MapQuest has added beta support for Android Auto, giving drivers an alternative to Google and Apple Maps on their vehicle displays. The company announced the feature on Google Play, where users can join the beta program to try the service. MapQuest, which launched in 1996, describes itself as the world's oldest commercially available web mapping service.
The Android Auto support arrives after a surge of interest in MapQuest tied to a naming dispute over a body of water in North America. MapQuest kept the 380-year-old name Lake Ontario on its maps, while Apple and Google changed how the name appears to users in the US amid pressure from President Donald Trump. MapQuest said its refusal to follow suit drove usage to 50 times its normal rate, with its apps generating more than 1.5 million downloads.
MapQuest became the top mapping app on Apple's App Store during that period. Doug Berger, general manager of MapQuest, said in a statement that hundreds of thousands of people signaled over a weekend that the company got it right by downloading its app. The company is now trying to build on that attention with the Android Auto beta.
Early feedback on the beta indicates the app is still rougher than Google or Apple Maps. Users have reported app crashes, delayed response times and voice navigation prompts that cut off mid-sentence, according to various reports. Reviewers have also flagged interface quirks, and some real-time features are limited to North America, covering the US and Canada.
Because the software is in beta, such problems are expected. MapQuest's social media accounts suggest its developers are working to improve the app, including through regular software patches. The company has not said when the beta phase might end.
For drivers who want alternatives on Android Auto or Apple's CarPlay right now, the source article points to Waze, Sygic and TomTom Go as other options. MapQuest's Android Auto support remains a beta release available through Google Play.
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