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

[penguy]

I apologize if this has been said earlier in this thread, but I find it HARD to believe that google was caught flat-footed and didn't know this was coming. Apple has been beta testing iOS 6 for many months, and even with NDA's, people give out secrets left and right. It's been on every rumor site since early this year...and google didn't know? sure...and there's a bridge somewhere for you.

Despite what some of you want to believe, the two companies are competitors, and Apple hardware has been capable of running Turn by Turn s/w for years now...Everything about android phones has been closing the gap and in some areas...maps for instance, they had a clear lead...what would you do? just admit defeat?

I see Kenbrec30 beat me to it

 

[wingsabre]

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.



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.


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.



Ya I bet.

I think the average users don't upgrade until they get a new phone, and those who upgrade it from a different iOS will either notice it because they knew how to upgrade it, or they won't notice the difference until they get lost. Most people won't notice the difference that it looks slightly different, but when they want to go to street view, or have multiple routes they will notice the difference. Also, Apple Maps works great in metropolitan areas, specifically San Fransisco area, but I think the more rural you go, the less likely it is to be accurate.

 

[tbrinkma]

I would think that if their contract with Google was expiring they would want to move to another option at least a year before the end of the contract. This way those who don't upgrade won't be left without a maps option at all.

Eminently logical and reasonable.

What are you doing on MacRumors?!

 

[cosmolv]

Apple has made amazing product, i'm sure that apple will fix maps and they will be better and better after some months.

Don't beat Apple, they do amazing work with all them hearths - they are in phone market only 5 Years and reach so unbelievable succes and all hard work behind any tiny thing that user even don't think about.

Apple deserves applauses and all the best words - give them that
This is more important than money for them

(of course money in our world are playing some role, but support and good words are wonderfull to inspire and give them reason to be better and better, and yes some critics also are needed, but sometimes around on internet we can see too mutch negativism and this can break enthusiasm)

Thinking about myself i'm not always right. that way we are humans, we teaching...

Think about this!

 

[Lost Rider]

I love the new Maps app, screw Google with their far outdated iOS maps app. Yes I live in California where Maps works flawlessly so far, but I do travel extensively and just had a great experience with Maps In Mexico City and Monterrey.

Bravo Apple for cutting Google out of your core iOS apps, even if a few whiny Urban dweller's to my East got some sand in their clit and feel left out.

 

[G51989]

I love the new Maps app, screw Google with their far outdated iOS maps app. Yes I live in California where Maps works flawlessly so far, but I do travel extensively and just had a great experience with Maps In Mexico City and Monterrey.

Bravo Apple for cutting Google out of your core iOS apps, even if a few whiny Urban dweller's to my East got some sand in their clit and feel left out.

I assume you forgot to read the part where things like the Google Maps and Youtube app were made by Apple? And not Google? They simply used Googles data.

 

[penguy]

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.

first, apple did update the maps app over time...it was far better than it's initial introduction. The point others have made is that they could not add turn by turn, which many considered vital.

 

[Lost Rider]

The point others have made is that they could not add turn by turn, which many considered vital.

Exactly.

Whom ever made it is irrelevant, to the end user it was far outdated and needed to be fixed. Dropping Google is the best way for Apple and it's future, regardless of the inconveniences SOME people are experiencing right now.
Since I'm not one of them, I stand by my comment:

Bravo Apple!

 

[G51989]

As much as I like my Macs, and my work phone ( iphone 4S, personal phone is an S3, and I had a 3GS back in the day ). And I do think some Apple products are great, though I don't worship them.

This Maps thing is one big screwup, why not wait another 6-10 months until the contract runs out? So they could polish this turd to work.

And, after reading some of these posts, its totally understandable why lots of people think a decent amount of Apple fans are completely insane. How they can they defend an App that sometimes has whole towns missing? Or can't even find a major Airport in Scottland?

And for those of you who think it will be as good as google maps in 6 months, your insane. Even with Apples massive resourced, we're looking at years for it to catch up to how google maps is right now. And in years, google will have improved their maps even further.

