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One doesn't need to visit tech forums to recognize glaring omissions in products they use. In NYC for example, most people take the subway. Yet, most subway stations are entirely missing from Apple Maps. That's not a "blog scandal," as you call it, that's a product that fails miserably for those who require that particular feature.

But most people dont live in NYC :) Apple maps was released pre-baked. But its currently not that bad. I actually have stopped using Google Maps and relying on Apple Maps although their navigation is not as good as Google's
 
actually, the article doesnt state that. it says the hiring is reflected by one employee's LinkedIn. that doesnt mean her resume item a a "quoted" from the apple posting.

i suspect the actual apple posting didnt have her grammar typos.

You must have read a different article.:rolleyes: The article clearly says"
" In late April, for example, the company put out a job listing for a "Maps Software Engineer" part of the Routing team, as reflected by at least one Apple employee's LinkedIn profile. "As a member of the Routing team, you will work on one of the most anticipated features of Apple Maps," the job description reads.

So you took the red portion, neglected everything around it, and formed an incorrect opinion. Basically she paraphrased the job description from Apple. Coincidentally, the same job description Apple posted back in 2013.

9to5Mac: http://9to5mac.com/2013/10/29/job-l...ic-transit-directions-for-future-maps-update/

Mac Rumors: https://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/2...tinued-work-on-transit-options-in-apple-maps/

Here we are in 2015 and still nothing. Companies with far less resources have accomplished this goal in a shorter time. This should have been implemented a while ago. Not sure of a reason why it's still held up.

Grammar: Re-read your own post. We all make mistakes sometimes.;)
 
Apple maps is a really important project, since it protects customers from privacy practices from Google.

But, Tim's Apple does not thinks so. He recommended using Nokia Here Maps and basically throws the towel down the trash can.

Too sad, and too little too late.

The same applies to: Siri API, iWork Native, Safari/Quicktime for Windows, iOS and OSX Bugs.
 
But most people dont live in NYC :) Apple maps was released pre-baked. But its currently not that bad. I actually have stopped using Google Maps and relying on Apple Maps although their navigation is not as good as Google's

Ah yes, not that bad. Just the endorsement Apple was hoping for from a user ;)
 
Apple maps need to update more...the newly built apartment I live in has been on Google maps for 6 months as a finished building...Apple maps has the start of construction...which was Feb/March 2013.....

home.jpg


come on.....
 
For most users these upgrades make little difference. When an app initially launches with such spectacular failure, it gets written off for good. The users of this site may give it a second chance, but that doesn't represent the outcome for the vast majority.

No matter what Apple does, they'll always be playing catch-up to Google. It's time they cut their losses and focused their already thin resources elsewhere.

The use of Apple Map on IOS is actually higher than Google Map these days, so how is it a failure? Eventually, Google will be kicked in groin, it is slow and unrelenting. Apple is working on better POI seemingly in the background and when that fully kicks in its sayonara Google and their profit will suffer.

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Apple maps need to update more...the newly built apartment I live in has been on Google maps for 6 months as a finished building...Apple maps has the start of construction...which was Feb/March 2013.....

Image

come on.....

Right.. And I've got a road on Google map that's not there even though the road is 12 years old and is a major connection. The funny thing is the road is on the satellite view but NOT on the street map!

Sooo hey!

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Form over function? Okay...

If something is unusable because of the UI, which is often the case with Google stuff.. Youtube!!!! Erg! Then form and function go together.

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You must have read a different article.:rolleyes: The article clearly says"
" In late April, for example, the company put out a job listing for a "Maps Software Engineer" part of the Routing team, as reflected by at least one Apple employee's LinkedIn profile. "As a member of the Routing team, you will work on one of the most anticipated features of Apple Maps," the job description reads.

So you took the red portion, neglected everything around it, and formed an incorrect opinion. Basically she paraphrased the job description from Apple. Coincidentally, the same job description Apple posted back in 2013.

9to5Mac: http://9to5mac.com/2013/10/29/job-l...ic-transit-directions-for-future-maps-update/

Mac Rumors: https://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/2...tinued-work-on-transit-options-in-apple-maps/

Here we are in 2015 and still nothing. Companies with far less resources have accomplished this goal in a shorter time. This should have been implemented a while ago. Not sure of a reason why it's still held up.

