Google makes all it's logos a blob of their trademark colors. I first find the colors then squint to tell the maps from photos.
For reference I use Lens Launcher for Android. There's no categories, just one screen and frecency sorted icons. I feel like brands just hate me and my visual cortex.
I’ve used Apple Maps way more often just because I can’t see the google maps logo.
Yes.
Why did Apple start this trend in the first place? My best guess: "politics within Apple". I still remember when Forstall was given the axe and he was against minimalism.
The story is sorta strange too: he was axed because of embarrassing bugs in the new Apple Maps. Was it inside job to make him look bad? I guess we'll never know.
Skeumorphism [1] tried to fix the confusing abstract and grey interfaces, but suffered from clutter and no-information-pixels. Minimal/Flat design attempted to remove unnecessary information but lacked affordances. Since then, these affordances have been slowly added back in. Currently, we're reconsidering skeumorphic elements without sacrificing what we've gained from the minimialst approach.
From each approach, lessons were learned and carried over.
(This is obviously simplified, but it's a better explanation than: "It's Apples fault")
[1]: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/50144a1784ae6db4b...