Google Maps is one of those apps whose reputation was decided a decade ago and has been mostly correct ever since: it is the best navigation app on Android. The routing is more accurate than Apple Maps, the traffic data is fresher than Waze in most cities, and the Places database is the deepest of any consumer mapping product. Almost everyone reading this already has it installed.
What is worth talking about is not whether to use it — you already do — but what the app can do that most people never touch.
The navigation basics that still matter
Turn-by-turn directions handle car, transit, walking, cycling, and (in supported cities) micromobility scooters and mopeds. Real-time traffic reroutes automatically without asking. Lane guidance tells you which lane to be in before a complex junction. On motorways, speed-limit displays and speed-camera warnings work in most countries.
The Live View feature — augmented reality walking directions overlaid on your camera — is genuinely useful in dense city centres where GPS gets confused. Point the phone at the buildings, and arrows appear on the actual street. It is the one AR feature on Android that has stayed in daily use.
Offline maps
The single most-underused feature. Search for any city or region, tap the pin, and pick “Download offline map.” Everything — turn-by-turn navigation, business info, addresses, phone numbers — then works without a data connection.
Two use cases where this matters daily: travelling to a country where mobile data is either expensive or restricted, and using the app on a phone with a poor signal in tunnels, parking garages, or rural areas. The download is around 250 MB for a medium-sized city.
Timeline, and the privacy question
If you have ever opened Google Maps and let it save your Location History, the Timeline feature shows you every place you have been, every day, for years. For some people this is a joyful surprise — a diary they never had to write. For others it is a queasy reminder of what Google knows.
Either reaction is valid. In 2026 Google has moved Timeline to on-device storage by default, which means the record now lives on your phone rather than on Google’s servers. That is a meaningful shift; the record is still comprehensive, but it is not being centrally warehoused. You can delete Timeline in Settings whenever you want.
If you would rather it never existed, turn Location History off in your Google account settings. Google Maps still works fully for navigation with History off.
Places and contributor content
The Places database — every business, park, station, and landmark — is powered largely by Local Guides, the volunteer contributor programme. Photos, opening hours, reviews, and menus mostly come from the millions of users who add or correct data.
The quality is better than any competitor’s, especially in cities. It is not always accurate — a shop that closed six months ago may still show as “Open” — but it is the most complete database of everyday places available on any mobile map.
What Maps does less well
The interface has grown busier as Google has added features (offers, reservations, food ordering, Explore feed). If you use the app just for driving directions, you may find yourself dismissing prompts about restaurants and lists.
Waze — which Google also owns — still has a marginal edge for pure driving on some routes, thanks to a more aggressive rerouting algorithm and a more attentive user base for hazard reporting. In most cities, the difference is small.
Verdict
5 / 5. The default answer for navigation on Android. Turn on offline maps for cities you visit often, and think honestly about whether you want Location History on. Those two decisions matter more than the app choice.