Use Google Maps offline and do not use your rate data

Although we must admit that Apple is doing a good job with its maps lately, we also have to admit that it still has some shortcomings. We can use Apple maps to tell us by voice what to do point by point, in a similar way, saving distances, to what is available in other GPS applications such as TomTom or Sygic. The problem is that to be able to consult the Apple maps we have to be connected to the Internet. This is something that is not always necessary with its maximum rival: Google Maps. Do you know how use google maps offline on iPhone?

Comparisons are hateful, but if we use Google Maps we will not necessarily have to be connected to the Internet. The maps of the now company part of Alphabet can be downloaded, so we can make a long trip or move through a city that we do not know without spending a single mega of our data plan using Google Maps offline or offline. I am hopeful that Apple will include this possibility in the not too distant future, but while I wait, I can always do it with Google maps.

How to use Google Maps offline

For use Google Maps offline we have to download the maps to our iPhone, something very easy but there are three different ways to do it. One will allow us to download any town or city, while the other two will allow us to download larger areas. If what you want is to download an entire town or city, you have to do the following:

1. In the search box, we search for the desired town or city.
2. From the results it offers us, we choose the one that corresponds to our search by tapping on its name.
3. This will take us to a general picture of the town or city. We have to touch the lower white bar. The menu will rise.
4. The first thing we will see next will be the name of the area followed by three options: Save, Share and, the one that interests us, Download. We tap on Download. We will see a general image of the area, the weight of the download and the space available on our device.
5. We touch Download again.
6. We give the area a name, if we wish. I usually leave the default name which is the name of the town or city.
7. We touch save, we wait and, when the download is finished, we will have it. From now on, when we move through the downloaded area we will not consume Internet data.

The second method is also very simple and will allow us to download larger areas. We will do it as follows:

1. The first thing we have to do is, with the gesture of zooming in or out with two fingers, select the area that we want to download.
2. Once we have the entire area on the screen, we touch on the three lines of the options.
3. Next, we touch on «Offline Zones».
4. On the next screen, we tap on the sum symbol. We will see an image similar to the one in step 5 of the previous method. The following steps are the same.
5. We put a name to the area.
6. We touch save and wait for the download to finish.

The third method is similar to the previous one, but it is faster. This is a trick that has been available since before Google allowed the maps to be downloaded officially. It's about the following:

1. As in the previous method, we expand or reduce to select the entire area that we want to download.
2. Once we have everything we want to download on the screen, in the search box we write "ok maps" without the quotes. Be careful with the autocorrect because if we don't pay attention it will change it to «ok maps».
3. We tap on Search.
4. The download screen will appear. We touch on download.
5. We put a name to the area.
6. Finally, we touch Save again and wait for the download to finish.

At some point during the download, regardless of the method we have used, the application warns us that maps expire. It has never happened to me, but I imagine that the warning means that the roads can change from time to time. I'm also not sure if when they expire we can no longer use them, but this has an easy solution: before the deadline, we go to the Offline Zones section and update it.

With these steps you could use Google Maps offline without the need to be connected to the Internet.

How to delete downloaded maps from Google Maps

Deleting downloaded maps from Google Maps is also very easy. We will do it as follows:

1. We tap on the three lines to see the options.
2. We play in Offline Zones.
3. We tap on the settings icon.
4. We touch on the map that we want to delete.
5. We tap on Delete.
6. Finally, we touch Delete again.

What I do think is missing from both Google Maps and Apple maps is that the directions are not given to us in still images, if not in motion and in real time as in TomTom or other GPS applications. I'm signing it up for my iOS 10 wish list.

Have you learned to use Google Maps offline on iPhone?