Apple Paying Freelancers to Improve the Accuracy of Apple Maps

[ppdix]

I picked up a new Audi in Germany 2 weeks ago. I drove 2000 kilometers through Czech Republic, Austria, Italy & Switzerland for a week. The car is a US model so the built in GPS didn't work. They provided me with a Garmin unit but since the car has Apple Car play and I had internet, I thought I use the Maps app instead of the Garmin.
I have to say Maps is by far the worst navigation app ever. Not only the interface is poor and simple but the directions are just plain limited. There are no "lanes" like in Google Maps, no points of interest along the route, no icons to show you gas stations or rest areas or multiple destinations but the worst thing is if you make a mistake an miss an exit, the recalculation of the route seldom happens, it gets stuck on where you were and it doesn't correct itself. Also the accuracy of Internet based GPS is horrible. I got lost 4 times and when I mean lost, I mean I had to pull out the Garmin GPS to get back into civilization. Europe is not like the US where u have street numbers and cross avenues. One wrong exit and you end up in the middle of nowhere... I wasted a long time and drove dozens of extra miles just getting back on the road since Maps was so off it was asking me to turn where there was no turn or tell me I was in the middle of a lake or 10 blocks away from my actual location on a big city.
Lucky for me I had the Garmin to save me but I will never, ever use Maps again. Apple should just forget about it and put their efforts on other things.

 

[blacktape242]

WTF Apple, you are so rich and Maps is one of your premier apps and you're relying on some 3rd party taskrabbit app that pays people 54 cents to improve the data on it?

i was thinking.....yah 20 cents huh? the standard milage payment is MORE then that.... *facepalm

 

[BMcCoy]

I've submitted several errors to Apple. All ignored. *shrug*

 

[imicca]

I have been doing that for free, pretty much.
I have added so many places, corrected several, for Apple Maps
And for google maps actually, too

 

[rvinny]

Using Yelp as a source for things was the first mistake.

 

[TonyC28]

I have submitted a few errors that have been corrected. I have no idea if that was because of me or that they happened to be correcting things. It's nice to see they are trying to improve Maps but the errors are still too frequent for the app to be reliable.

 

[budselectjr]

Question, what exactly do all those employees do at Apple?

 

[nwcs]

This is in Kansas too, nothing special. The address just shows up nearly a mile away from where it actually is. I've submitted requests to fix it but it hasn't helped any thus far. So no surprise with this.

Have you submitted a picture? I've submitted missing items recently but the only ones that got feedback saying it was added were where I took pics with the phone. I presume it's a corroboration of the GPS location in the photo plus proof the photo is pointing at what it says it is.

 

[WhoDaKat]

I've said since I started using Apple Maps in its beta, that it gets a bad rap. I travel all over the country, and it rarely lets me down directions wise. I used Google Maps before AM came out, and I don't see a difference in accuracy. I'm not saying that GM isn't better in places, but in some places AM is better. I think some people have issues like one poster whose given up on AM because his house location is off by a mile, but they don't stop and think, hey I'm one of 7 billion people, so statistically there will always be people whose house is off by a mile. On GM and on AM, just get it corrected.

GM does seem to have the edge on location data, which isn't a big deal to me, but I'm sure it is why a lot of people use GM over AM on an iPhone. But for me, I like the Hey Siri, take me home feature a lot more.

If you step back and think about it, both AM and GM are impressive apps and both have room to improve. But I do not think one is far superior to the other overall.

 

[NT1440]

Anyone else laughing at the posts in this thread that seem to suggest this program is the only maps initiative in the company?

 

[citysnaps]

I haven't used google maps in years; with the exception of when I need street view. Apple Maps works great.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Question, what exactly do all those employees do at Apple?

Rotate the dollars around so that no single set of bills are overexposed for long periods of time. Also when the executives swim in the vault, the money needs to be gently cleaned & refreshed.

 

[TechRemarker]

Each year I write to Apple saying the my thoughts Apple Maps. There is a lot of room for improvements and features, and those are easier changes. But improving the data is a massive ongoing undertaking that no amount of money can fix, and rather will simply take a great deal of time (aside from licensing Google Maps data).

Paying users 54 cents is not the right way. Google gamifies it with Google Guides, making it incredibly easy to suggest fixes via the app and web and the more a user sends corrections and are marked as correct they get higher ranking and thus their future suggestions are more easily approved. And it's easy for people to see the fixes they have submitted and their status.

