Google Moving Closer to Submitting Maps App for iOS as Eddy Cue Works to Improve Apple's Maps

tbrinkma said:

Do any of you actually have any statistical evidence to support that claim? Because it doesn't appear that Apple Maps is *actually* any worse than Google Maps was.

http://blog.tabini.ca/2012/09/old-maps-vs-new-maps/

tl;dr version: Google Maps is more likely to return a result (*any* result) for a search, but those results are *less* likely to be accurate than the results returned by Apple Maps. (At least for Ontario, Canada.) If anyone else has seen any other analysis other than "Hey this web site says Apple Maps sucks!", let me know.

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I've had Android for the past year prior to switching to the 5. Android always found my destination, despite being off by a few hundred feet at times. With the iPhone, in IL, about 20% of the time it places me on the wrong street.

When I was in Oklahoma last month, Apple's couldn't find the International Airport!!! OKC

I wonder if it will offer turn-by-turn navigation for iPhone 4 (and maybe 3GS) as well.

It would be quite interesting if Google supported missing functions for older iPhone models which are kind of "abandoned" by Apple. Good example is the new Google Search, which works perfectly on iPhone 4, and it's speech recognition is a lot more sophisticated than Siri's.

John.B said:

As long as it shuts up the Googlephiles, I'm all for it, but there is no way in hell that it's going to get installed on our iPhones.

In the mean time, for anyone who wants Google maps or Street View on iOS 6, they can get them here: maps.google.com

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Honey nobody wants to use the browser version and nobody definitely don't want to download a bunch of transit apps either...esp people that travel....ugh

Radio said:

Lol u have too much time bro

Anyone on this guys side? Seriously?

Guys?

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Well, my point is that I like them both but find Apple Maps more usable.

I do have too much time but who cares?

At the moment, the maps issue is the biggest thing from preventing me going for an iPhone 5 as my next phone which is due in a month's time.

I use the maps regularly, and at the moment, having tried WP7 on a nokia for a while, an SGS2 before that and the wife's IP4, the google maps solution for me is the current winner.

A quality google maps on iPhone would be enough for me to go iP5.

Mackan said:

Knowing Apple's dirty tactics, they'll will only approve if Google agrees to make it have less features (definitely not turn-by-turn directions) than Apple's own Map app. Or something similar. Apple will continue their path on putting their own interests before the consumer's.

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And Google cares so much about you, don't they? If what the rumors say are true, Google withheld a lot of features from iOS users in order to give Android an advantage, making iOS users second-class citizens in the process.

I despise Google....a true "snake in the grass" company if ever there was one.

SeattleMoose said:

I despise Google....a true "snake in the grass" company if ever there was one.

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How dare they sneak behind Apple's back and offer what people want! The cads!

I am looking forward to once again deleting Motion-X off my iPhone along with the shortcut to Google Maps. Please bring it soon!

ITGuy said:

On Sep 21/12 The Sydney Morning Herald panned Apple Maps @ http://www.smh.com.au/technology/te...pple-maps-app-loses-users-20120921-26aue.html , and an Apple spokesperson said they were working on it.

Apple has now released turn-by-turn navigation for Australia, yet the town Cairns (a very popular tourist destination) is still in the wrong location.

How long does it take for these really bad errors to be corrected? It's no wonder Forstall got the boot.

Bring on Google Maps.

-ITG

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Might want to have another look as Cairns is well and truly in the right place.

Nevzorus said:

Well, my point is that I like them both but find Apple Maps more usable.

I do have too much time but who cares?

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i meant too much time in the way that we need instant knowledge of where we are hence why the street view was so key.

I can't be rotating and "flying" when im trying to see where i am.

i agree that apple maps works faster but anyone else frustrated how it only relies on Yelp data and some other limited data versus the huge resource that is known as google?

it's just not the same anymore.

when u search something in maps -its empty f the crowdsourcing is still growing argument----- i need the information NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Phazer said:

It's not showing. Maps is still an embarrassing disaster.

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I seem to only read complaints coming from people in the UK.

Using Occam's razor, I must conclude that the problem is not with Maps, but with the UK itself.

Perhaps you have inadvertently moved your island, throwing off Maps' geographical alignment; or your stubborn adherence to eccentric spelling is causing miscalculation by the place-naming algorithm.

codefuns said:

The first thing apple consider is money, money, money, not its clients any more!
But don't forget, all the money you make comes from your client!

you can reject an app because it is bad enough, but how dare you reject an app because it is too good?
coward!!!

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Google might just decide not to submit their maps app to the app store. Then Google will be the villain. SHAME ON YOU, GOOGLE FOR NOT SUBMITTING YOUR APP TO THE APP STORE!!!!!

Yes, I know this hasn't happened yet. But neither has Apple rejected Google's maps app, so if you can work yourself up into a froth because of something you imagine Apple might do, then you might as well throw a tantrum over something Google might do, too.

MonkeySee.... said:

Pah, I won't be downloading it. Apple maps have been really good for me

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I'll be downloading it. If it's not a resource hog, I'll keep it as a secondary map, just in case. (For the record, I am not predicting it to be a resource hog.)

