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How to trick Siri into using Google Maps
Tired of Apple Maps sending you on wild goose chases? Tell Siri you'd rather get directions from Google Maps -- no jailbreaking required. Here's how.
(Credit:
Google)
Much has been made of the general suckiness of Apple Maps, but, hey, we're stuck with it, right? If you ask Siri for directions, that's gonna be her go-to app.
Turns out, it doesn't have to be. As discovered by JailbreakNation, there's a simple way to trick Siri into using Google Maps for directions. Sort of.
All you do ask for directions like you normally would, but tack on "via transit." So, for example, to find the nearest Starbucks, you'd say, "Take me to the nearest Starbucks via transit."
What happens next is that Siri pulls up a list of any installed "routing apps" -- including Google Maps, which, as you probably know, recently returned to the iPhone. (You'll also see a list of options available from the App Store.) From there you tap Route, and presto: you've got directions via Google Maps.
This is perhaps better shown than explained, so check out JailbreakNation's quick video:
Granted, this isn't perfect. There's still that intermediate step of the Routing Apps list and having to tap Route. So it's not a fully voice-powered way to access Google Maps.
On the other hand, there's no jailbreak required (as with replacing Siri with Google's Voice Search), and you get the satisfaction of bypassing Apple's limitations on what Siri can and cannot do.
What do you think of this clever little hack? Will you use it? Or do you think critics have been too hard on Apple Maps, and that for the most part it works just fine, thank you? Let's hear from you in the comments.
