At WWDC in June, Apple unveiled a new design for POI labels that used smaller icons without text to reduce clutter, while simultaneously increasing the amount of information onscreen:

And now roughly two months later, Google appears to be testing its own version of Apple’s micro POI icons:

Google’s micro POI icons are a little bit larger and bolder than Apple’s, making them easier to see and tap upon. But this comes at a cost because they also add more noise than Apple’s:

In any event, it’s interesting (and impressive) to see that Google is already replicating aspects of Apple Maps’s redesign (which, along with the rest of iOS 15, hasn’t even been widely released yet).

Over the past two years, Google has adopted a number of aspects of Apple Maps’s cartographic design, including landmark icons, vegetation, detailed landcover, sidewalks, traffic lights, and more. And it increasingly seems as if Google is adopting Apple’s features as fast as Apple can make them.¹

In the coming months, it’ll be interesting to see if Google adopts other iOS 15 Apple Maps features. (Lane markings and bike lanes, real-world building colors, and trees seem the most likely given some of Google’s past projects, interests, and capabilities.)

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1  ...it increasingly seems as if Google is copying Apple’s features as fast as Apple can make them.

This helps explain some of the design choices behind Apple’s new cartography, such as the rounding of building corners and the playful and cartoonish look given to many landmarks.

Knowing that Google is likely to adopt its new features, Apple might be trying as much as possible to differentiate its map by giving it a look and feel that Google is unlikely to copy. ↩︎