video:
By the way: The very popular “join-in navigation app” from Waze, with which users can, among other things, manually transmit additional traffic information, ends up in the good midfield – it is enough for a rating of 2.2 on both Android and iOS.
It’s still interesting to look at it data consumption of the online solutions, they differ significantly on this point. If you want to save data volume with the mobile phone provider, you should pay attention to this. The following values were determined by Stiftung Warentest during a city drive of 11.5 kilometers.
- Google Maps: 7.0MB (Android), 9.9MB (iOS)
- Apple Maps: 5.3MB (iOS)
- Waze: 5.4MB (Android), 2.2MB (iOS)
- TomTom Amigo: 17.2MB (Android), 29.1MB (iOS)
TomTom’s free online navigation is particularly effective, while the apps from Apple and Waze prove to be particularly economical. Incidentally, the all-clear is given when it comes to battery life, all apps receive a very good rating and demonstrate a correspondingly high level of endurance.