Grammar: Re-read your own post. We all make mistakes sometimes.;)

Where are those imaginary companies with imaginary products that have to integrate their product into a huge imaginary ecosystem? I always find those spurious comparison completely laughable. Unless you know what Apple is actually planning to do, you can't really comment on this. Its not like Google's been breaking down doors in the last 3-4 years with their own maps, which is a primary product supposedly and they do have resources too.
 
But virtually everyone I know uses Google Maps because "Apple Maps sucks." This is all they say, and admit they haven't used it in two years.
Um, no. I use Google Maps because it has transit information. Actually, these days I'm using Transit or Citymapper since they have GPS-fed arrival times. But for anyone who commutes by public transit, Apple Maps continues to be a nonstarter until it can be used for the task. I'm anxious to see that change.
 
What is the single biggest flaw/issue with Apple Maps?

Now, how does this address it?

Same with the Maps-related rumor the other day. That was about various acquisitions to help with flyover and street view features, which, much like these are very nice features (I'd certainly like to have myself) but still not addressing the single biggest flaw/issue.

I'd sure like to see a Maps-related rumor that shows Apple seriously attacking THE #1 issue. All this other stuff is great- and will look good in a marketing presentation- but, IMO anyway, is redirection away from the key issue.
For me, and everyone who relies on transit routing, the lack of it in Apple Maps is absolutely the single biggest issue, and adding it addresses it. Car owners can dismiss public transit routing as demoware, if you're not a motorist, it fundamentally makes or breaks the value proposition of the app.
 
already thin resources?? Apple?? LOL some weed you're smokin :rolleyes:
Apple's stated/demonstrated many times they don't hire people for the sake of amassing a workforce that can get stuff done quickly. They hire only a select few who can put out the best products possible. This results in projects where just a handful of people are tasked with many different projects.

THIN. RESOURCES. ;)

Yes, and Apple's dismal financial results, hitting new lows quarter after quarter, are the consequences of that awful decision. Right?

Please, send a message to Apple informing them of the consequences before it's too late. Stat!
Well done, a comparison of two different things that have nothing to do with each other. Troll harder next time please. :rolleyes:

The use of Apple Map on IOS is actually higher than Google Map these days, so how is it a failure? Eventually, Google will be kicked in groin, it is slow and unrelenting. Apple is working on better POI seemingly in the background and when that fully kicks in its sayonara Google and their profit will suffer.
The Kool-Aid drinking is strong with this one. :p
 
Where are those imaginary companies with imaginary products that have to integrate their product into a huge imaginary ecosystem? I always find those spurious comparison completely laughable.
Please tell me you're kidding. There are multiple companies that have public transit apps. Apple already depends on some of those companies for that exact information. Spurious? Spurious would be using unrelated generalities to change the focus of the topic. I like how you inserted your "integrate into ecosystem" rhetoric.

Unless you know what Apple is actually planning to do, you can't really comment on this.

You're wrong. Like you, I can comment on anything I choose. The fact that I never commented on anything Apple is planning to do may have been lost in your zeal to refute my comment. I did comment on what Apple hasn't done. Your inner monologue is letting you down.

Its not like Google's been breaking down doors in the last 3-4 years with their own maps, which is a primary product supposedly and they do have resources too.

You love deflection don't you? The topic was the lack of public transit info baked into the Apple's mapping solution. Why are you bringing Google into the conversation? Google already has it. When your rebuttal consists of deflecting to other companies and avoiding addressing the actual topic, you're better off saying nothing. imo, of course.
 
For most users these upgrades make little difference. When an app initially launches with such spectacular failure, it gets written off for good. The users of this site may give it a second chance, but that doesn't represent the outcome for the vast majority.

No matter what Apple does, they'll always be playing catch-up to Google. It's time they cut their losses and focused their already thin resources elsewhere.

On what planet does the company with the highest value ever have "already-thin resources?" Apple has enough cash -- just cash -- to buy Starbucks, Tesla and eBay with plenty to spare. It's just a matter of the Maps feature making enough money back. Google uses that feature as a cash cow, which is why it has been able to increasingly spend more to develop it out. Google Maps was hardly what it is today in its first two years, but most everybody didn't have phones with mapping software back then and so errors were easier to overlook.

I personally have never had a major problem with Maps that I haven't had in another mapping software. I've had it tell me to get off a highway and right back on, but I've had other directions software tell me that I'm not driving on a road when I know I am because I have eyes.

If you like Google Maps better, that's fine. It's pretty good and I'm guessing transit and pedestrian directions help a lot of people. But I almost never need those and love the Siri integration with Apple Maps. I hate that my new car's nav system isn't just a CarPlay unit because it's one of those evil "you must speak my language, human" systems that isn't very user friendly.
 
