Searches for ‘Apple maps’ skyrocket 533% following Google Maps outage on Friday afternoon

Analysis of Google search data reveals that online searches for ‘Apple Maps’ exploded 533% worldwide on Friday 18th March, following reports from users that the satellite navigation application Google Maps was down and failing to connect to the internet.  

A new finding by car experts CarInsurance.ae reveals that online searches for ‘Apple Maps’ skyrocketed to over five times the global average for the past week, a spike in people searching for the navigation guidance competitor, in light of users being unable to connect to route guidance through Google Maps’ mobile app or its web-based site.

According to Down Detector, users first began reporting issues with Google Maps at around 16:00 GMT on Friday 18^th March, when the mobile app and site displayed an error message that read ‘Maps can’t reach the internet,’ as users were unable to connect with their travel destinations. In the same period, searches for competitor ‘Apple Maps’ saw a large uptake with search interest increasing by 553%, as users looked for an alternative solution for their travel needs.

A spokesperson for CarInsurance.ie commented on the findings: “Google Maps dominates the market as the most downloaded navigation app in the United States with 2.9 million downloads in 2021 alone, so any failings in the application’s usability will have immediate and disruptive consequences for its regular users.

“While Google appear to have now resolved these issues, they are yet to address the cause of the outage, which could potentially leave many users reflecting on the reliability of the platform and considering a permanent switch to alternative forms of navigation guidance, such as Apple Maps.”