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

[peglegjack]

As long as I can stay on iOS5 for the next year until:

1. I'm up for a new phone in June and I get an Android
2. A 3rd party app for public transit comes out by June that has a superior user experience to the native Google Maps app in iOS 5
3. Google comes out with their own 3rd party app by June

I figure that at least one of those scenarios will happen, so I'll be just fine.

 

[KnightWRX]

Problem is that neither you or Apple know that for sure. To begin with, this is a different device. The vast majority of iPhone users are not 'iPhone heads' or 'Apple heads'; they're every day consumers who would carry on using the Google app.

You're saying there are no... Apple... fanboys ? or iPhone fanboys ?

There is also the question of numbers: Apple could probably get away with just a relatively small number of keen Mac folk testing early versions of OSX; the numbers they need to test Maps adequately are considerably more.

You do understand the difference between Mac market share in 2001 vs iOS market share in 2012 right ? Just there, even if they got a fraction of their userbase to test out, would've have simply dwarfed the OS X early adopters.

Heck, there's probably plenty of people that are just pissed right now that would have participated in an optional preview release. I know I would have, I love testing out new things, just not like this.

 

[duffman9000]

I'm surprised to hear that Google was "caught off guard" by Apple's decision. How could that possibly be the case when iOS 6 with Apple maps was previewed months ago and the subject of so much industry conjecture even before then?

I think Google was caught off-guard only in that they didn't think Apple would be crazy enough to go with Apple Maps so soon. Never underestimate crazy.

 

[Mapmonkey]

The more people that use the maps the faster they will get better. I say in a month or two this will be another non-issue.

No they won't. The faster Apple buys some decent base datasets for international users the better it will get. Month or two, you are joking right?

How many users out there actually "Have" an issue with the new maps? I've been running it since the Beta was first available and it works for me?!?! Furthermore Apple will resolve any issues out there and it will smoke google maps

Can you not see the post counts for this issue? Lots of folks are having trouble.
I'm happy for you that your not. The debate is not about whether they fix it but when. This isn't some isolated software bug this is data cleansing on a massive scale.

 

[spazzcat]

I didn't realize you knew exactly how Apple's iOS/Core Apps team works.

And I didn't realize you know how every project/company handles their software and hardware development as far as staffing and methodology.

But let's move on, shall we - it's pretty irrelevant/not germane to this topic.

Most projects/PMs follow the same methodologies. But I agree on moving on...

 

[Compile 'em all]

Now instead you're stuck with a PR nightmare and plenty of pissed users.

Bold changes require bold moves. That includes pissing off a lot of people, and even losing a lot of customers.

 

[tbrinkma]

What scale of disaster? Hindenburg, Titanic, Bruce Willis Asteroid Movie? How bad is this disaster for the poor iPhone users in the American Heartland?

Definitely 'Bruce Willis Asteroid Movie'. It's not actually going to hurt anybody, but people will whine and complain about it until the cows come home.

 

[gnasher729]

So why not have a transition period (say 6 months or so) where we would have the option to stay with Google's Maps if we wanted or to join in with the worldwide beta test of Apple's Maps?

Seems like it would have given Apple a little bit more time to fix the problems, allowed millions all of the world to report issues and offer advice, and allow those of us who now find our phones crippled to stay with Google.

A lot of problems will be fixed because users report problems to Apple. If all these users stay on Google's maps, then the problems won't get fixed.

Can you not see the post counts for this issue? Lots of folks are having trouble.
I'm happy for you that your not. The debate is not about whether they fix it but when. This isn't some isolated software bug this is data cleansing on a massive scale.

Lot's of users complain, and lots of Fandroids complain again and again and again. The latter group has no problems with Apple's maps because they don't use it, but they are probably the loudest complainers. The first group, well, I can spot problems in Apple's maps, and some are severe, but that doesn't necessarily mean I have a problem. I tried to get directions to a friend's home and that friend is in an area (South of England) where the satellite images are rubbish, but the road maps and the directions seem to be spot on, so it should work at least as well as a TomTom to get me there.

 

[Mapmonkey]

You don't ramp up teams after shipping though, you ramp them up prior to. Especially since this doesn't even carry a beta tag. Anyway, what good is a bunch of OS kernel/UI programmers to a team in need of mapping and GIS experience ?

I think Apple putting out tons of mapping / GIS positions to fill shows that they now understand where their issues lie : lack of expertise.

Yes, Yes. KnightWRX you hit it right on the head. I looked at the job specs posted on the 11th and they had pretty much nothing to do with the GIS aspects and I found that pretty worrying as it didn't look as if Apple had any grasp of the scale of the problem. I worked in GI for years and worked on data cleaning address datasets for local authorities. It takes a lot of work. Thats why this "oh it'll be fixed soon" get on my tits.

 

[Scrub175]

If people don't "complain" nothing will get done. Is complaining SOLELY on a message board productive. Debatable. For one - there is strength in numbers and when people google/bing search issues they are having and see they aren't alone, it helps them. I am sure there are people that work for Apple that visit these sites whether it's officially or unofficially. Word gets back. It's inevitable.


Complaining TO Apple is, of course, the best and most direct route.

Understand and agree. Are folks going to simply shout at the rain or are they going to contribute and improve the service. Google Nav which is a direct competitor (not google maps) was in beta for a couple of years before it fully rolled out. Perhaps Apple should have done the same. At any rate, there is a method to complain back to Apple for the good of all users. Instigating fights online isn't really part of the solution.

My point is I expected there to be bugs and glitches because I as most sensible folks understand the big picture process and lived through a similar process with Android. To expect 1.0 levels of accuracy and service from a new app that departs from the baked in norm deserves some patience. The purpose of updates even to iOS or OSX is to improve and refine user experience.