With Apple you are limited on reporting, and it essentially goes into a vacuum. They do now email you once a change has been made but overall it's a horrible system versus Google. Not sure why they don't implement such a feature and system.

In an effort to improve Apple Maps, which many iPhone users still consider to be inferior to Google Maps, Apple has enlisted the help of contracted freelancers to validate the accuracy of points of interest and other information, in exchange for micropayments, according to French blog iGeneration.

For the past year, through a platform called TryRating, Apple has reportedly paid freelancers 54 cents per task on average, with each task often only taking a few minutes to complete. The fine print allegedly limits freelancers to 600 completed tasks, and no more than 20 hours worked, per week.

The report doesn't specify how freelancers are selected, but they appear to be recruited through a third-party subcontractor.

A typical task, for example, could be verifying the accuracy and relevance of the search results that Apple Maps shows for a "McDonald's" query for a particular location. The freelancer's task would be to ensure the McDonald's restaurants listed are within a close distance, have accurate addresses, and so forth.

Apple's so-called TryRating platform with a typical verification task​

Apple supposedly has a 200-page Maps Search Evaluation Guidelines document that freelancers are required to follow.

One of the examples Apple provides is a search from Somerville, Massachusetts for "Machu Picchu," a well-known historical site in Peru, but also the name of a local restaurant in the city. A freelancer's task would be to ensure all of the search results for "Machu Picchu" are contextually relevant.

iGeneration's in-depth report provides further details about Apple's so-called TryRating platform, which it likens to Amazon's Mechanical Turk.

Apple Maps launched in 2012 and was quickly criticized for having incomplete and inaccurate mapping data, which led some iPhone users on dangerous routes. Apple CEO Tim Cook offered a rare public apology for the frustration it caused customers, and then iOS chief Scott Forstall was ousted just one month later.

Apple Maps still gets a bad rap among some users, but Apple's continued efforts to improve the app should help reverse some of those opinions.

Article Link: Apple Paying Freelancers to Improve the Accuracy of Apple Maps

 

[unobtainium]

Exactly. Apple hardware + other folks service's is how we roll in my family.
[doublepost=1496424880][/doublepost]

It's best to evaluate on a case-by-case basis in my experience. A lot of the integrated Apple software is great and convenient. I use Photos, News, Notes and Reminders extensively and I sync everything over iCloud. But I use Spotify for music, Word for writing, and Google for maps, because they're simply better.

 

[SoN1NjA]

What part of his "I've submitted requests to fix it but it hasn't helped any thus far." isn't clear enough to understand that he has?

didn't pickup on that part, my fault

 

[a.gomez]

Should have just kept google maps

 

[Howyalikdemapls]

Heck, it doesn't even get my home address right. I'll be sitting on the couch and it always says I'm 5 minutes to home on the destinations widget. I disabled it because of that. Whereas Google Maps is spot on to our mailbox.

When people need directions to the house I always tell them not to use Apple Maps. Or go by landmarks.

This is in Kansas too, nothing special. The address just shows up nearly a mile away from where it actually is. I've submitted requests to fix it but it hasn't helped any thus far. So no surprise with this.

My neighborhood was built over 2 years ago. Google maps had it included almost instantly, but people who try to use Apple Maps end up in the middle of nowhere hours away from where I live. I get that Apple wants this to succeed, but I don't know why any consumer wastes their time with Apple Maps when Google Maps is free and SO much better.
[doublepost=1496428251][/doublepost]

We never heard bad things about Tom Tom's data in their own GPS devices... did we?

I just wonder why early Apple Maps was so bad.

There used to be two Walmarts listed in my town on Apple Maps... yet there is only one. I don't know where Apple got that info. There isn't a document on Earth that has, or ever had, a Walmart listed at that address.

That's the kinda stuff that confuses me.

I once followed directions to a Walmart using Apple Maps, and it took me to a field along a beach. There wasn't a Walmart anywhere near there. Like, the nearest Walmart was more than 10 miles away from the field it took me to. I stopped using Apple Maps for about a year after that. I occasionally open it up again to see if it's improved, but being that it still doesn't show my neighborhood which was built more than 2 years ago, I figure why bother with an inferior product when Google Maps is free. I just wish Apple would let you set a default navigation app in your iPhone.

