How to set Google Maps as the default app on iPhone

One of the kinds of technologies that have made quantum leaps through the years is navigation technology. Apple’s own Apple Maps software has been on the receiving end of some heavy criticism in the past, thanks to the rather poorly mapped regions and the lack of a few regions altogether. Also, with Google Maps going great guns, and available on the iPhone as a free download, iPhone users found it very difficult to justify the need for Apple Maps, and there was a phase where people requested Apple to just get rid of Apple Maps, and integrate Google Maps as a default.

Jump to 2020 and with the new iOS 14 platform, Apple has gone great guns to improve the Apple Maps software, and while we can now say that it is catching up to Google Maps, but Google has kept the development of their Google Maps going and it is still inching ahead in the race.

 

How to set Google Maps as the default app on iPhone

 

If you have an iPhone and you have both, Apple Maps and Google Maps, and you want to set Google Maps as the default, there is no actual way of doing it.

The reason is that iOS inherently does not allow you to set default apps for different aspects of the platform. If you have used an Android device in the past, you will know that you can actually set default apps, like the default navigation app, default browser, and so on. However, Apple believes that there are many apps out there, that pretend to be benign but have dangerous malware that can cause permanent damage to your iPhone.

 

How to set Google Maps as the default app on iPhone

 

To mitigate this risk, Apple has decided to let off of the default apps feature, until a time where they can offer their users a more holistic solution. So, at this point in time, if you want to do your navigation in Google Maps, you will have to use it manually. Even when you receive map links on your messengers, you will have to manually enter them into Google Maps, as they will open in Apple Maps by default.

All in all, iPhones do not have the ability to set default apps as of today, but we believe the feature will make its way to the devices in a future update.