 

[BC2009]

I am sure glad they did not make us wait another year and suffer through the outdated map tiles interface with no turn-by-turn. The new Apple Maps has been perfect for me so far. If they have issues, then it is best to bite the bullet now and get to fixing them. It sucks for those who lived in an area that had better coverage on Google, but such has been the Garmin vs. TomTom debate in the GPS world for a decade. Just use http://maps.google.com as a crutch for the next 60 days or so and report the issues you see. That is how Google Maps got better. Only problem Apple is really to blame for is that they failed to under-promise and over-deliver. They should have billed this as beta to set the expectations differently. They knew they needed usage data which is the same scenario as Siri.

 

[iSamurai]

the sad reality is that for many of us who prefer google maps over apple maps,

1. apple maps is here to stay. they won't kill it off like ping.
2. apple maps will take years to catch up to today's google maps quality and accuracy.
3. google maps will be on the app store in a few months, but 3rd party apps like nike+ gps, strava etc. will still have apple maps integrated.
4. the complaints will die down in a few months like nothing has happened.
5. if you want to use google maps for now, the web browser is the compromise.

that is all :/

 

[strausd]

I think the average users don't upgrade until they get a new phone, and those who upgrade it from a different iOS will either notice it because they knew how to upgrade it, or they won't notice the difference until they get lost. Most people won't notice the difference that it looks slightly different, but when they want to go to street view, or have multiple routes they will notice the difference. Also, Apple Maps works great in metropolitan areas, specifically San Fransisco area, but I think the more rural you go, the less likely it is to be accurate.

Now that iOS supports over the air updates and gives a little "1" badge on system preferences, I think people will upgrade even when they don't get new hardware. The fact that the OS is notifying them will tell them.

Both my parents are far from tech-savvy, but both of them updated by themselves over the air without any problems.

I also think that the average user is more likely to use directions on iOS 5 maps than street view. I know I used directions way more often than street view. And I think most people will be doing that. And then they will notice turn by turn being new. And 3D as well.

 

[Dusky600]

stop whinning and report any problems and update the info, im 3 or 4 months time you wont even remember maps had problems

 

[BC2009]

As much as I like my Macs, and my work phone ( iphone 4S, personal phone is an S3, and I had a 3GS back in the day ). And I do think some Apple products are great, though I don't worship them.

This Maps thing is one big screwup, why not wait another 6-10 months until the contract runs out? So they could polish this turd to work.

And, after reading some of these posts, its totally understandable why lots of people think a decent amount of Apple fans are completely insane. How they can they defend an App that sometimes has whole towns missing? Or can't even find a major Airport in Scottland?

It is simple. People care about problems when they directly effect their lives. They don't care about Scotland unless they live in or travel to Scotland. They assume it will get fixed before they get there, especially now that it is news. Folks in China who finally have better Maps are cheering this because Google sucked there. From what I understand, folks in Japan are upset but folks in Korea, Austria and Germany are happier. It all depends on where you live and also how much you like to blow Apple's issues out of the water. Google is trying to drum up an "Apple Vista", but in reality all this press is just going to mean it gets a whole lot better very quickly.

ASIDE: Be careful following links on your GS3, I saw a report today that the phone can be wiped by tapping a malicious link. Make sure you have a current backup. I'm telling everybody I know who has a TouchWiz phone - it's a pretty nasty exploit and supposedly folks are creating such links in Twitter and on forums now. It triggers the phone to dial a code that is designed to remote wipe it.

 

[a0me]

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

There's at least 8 million iPhone owners in Japan.
Apple Maps are a complete disaster over here, as you may have heard in this forums or on the net (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/...to-apples-maps/?smid=tw-nytimesbits&seid=auto, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/t...rors-send-japanese-to-homegrown-app.html?_r=0 )

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?

The problem is that the maps that Apple Maps use for Japan are completely inaccurate and lack very basic information that's crucial in a country where navigation is difficult and most people depend on public transportation.
This also means that when you live here you don't need turn-by-turn navigation unless you drive a cab.