But the Apple Maps have worked pretty well for me, and where they haven't, I've seen improvement.

avanpelt said:

I'm sure you're not the only one, but you're likely in the minority.

I'm sure the residents of St. Augustine Beach, FL would like to know why Apple Maps has their town spelled in Korean. It's random stuff like this that just blows my mind.

If I wasn't having issues with Apple Maps (although I personally am), I would look at St. Augustine Beach being spelled in Korean and ask myself "if this slipped through the QC cracks, I wonder what else might've slipped through the cracks?" You'd think it would be hard not to notice some foreign characters on a map of the peninsula of Florida.

*Starts humming "One of these things is not like the others"*

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If one were Korean, one would wonder why all those other towns are spelled in English.

tbrinkma said:

And, here, let me include the whole section you picked a short quote from. (Apparently, even the tl;dr version was too much for you.)

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Same study based made by a "user" that failed to realize what API he was using and thus got wrong results?

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sulpfiction said:

Well in my opinion, it's great. You're in London, and I'm in the US. Just because your area isn't great yet doesn't mean the entire apple maps venture is a complete failure, as you suggessted. Apple maps has completely satisfied all of my navigation needs and I havent had any problems whatsoever. In fact, I no longer even use my $300 stand alone Garmin 3760.

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Yes I see Your point - it's only 50% broken and for You - 50% is good enough.

Thank god for that. I've had to rely on Apple maps for a few days now. It's completely awful in the UK (in my home town, my nearest city, Birmingham and London). Thankfully google maps works well enough on the browser. And streetview is just a lifesaver at times. Had to find a hotel recently, I used to rely on Streetview to pinpoint the exact building I needed to go to in advance, and one time when google maps failed I was able to look at addresses on the side of buildings.

Hurry up Google, please!

At this point, a lot of Apple Maps issues have been fixed. Does anyone know of areas where it still sucks?

faroZ06 said:

At this point, a lot of Apple Maps issues have been fixed. Does anyone know of areas where it still sucks?

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There are two things that suck in Apple Maps.

1. The data
2. The app/maps

The data is incomplete, satellite images aren't what they should, etc. We know about this.

However, the maps are displayed very ugly. Google Maps is much cleaner, offers more detail. In order to get the same level of detail in Apple Maps, you have to zoom in a lot more than you have to with Google Maps. Suppose Apple Maps had all the POI's and all map data was perfect, it would still be inferior to Google due to this!

Other things that suck in Apple Maps:
- Transit
- Traffic information
- No street view
- Blurry satellite images (you have to zoom in more than you had to with Google Maps)
- Not showing buildings, when you are on a normal zoom level, you only see white lines of streets. This doesn't really tell you anything. Are you in the middle of nowhere or in the middle of a big city? You can't spot the difference.
- Normal streets being display as narrow alleys
- Unclear distinction between different road types/terrain types, etc.
- Ugliness in general.

Apple Maps sucks on all kinds of levels.

MikeyMike01 said:

It's sad how Google has engorged themselves all over the Internet. I do what I can to avoid them, but I'm not foolish enough to think that I can do it completely.

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sad? Google provides amazing services for free. I don't know how old you are, but before Google there was no accurate search engine. Yahoo was absolutely terrible, and you could never find what you needed.

I have no idea why you hate on Google, but they are the king of the internet space. Apple doesn't hold a candle to them when it comes to that domain.

Unless there is an option to make Google Maps your main maps application then the iphone and ipad will always be an inferior product. It took a couple weeks for me to become comfortable with android after using an iphone for so long, but I'm very happy I made the change.

NovemberWhiskey said:

sad? Google provides amazing services for free.

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No. Google offers mediocre services in exchange for egregious privacy violations.

bluespark said:

Nonsense. Plenty of third-party apps don't directly "enhance Apple's revenue and profit." By contrast, having a general policy of allowing quality apps into the app store does increase sales, and therefore revenue and profit. There's not even a chance Apple doesn't accept this app.

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Wrong.

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I'd say the nonsense is all on your side of the argument. Those third party apps DO enhance Apple's profit as a group since they get 30%, but Google is an actual threat to Apple's profit, unlike Angry Birds.

BlueParadox said:

Might want to have another look as Cairns is well and truly in the right place.

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Hi. Spare me the I just did the search again several times on my iPad and Cairns is still showing in the Daintree rainforest well North of the airport, and not on the coast.

I also did the same search with my brand new iPhone 5 and Cairns is in the correct location.

I just updated a few Apps so I know my iPad has Internet connectivity. It seems the Maps App is unable to determine if cached map data is stale so it can download the updated maps. Great job Apple.

-ITG

SvK said:

TRy this :
While in your car say this to SIRI: "SIRI, give me turn by turn directions to the closest gas station."

....you'll never take your eyes of the road. it just works.

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How would you know if there were a closer one that Madame Siri missed?

You wouldn't - unless you ran out of gas and walked passed the closer one with your 4L can on your way to the more distant one that Madame Siri pointed out....