I hope they also beef up MapKit, because right now it's too low resolution. On my app I had to resort to using Google Maps SDK for iOS, and I found it has much better resolution when zoomed in really close, and also has a much more robust API overall with support for superior direct Core Animation control of the mapView.layer. Apple's MapKit turns to pixelated garbage when zoomed in too close, and you have to use backdoor methods to even achieve that (so your app would probably get rejected anyway). Google Maps SDK also makes it super easy to scale your map to a specific meters-per-pixel via conveniece methods, something that is a PITA to accomplish in MapKit.

BTW I greatly prefer the Apple Maps app over Google Maps 99% of the time. The only thing I found that Apple Maps does a terrible job with, is the entrances to things like parks and hospital complexes. For example when I tried to get to Forest Park in Portland, it sent me to the middle of nowhere (which was technically bordering Forest Park, but was five miles from the nearest trailhead or official parking area). When I tried to go to Kaiser Permanente at Sunnyside (Mt. Talbert), it sent me to some random street bordering the complex where you could not turn into the place from. But those are two very rare examples.

Other than that I have found Apple Maps flawless and I often use it for navigation. I don't need it for mass transit in Portland because there is an excellent custom app for TriMet here called PDX Bus, which destroys Google Maps for convenience. I love Apple Maps' 3D buildings view, and it sucks that's not available in Apple's MapKit for 3rd-party devs.

I honestly hate Google Maps' turn-by-turn voice and I hate its ugly interface. Apple Maps is just so much more pleasing to use. I think it's really sad that this masterpiece of front-end software design (which blew away anything Google had done to that point) was basically sabotaged by some inaccurate back-end data. I think the bad press it got was terribly mishandled by Tim. Steve would have stood up for it and at least saved some face.

Apple Maps really doesn't deserve the bad reputation it got from the (most likely Google-funded) FUD campaign in the press. You can't see a reference to it in the press anywhere, where they don't refer to it as "much-maligned" or "obviously failed" etc. even though it works great now and always has for most of us.

But has Apple ever done any marketing to try to repair Apple Maps' image? Nope.
 
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Yes, I want Apple Maps to work. However, wherever in the world I am, Google maps simply has detail far, far in advance of Apple Maps, every single time. Apple cannot catch up with that, presumably, unless they put in a huge amount of resources, which they seem unable to do. Perhaps they need a better logistics team? It always strikes me as odd that they have so much money, but are slow meet needs/demand in a number of areas.

When traveling, that is actually trying to get somewhere, the detail is a massive distraction. This is one of the reasons I actually prefer Apple Maps. As a side benefit it saves on mobile bandwidth.
 
Is anyone else but me sad that Apple can't find a way to update Maps.app without forcing you to update the whole OS? It would be really nice for Apple to unbundle their apps from the OS for updates.
 
How much use are these things unless they're aware of bus and train times? What we need are standardised national, or preferably international, databases and APIs of up to date travel information.

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Is anyone else but me sad that Apple can't find a way to update Maps.app without forcing you to update the whole OS? It would be really nice for Apple to unbundle their apps from the OS for updates.

With over the air partial updates I don't see it as a problem. They can effectively release an update to a single bundled app on it's own, they just need to call it a point release.
 
I never really understood the point of using Maps for public transit. There's a bunch of apps out there that provide that information. Personally, I use Transit but I hear Citymapper is pretty good too. To be honest, I don't really use maps that much. If I'm looking for a restaurant in the area, I use Yelp. If I'm taking public transit, I use the Transit app. I don't have a car so I don't need driving instructions (unless I rent a car or get a Zipcar). If I need to get to a place where public transit can't take me, I'd get an Uber. I also fly occasionally. I guess everyone's usage of Maps is different.

Would it be nice if Apple made more strides in Maps? Definitely. I would love to just play around with it and use it to explore different places that I could visit in the future. I am excited to see if they plan on introducing new features. I would definitely like to start using Maps more on OS X and my phone.
 
I would like to see alternative routes for walking directions. It uses main roads too much; I want quiet routes.

Even in central London, there are tons of footpaths missing.
 
Apple should just abandon it's maps... maybe they should focus their efforts on Ping 2 :p

For the most part it works really well, on all the trips I take in the UK and USA.

But does need way points and lane guidance.

Google maps isn't always right either. Sent me down a one way street the other day... luckily I was on a bike.
 
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