 

[ignatius345]

Main thing I find missing in Apple Maps is specific businesses. I can roll through Google Maps in a neighborhood and see most every business on the street -- but in Apple Maps, there are gigantic gaps.
[doublepost=1496428612][/doublepost]

I've submitted several errors to Apple. All ignored. *shrug*

Weird. I've submitted probably half a dozen at this point and I have always gotten a confirmation that they've been fixed.

 

[Macman74]

In an effort to improve Apple Maps, which many iPhone users still consider to be inferior to Google Maps, Apple has enlisted the help of contracted freelancers to validate the accuracy of points of interest and other information, in exchange for micropayments, according to French blog iGeneration.

For the past year, through a platform called TryRating, Apple has reportedly paid freelancers 54 cents per task on average, with each task often only taking a few minutes to complete. The fine print allegedly limits freelancers to 600 completed tasks, and no more than 20 hours worked, per week.

The report doesn't specify how freelancers are selected, but they appear to be recruited through a third-party subcontractor.

A typical task, for example, could be verifying the accuracy and relevance of the search results that Apple Maps shows for a "McDonald's" query for a particular location. The freelancer's task would be to ensure the McDonald's restaurants listed are within a close distance, have accurate addresses, and so forth.

Apple's so-called TryRating platform with a typical verification task​

Apple supposedly has a 200-page Maps Search Evaluation Guidelines document that freelancers are required to follow.

One of the examples Apple provides is a search from Somerville, Massachusetts for "Machu Picchu," a well-known historical site in Peru, but also the name of a local restaurant in the city. A freelancer's task would be to ensure all of the search results for "Machu Picchu" are contextually relevant.

iGeneration's in-depth report provides further details about Apple's so-called TryRating platform, which it likens to Amazon's Mechanical Turk.

Apple Maps launched in 2012 and was quickly criticized for having incomplete and inaccurate mapping data, which led some iPhone users on dangerous routes. Apple CEO Tim Cook offered a rare public apology for the frustration it caused customers, and then iOS chief Scott Forstall was ousted just one month later.

Apple Maps still gets a bad rap among some users, but Apple's continued efforts to improve the app should help reverse some of those opinions.

Article Link: Apple Paying Freelancers to Improve the Accuracy of Apple Maps

How does one go about signing up for these opportunities?

 

[pallymore]

Went to salt lake city last month and decided to give apple maps a try (just because it's the default map app when you click an address)

so I tried to click on the address within the rental car app. Apple maps opens then-it takes you to a random place between the airport and downtown - miles away from the airport.
At first I thought maybe the rental car center is really that far out of the airport - but then I decided to put the address in google maps - guess which one is (miles) more accurate?

 

[Born Again]

can apple just let us chose which map program we prefer?

what is this apple's 1984 commercial. set us free from Apple

 

[driceman]

It's good that they're continuing to improve on it, but for me the Maps complaints have always been overblown. I've used Apple Maps since iOS 6 here in Colorado and have had very few issues with it- about as many as I had with Google Maps when it was the default. I'm sure there are some places where the directions are better than others, but it's always gotten me where I needed to go.

 

[Howyalikdemapls]

Main thing I find missing in Apple Maps is specific businesses. I can roll through Google Maps in a neighborhood and see most every business on the street -- but in Apple Maps, there are gigantic gaps.
[doublepost=1496428612][/doublepost]
Weird. I've submitted probably half a dozen at this point and I have always gotten a confirmation that they've been fixed.

How do you submit map errors/deficiencies to Apple?

 

[TimUSCA]

We never heard bad things about Tom Tom's data in their own GPS devices... did we?

I just wonder why early Apple Maps was so bad.

There used to be two Walmarts listed in my town on Apple Maps... yet there is only one. I don't know where Apple got that info. There isn't a document on Earth that has, or ever had, a Walmart listed at that address.

That's the kinda stuff that confuses me.

Apple Maps got an overnight install base multiple times larger than what Tom Tom had on their own GPS devices over the course of years. It was likely the same data but nobody complained about it because Tom Tom didn't have anywhere near as many people running it.

 

[DrewDaHilp1]

How do you submit map errors/deficiencies to Apple?

Hit the "i" button on the top right. Brings up a menu, select report an issue.