Apple Reportedly Had Over a Year Left on Maps Contract with Google

[tardegrade]

With this knowledge the decision to roll with the new maps app as it is, just gets more and more unfathomable. Yes the new app probably is a great idea over time, but the benefits of the extra year in development and refining the apps data would surely have far, far outweighed any negatives. This whole episode seems very bizarre for Apple.

 

[scoobydoo99]

But to hurt the customer in the name of competition? What if Apple decided to get rid of everything Google related including gmail accounts? Your hurting the customer and making yourself look like a spoiled brat.

Not saying there aren't growing pains, but they don't want to be reliant on Google for anything. It's like switching from PowerPC to Intel, there is a transition period that is sub-optimal, but it's the only way to get where they want to be. As for hurting the customer, I think the complainers are particularly vocal, overshadowing those of us who use Apple's Maps with no problems at all.

 

[AlterZgo]

Happy to hear that it works for you. Apple Maps are totally unusable for millions of other iPhone owners.

"Totally unusable" for "millions" of other iPhone owners? Please cite source or provide back up for this statement.

I'm not sure what the big deal is. Google maps never had turn by turn navigation or any of the updated features Android phones get. So, what's the problem?

 

[coolbreeze]

Why does everyone ignore the fact that Google was preventing Apple from utilizing turn-by-turn?

You aren't shifting blame to Google for not giving their coveted turn-by-turn to Apple, are you? I sure hope not.

It's a very competitive advantage and one of the key reasons I own a Galaxy Nexus for my personal device. As someone who travels the US frequently, the navigation and transit directions are a godsend.

In short, Google (obviously) wants you to buy an Android phone. It's up to Apple to make it's own, and I wish them the best. They may get there one day, but that day is nowhere close. Just the way it is.

 

[cycomiko]

You had other options. [/.quote]

you mean, not preordering and finding out after what has happened ot the app?

It's a new service that is not required to be given to us. Google Nav had similar issues and it took time and user input to improve. So yes since my iPhone works great as advertised and I have no issue with maps, but understand others do, I will cut them some slack.

None of the services are "required to be given to us"

We have the choice to purchase hte phone, which sucks when you find out after the preorder what the garbage actually is...

They reduced the quality of the service provided as a built in app, they get as much slack as WP7 gets.

Your sense of entitlement and requirement of perfection upon initial roll out of a service new to a company is humorous. Buyer beware I guess.

I feel entitled to expect the sales pitch of Apple to match with what I get? Are you kidding? Maps is not a gift from the gods. its key sales pitch used for the iphone5

 

[deannnnn]

REGARDLESS of which mapping solution is better, it is 100% Apple's fault for not allowing us to choose our mapping solution. It's just a matter of time before they start forcing us to search with Yahoo.

Apple & Google fighting is the worst thing that can happen to the iPhone because both companies have so much to bring to the table. But instead of both offering their strengths we are being forced to pick sides.

 

[macass]

idiot

That's good, because you don't have any choice.

No choice? What an idiot comment. We have hundreds of choices free and paid in the app store. What apple did was give us the added choice of turn by turn in and intriganted app. One that works very well. Google maps was hardly used by anyone. All these people complaining now were the same ones bitching about how bad apple was because they did not have a native turn by turn solution.

 

[laurim]

REGARDLESS of which mapping solution is better, it is 100% Apple's fault for not allowing us to choose our mapping solution. It's just a matter of time before they start forcing us to search with Yahoo.

Apple & Google fighting is the worst thing that can happen to the iPhone because both companies have so much to bring to the table. But instead of both offering their strengths we are being forced to pick sides.

See my earlier post noting that you CAN use Google maps via Safari. No one is preventing you from choosing anything.

 

[coolbreeze]

Google maps was hardly used by anyone.

I'd be very interested in your source for this.

Thin air isn't a source.

 

[RealSkyDiver]

I prefer Apple Maps over Google Maps.

Not sure whats sadder. This news or the amount of idiots ranking that comment up...

 

[Mark Booth]

Apple's Maps SUCK in comparison to Google's Maps. And I don't see the situation improving in less than a year or two. This was a bad decision on Apple's part.

#BringBackGoogleMaps

Mark

 

[Tiger8]

Sucks for us users but Apple needs the data to start making major improvements, better to do it now (should have done it a while back) and suffer people being annoyed.

No, they could have kept google maps and worked internally on this. There is no excuse, this is a major misstep, and I love apple btw

 

[Scrub175]

You had other options.

you mean, not preordering and finding out after what has happened ot the app?



None of the services are "required to be given to us"

We have the choice to purchase hte phone, which sucks when you find out after the preorder what the garbage actually is...

They reduced the quality of the service provided as a built in app, they get as much slack as WP7 gets.



I feel entitled to expect the sales pitch of Apple to match with what I get? Are you kidding? Maps is not a gift from the gods. its key sales pitch used for the iphone5

I'm pleased with the service and have no interest in your whining about what you feel should be acceptable. You have an unrealistic view of how huge this undertaking is...

Sounds like buyers remorse. I bought the iP5 off contract not because of one app or service but the total package offered by Apple. Perhaps you should have done more homework when spending that kind of scratch...

 

[barbourdg]

Lastly, I never considered an Android phone until now. We customers choose our products with our purchases. Companies that think they can bully their customers pay a steep price ala Netflix. If Google submits an app and Apple does not approve it, I will definitely switch to Android on principle alone.

Idiot!

So I am sure on principle alone, you have no problem that Google screwed you for years, refusing to update your second rate map? Compared to the android google map, it is second rate.

What did you expect Apple to do? Just lie down and take it from Google?

