How To Make Google Maps Default On Iphone +picture
Apple makes a abundant operating arrangement and a solid phone, but some of their apps leave a little to be desired—especially the adversity that is iCloud. I’ve replaced all my accepted accoutrement with Google apps, and alike on iOS, it’s a appreciably seamless experience.
Not all Google users are Android users. Maybe you’re aloof the blazon of actuality who brand Google’s services, but Apple’s hardware, chump service, and accepted account accept won you over. Maybe you’re ailing of advantageous for iCloud aback it fails to sync, and aloof appetite an accessible acquaintance that combines the best of both worlds.
Wherever you lie on the spectrum, Google-on-iOS is a appealing appropriate setup. I absitively to see aloof how seamless it is to alter best of Apple’s absence apps with Google’s alternatives. Spoiler alert: it’s cool accessible to do, and if set up properly, you’ll about never charge to tap an Apple absence app again.
First things first, let’s get to downloading all the apps you’ll charge to alive the Google activity on iOS. Google has a ton of iOS apps, but we’ll aloof be afraid with the ones that accomplish faculty as alternatives for Apple’s absence apps for this article.
There are more, of course, but the aloft should alter the aggregate of Apple’s absence apps and able-bodied on your way to accepting abysmal into Google’s system.
Apple still doesn’t acquiesce you to aces the “default app” for a specific service. For example, if you bang a articulation in an app, it’ll go to Safari by default, not the browser of your choice. Google has implemented a appealing ability ambush to get around, this, though. All of Google’s apps (and abounding third-party apps) accept an “open in” ambience that gives you the advantage of aperture links in the applicative Google app, like aperture a URL from Gmail in Chrome. You’ll accept to abuse this ambience for every app that supports it, but it about allows you to accomplish Google’s apps the “default”, alike admitting the OS doesn’t admit them as such.
If you attending at the settings (usually by borer the hamburger figure > Settings) in aloof about any Google app, you’ll acquisition the advantage to accredit aperture files, links, and whatever abroad makes faculty in added Google apps. For example, in Hangouts, you can set it up so you accessible links in Chrome, addresses in Google Maps, videos in YouTube, and so on. The best important of these is Chrome, which has the ambience to accessible up links in appealing abundant every Google app so you never accept to leave the Google ecosystem. Nearly every Google app has this ambience to some extent, so hop on in and accredit it area you appetite it. Once you do, you’ll never charge to leave Google’s apps.
Many third-party apps abutment this affection too. For example, Tweetbot has a ambience to accept amid Safari or Chrome as your browser of choice. Abounding others accept the aforementioned option, finer authoritative it accessible to about never accessible Safari by default. You still can’t change things like your absence email or agenda app, but if you absolutely buy into Google ecosystem of apps, you don’t accept to. Beyond that, you can additionally use an app like Workflows to actualize custom allotment bedding so you can consistently accessible up your Google app of best from any added app.
Google’s apps weren’t consistently abundant on iOS, but these days, they appealing abundant abort Apple’s absence offerings. The best of these accommodate Google Maps, the Drive apartment of apps, and surprisingly, Photos.
Google Maps is so abundant that alike if you don’t affliction about the blow of Google’s apps, you apparently still use it daily. It offers bigger active admonition than Apple’s Maps app, as able-bodied as cycling and alteration directions, two things Apple’s larboard out for a continued time (unless you appear to alive in one of the 10 cities alteration admonition abide in). Likewise, Drive (along with Docs/Sheets/Slides) is abundant easier to use for accumulator than iCloud Drive, and you can admission any of your files after jumping through any of iCloud Drive’s awe-inspiring hoops. As you’d expect, Drive will automatically accessible any files stored there in the agnate Google app, absence over Apple’s absence app entirely.
I was best afraid by Google Photos. I abhorrence Apple’s assorted photos solutions, instead relying on Dropbox and Flickr as my two photo advancement solutions. Google Photos is a absurd backup to the clunky, expensive, and hard-to-properly-use iCloud Photos. You get absolute accumulator (not abounding resolution, but it’s accomplished for best of us), a agglomeration of alteration options, a able chase engine, and a dead-simple administration system. Once you accredit automated uploads (Settings > Aback up & Sync), it’ll automatically aback up all your photos from your camera cycle as you booty them, aloof like iCloud.
Another abruptness is Play Newstand, which does what Apple Account does, but a little better. It works the aforementioned way: you add sources, apprehend account as it happens, and adapt the app with the blazon of account you want. Unlike Apple Account the account affair (health, tech, etc) is arresting on the aboriginal page, so it’s accessible to animation amid topics. And yes, as you’d expect, Play Newstand makes it accessible to accessible all those links in Chrome.
Chrome is appropriate on iOS, and if you use Chrome on desktop, you’ll acceptable appetite to use the iOS adaptation so all your browsing syncs up. Likewise, apps like Agenda and Keep are abundant bigger attractive than their iOS counterparts, and appear to assignment able-bodied to boot. They’re defective Siri affiliation (which includes the location-based reminders of Reminders), but contrarily they do aggregate Apple’s apps can do, but better.
The better affair I ran into in my agreement came with Hangouts and Google Voice. Simply put, they’re not up to snuff on iOS and while they ability be advantageous if anybody you apperceive uses an Android phone, that’s an about absurd situation. Hangouts has an astonishing adroitness of declining to accelerate notifications sometimes. Google Articulation fails aloof as generally with notifications and has the added account of actuality angrily out of date in its design. No amount how abundant you adulation Google, Hangouts and Google Articulation are ambiguous unusable. Which isn’t all that altered from the acquaintance on Android, back Google Articulation seems to be all but asleep in best agency as it is.
Google additionally tends to amend its iOS offerings abundant after than its Android apps. Unless you badly charge to be on the bleeding edge, this isn’t absolutely a big deal, but it agency they won’t accommodate with the latest iOS appearance appropriate away. Abounding of Google’s apps don’t accept Notification Center support, and none of them accept 3D Touch abutment so far. Alike Hangouts is defective the basal “reply from notification” affection begin in aloof about every messaging app in existence.
There’s additionally a few places area Google fails that don’t bother me, but ability abrade others. Application Google Now in abode of Siri is absolutely as bulky as you’d expect. Personally, I use articulation ascendancy so rarely that it fabricated little aberration to me. Still, if you appetite to alter Siri with Google Now, you’re out of luck. Google’s apps are solid, but they can’t get into Apple’s ecosystem abysmal abundant to alter amount functionality.
Google’s apps still don’t exhausted out their Android counterparts, either. On Android, you can add Exchange accounts to Gmail, but that’s not accessible on iOS. So, the Gmail app is alone advantageous if you accept an @gmail.com address. Inbox works the aforementioned way. Similarly, on Android, Hangouts handles all your burning bulletin and SMS needs, while the iOS adaptation can alone do the burning messaging portion. This agency that no amount what, you’ll be application assorted messaging apps to allocution with altered people.
I’ve consistently been a bit agnostic of Google’s offerings on iOS. For a continued time, they were ailing ported ability hogs that didn’t assignment as able-bodied as Apple’s absence apps. Now, they’re all a appealing accessible advocacy as some of the best alternatives to Apple’s apps. If you’re acutely built-in in Google’s ecosystem, but you’re not a fan of Android, Google and iOS are active appealing appropriately calm appropriate now. Of course, you’ll absence out on some of the Android-specific features, like Google Now integration, but overall, it’s a decidedly affable experience.
Illustration by Tara Jacoby.