 

[solarguy17]

I like the comments that ppl leave saying "if they used that extra year the maps app would be way less error prone". I like it becuase it's a completely idiotic thing to say. Most of the problems seem to be with POI and business in wrong location or mid labeled. This could t be fixed without user input. So if Maps launched in iOS7, we would still see many of these problems.

 

[PlanetExp]

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

You can open Google Maps in a web browser, like mobile Safari.

 

[SeaFox]

If this is true, then Apple really let us (the customer) down. As a software developer, I don't see any down side (other than cost) to taking the time needed to put out a fully baked product. As far as cost goes, Apple has $100 B in the bank. I think they can afford it.

Apple probably realizes that "fixing" maps requires, like on Google Maps, lots of people actually using the product and telling them "these locations are wrong". They would have had to go through this phase sooner or later, might as well start now and have your customers help you bug te-- I mean improve your product.

And to answer this question, Apple couldn't have had both mapping setups be accessible in OS6 because people would likely avoid Apples and just continue using Google. I mean, if you needed to find a location, and had two maps at your fingertips, one that had been around for years and proven reliable, and the other brand new, less complete, and full of mistakes which would you use?

 

[AmazingRobie]

the sad reality is that for many of us who prefer google maps over apple maps,

1. apple maps is here to stay. they won't kill it off like ping.
2. apple maps will take years to catch up to today's google maps quality and accuracy.
3. google maps will be on the app store in a few months, but 3rd party apps like nike+ gps, strava etc. will still have apple maps integrated.
4. the complaints will die down in a few months like nothing has happened.
5. if you want to use google maps for now, the web browser is the compromise.

that is all :/

iPhone 4/4S. That is all.

 

[MattInOz]

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

Well if you live in an area where Google doesn't* have Transit info, street view is fuzzy, the satellite imagery has been up dated in a long time and the driving direction regularly forgets one of the main roads out of the city exists regardless of what platform you use to access.

Then it's not that hard to understand why some people (me included) might find Apple Maps if not already better, but at least promising.

You think living in same city as Google Map Team HQ they would do better.

*Well didn't till a few weeks ago and it's sort of patchy.

 

[onthecouchagain]

So just another example of apple screwing the customers. Check.

 

[rorschach]

Apple's maps are far from complete. But it had to be done. Maps is a core feature of the iPhone (with email, texting, camera, etc). It makes no sense for Apple to have to rely on a third-party - a competitor no less - for such a feature.

The maps will improve. Yes it sucks now during the transition, but there's only so much you can do in an office or a lab. Even if they'd waited another year, it wouldn't have made much of a difference imo. A maps app needs millions of people using it in the "real world" and submitting data and corrections to make it complete. Even Google Maps, after so many years, STILL has its share of bad/incomplete data.

In the long run, it was the right move, just as switching to Intel was.

 

[snowleopard48]

Why can't apple just put the old Google Maps on the app store, exactly how it was for a few months? Work out some deal with google maybe? :/

Does apple even allow user submissions to it's maps?

We're talking about a platform specific app in comparison to one that's available in multiple ways - Macs, PCs, many varieties of smartphones and tablets - I just can't find a way that it will get better soon.

 

[kcmac]

Just got back from a business trip. Drove thru South Carolina, Mississippi and Tennessee. (Did some flying in there). Turn by turn was flawless. Chattanooga, Starkville and Gaffney sc. So not exactly big cities either.

Used Siri to put in the address info. I'm sold.

 

[derekamoss]

Actually, nothing would have stopped Apple from offering a Maps preview, with the same feedback features. They would have had less users initially, but the users that would have used it would have been much more into it and happy to submit feedback.

Not to mention running both services side by side, and not moving Map Kit to this new infrastructure would have left users wide open to use Apple Maps, submit feedback and use Google Maps as a backup, also making sure 3rd party applications didn't break on incomplete data in Apple's infrastructure.

Now, with the users left with a sour taste, a lot of 3rd party broken apps, how willing will the user base be to participate in this experiment ?

There was probably a deal that as long as they are supporting Google, apple can not have its own map app so if they introduce their app they break contract and google says no maps for you.