 

[strausd]

But shoving it down people's throat is not a good way to make people happilly use it and report back any mistake. Quite the contrary.

Please explain how releasing a maps application on a platform where the user is 100% free to download another maps application from the app store is considering "shoving it down the users throat." Oh wait, its not. You're just over reacting.

Shoving it down your throat would be eliminating all maps apps on the app store and making Apple maps the only available application. But we both know that is not the case.

A side-by-side optional preview would probably have netted them much more contributors than this.

You have anything to back that up? No? Ok cool.

Any by the way, I disagree.

I think the average user will update to iOS 6 and not totally know the difference. The average user will open up maps and think "Oh it looks different. And I can do turn-by-turn now!"

The average user doesn't spend hours reading macrumors and tech blogs like people on here do. Thus they will most likely not know what the major differences are. They will see added turn-by-turn and added 3D. Let's face it, the average user is not tech savvy.

The average user uses what they have without making changes. Just like how the average user will never change the default search engine. The average user will never go download a third party internet browser. The average user doesn't know anything. Why do you think so many people still use internet explorer?

So if Apple just made it an opt-in scenario and made Google Maps default and Apple maps an option in settings, then most people wouldn't use Apple maps. And without users, there would be nobody to find bugs and issues. So this optional preview you mentioned would not be nearly as effective.

The most expensive and time consumer part of developing is not the initial release, it is keeping the software up to date after initial release. That is the most important part. And with people using the software, the developers know what to fix.

No matter what, in an ideal situation developers will fix all problems in a program/app. The more people you have using the program, the sooner you will find all problems that need to be fixed. The less people you have using the program, the longer it will take to fix everything.

Heck, I might have just participated in such an optional preview of their future product, and provided feedback.

What is keeping you from providing feedback now? Apple has made it very easy to provide feedback for their maps. Even Google offers easy ways to provide feedback. The reason both offer ways to provide feedback is because it is never going to be perfect. I would love to see you team up with people to make a detailed map of the entire world. Then when you think you are done, release it and see if you are ever actually finished.

and delete any Map Kit apps I have.

Ya I bet.

 

[SomeDudeAsking]

Everyone who is having trouble using Apple Maps is simply living in the wrong place. Move to an Apple approved location, and you will be fine.

Anyway, Google's anti-competitive prohibition on turn-by-turn was likely the biggest reason Apple switched now. And because I live in California, the maps are pretty good, so I'm not hurting like the rural UK citizens seem to be.

Like Apple's anti-competitive prohibition on rounded corners?

 

[oldwatery]

I know this is a fan site but some of the comments on here go way beyond Apple worship and stray into plain idiocy.
Apple just do things for themselves sometimes (greed, hate of competitors, bloody mindedness, paybacks etc) and damn the end user.
This appears to be one of those times.

 

[Rocketman]

Apple's decision apparently caught Google off-guar

Key point here.

 

[dtaylor322]

I don't know why everyone is complaining. The new Maps app is better. Apple's database may need some work, but so does Google's. On multiple occasions Google gave me incorrect or overly complicated directions.

 

[Limboistik]

Looking at the long term, I feel like Apple has something big in the works, in terms of navigation, and just location services. If you think about it, launching the Passbook app along with their proprietary maps, could potentially have very good synergy together combined with location services.

Think of what they're doing already with the Passbook, you walk by a Starbucks and your gift card pops up. Imagine the full range of possibilities when it's better integrated. Could really change the way we do transactions physically.

 

[Frankied22]

The article says that apple could have stayed for one more year before switching.

You don't switch products at the last day of the contract. That would be foolish. You try to get off a product as soon as possible before the license terminates so that you don't get cornered and are forced to renew the license and that's why Apple chose to switch the products right away. That's smart thinking on Apples part. Never let a vendor squeeze you to the last minute forcing you on the negotiation table!

So, Google did not provide the same features as the android version and purposely let google maps on iPhone leg behind. They try to force Apple to integrate more Google services. And try to force apple to accept new conditions on the contract. And people wonder why Apple dumped Google Maps!!!

False. Apple created and controlled both the YouTube app and the Maps app on iOS. Google has nothing to do with the fact that it never got updated to match its android counterpart. That was Apples fault. They never updated either apps.

 

[wingsabre]

They should have kept the Google Maps, and roll out a turn by turn version of their own app. Everyone would have been fine with that. Instead they forced us to drink their New Coke.

 

[SeattleMoose]

Apple Had To Do It....

I am doing a 180 on Apple Maps. I see now the corner they were put into by Google. Google released superior version of Maps for their own Android OS and gave Apple a watered down version. This smacks of what MS did to Apple with Windows Office always being way ahead of Mac version of Office.

If I were Apple I would have done the same thing.

 

[wingsabre]

See my earlier post noting that you CAN use Google maps via Safari. No one is preventing you from choosing anything.

No. I'm using Google Maps on Safari right now, and it's not the same. Moving from directions to map is not as smooth as the Google Maps app. By far it's better than the Apple Maps but it's significantly less than the native Google app from iOS 5.

 

[kenbrec30]

A war between Apple and Google

This is a war between Apple and Google, but the sad thing is that valued customers are caught in the middle. Apple should have done better and this reminds me of the launch of Final Cut Pro X, which Apple gave an inferior product.


"Apple's decision apparently caught Google off-guard, as Google is reportedly still several months away from having a standalone maps app ready for submission to the App Store."

I doubt that is true, because even the rumor mill knew about the coming change. Google doesn't owe Apple a map app or contract if Apple doesn't want it. Neither does Samsung owe Apple iPhone parts if Apple doesn't want them, but Apple does owe its customers who upgraded better maps.