The updates coming to Apple Maps make me actually want to use it again

When I first got an iPhone three years ago, it only took me about 24 hours to make the switch from Apple Maps to Google Maps.

I had been using Android devices up until 2014, and the Apple Maps interface wasn't intuitive to me. Google Maps seemed more reliable, and I was hesitant to trust Apple Maps after the countless bugs, glitches, and outright dangerous directions users were subjected to when the product rolled out in 2012.

From then on, my opinion of Apple Maps didn't really change - until iOS 11 was unveiled this past June.

The new iPhone operating system, which will arrive sometime in the next few weeks, contains some major changes to Apple Maps. The updates make the app not only a solid mapping tool, but finally give Apple Maps capabilities that are equal to or even better than what Google Maps can do.

Nearly five years after launch, the newest update puts Apple Maps solidly on a par with Google - and it's making me consider switching back for the first time ever.

Here are some of the major changes coming to Apple Maps with iOS 11.