Everyone’s talking about the iPhone 5 and iOS 6.0 and not on nice terms… Apple Maps is very criticized by both users and experts and Google Maps is a regretted lack from the latest iOS. Tim Cook took the opportunity of the approaching weekend to address the issue and apologize for iOS Maps… Below you can read his full statement.
Among the issues people have found in Apple Maps are the flat points of interest, like the Eiffel Tower, completely flat, or the lack of POIs in some areas, lack of transit features, black/white areas that are uncharted and misplaced towns and POIs. Tom Tom already stated it’s not their fault, since they were working with Apple on this service, so it all fell on the Cupertino giant. What’s interesting is that Tim Cook’s online letter actually mentions alternatives to Apple Maps, stuff like Bing, Nokia’s solutions, Waze, even Google, so they’re fair at least.
The true accomplishments of Apple Maps are turn by turn directions and Flyover, those I agree with, but the rest feels unfinished. I wonder how long it will be till the first major update is rolled out for Maps… In the meantime here’s Cook’s letter:
“To our customers,
At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.
We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.
There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.
While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.
Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.
Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO”