What's funny is we're talking one feature to a state of a start of the art device that gets more right than ring yet some a fixated on this issue. I'm more concerned with the anodized metal back quality than the map app myself.

 

[forgotmyhandle]

More Than Cash

Apple has more than just cash in the bank. They have people's trust in a bank; a lot of it. If Apple stumbles, some of that trust is spent. Much like their cash, Apple is not shy about spending it (trust) when they think they have something to gain. Remember the tizzy about Flash support, and how outraged some developers were? They gained customers that are willing to go to "the next", whatever the next is. Remember the Final Cut Pro tizzy, and how outraged some developers were? Some people are ready for 'the next', others need a little more time. Of course, Apple sometimes gets it wrong, but I think they are generally judicious in their use of customers' trust.

 

[SPUY767]

Finally someone speaks some sense instead of ignorant whining.

Well, he does run the whole site.

 

[ZAiPhone]

What a frigging boneheaded move. The person responsible should be questioned closely. And I daresay that Steve would never have released a new service that was worse than the old.

If you don't think Tim Cook has his fingerprints all over this you're not paying attention. The problem is like with so much he is not as much a leader as Steve Jobs.

 

[SPUY767]

I heard the rumor that American businesses are all about profits. Emotions shouldn't have a place there, especially not when they are bad for the business.

Businesses EVERYWHERE are all about profits. If you're not about profits, you're a charity.

 

[jeromyj]

With all the complaining about maps, it works great for me. For my needs, it's a better solution that what Google was giving Apple.

 

[applesith]

Apple pulled Google Maps in attempt to screw Google by removing a ton of mobile users virtually overnight.

Google can play ball too by not releasing an app for iOS. Using Google Maps as a selling point for Android may workout well for them depending on how soon Apple gets their stuff together.

Apple really needs to get the public transit stuff in there.

 

[Meandmunch]

I am sure in no time Google will be happy to sell you a Google Map App or one subsidized with ads.

I would like to know when all the geniuses here on this site thought Apple could have released their map product? Google has been working on theirs for like 8 years. Lets say you gave Apple eight years, well when they released it Google would be another few years ahead of that and the naysayers would complain then too. There will always be a group unhappy with Apple and I for one cannot figure out why they even come to this site in the first place.

 

[bigchrisfgb]

Apple maps on the iPhone 4 is rubbish, Apple maps on an iPhone 5 is pretty decent. Yes it lacks information and it gets some bits wrong but Google maps was like this when it first came out. The more people who search their local area and report faults the better it will get, if people just sit around and say it's rubbish then it's just going to stay that way.
My main gripe is that in some places (where I live) most of it is covered over with clouds, where as my nearest city 7 miles away has pretty decent imagery. Google maps used to be like this but got better and in the end even had street view where I live. Apple maps won't have street view but it will have flyover/fly through which will do the same job, in time that will come and in time the clouds will disappear.

It's up to us though to check our own little area and to report and fix any faults we can, Google maps isn't coming right now in app form so lets fix what we do have so it is as good as Google maps or even possibly eventually even better than Google maps.

 

[jrswizzle]

*sigh*

Let me know when there's an article that's not b****ing and moaning about some perceived shortcoming of the iP5/iOS6.

I'm pretty sure of the 500+ comments on this thread 499 have already been made about a thousand times.

 

[Smith288]

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 call BS. I have to assume Google had some sort of map app for the iOS in the works in some form or another. To be caught "off guard" when the betas have been out there for a good while? Meh. At the very least, they have a workable placeholder app that mirrors the apple version from <6.0.

 

[steve-p]

Just like no one used Mac OS X when Apple released it as an optional OS right ? Right ?

Oh wait, wrong. Plenty of Apple heads would have jumped onto a Maps preview and started giving feedback on day 1.

Well, maybe, but I'm not convinced the quality of the feedback would have been useful. I suspect the average normal person would have tried it out of curiosity and then given up with it as not fit for purpose. Only the hardcore Apple-obsessives with no critical faculties would have kept using it and provided feedback such as "it works in my street so it's perfect!", "I love the new clearer maps with no colour coding even though they are illegible, they're so pretty", "who needs POIs and accurate maps when we have turn by turn!", "it's really fast to draw a map with no detail!" etc, which is no use whatsoever for addressing the problems most people seem to have with it.

 

[dotme]

So in summary, Apple releases a sub-par maps app, then after the word gets out, suddenly tries to hire Google map engineers?

Really? Shouldn't they have done that 2 years ago? If they didn't realize how bad their maps were, then they're so isolated and cut off from reality in Cupertino that it does not bode well for the future of the company. When you lose that ability to read your customers, you're in trouble.

For those saying that Apple has already stated that maps will improve, well yeah - did anyone expect them to come out and state that maps would only get worse over time?

Whether they'll improve isn't the issue. Maps shouldn't have been released in their present condition. Being laughed at on late-night talk shows isn't the kind of publicity Apple needs.

There are people who worked with iOS6 beta 1 back in June who say they submitted corrections that are still not done! Does Apple have one guy in a cubicle handling these corrections?

People won't submit crowdsourced corrections for very long if weeks go by without any corrections actually being made. Everyone will feel like their work is just going into a black hole.

 

[derek4484]

To be fair to Apple

The only way their Maps are going to get better is to get millions of users out there collecting new data and fixing the old data. Software-wise the Maps app itself seems pretty good. They just have a problem with inaccuracies in the database. If Apple waited a year to release it, they'd still have those same problems a year from now. The biggest issue is they chose to only use Yelp for destinations and apparently only got part of Tom Tom's POI database. My portable GPS device has way more POI's that what show up on Maps in iOS 6.

 

[stockscalper]

This is so lame. Serves Crapple right. Any of you fanboys ever used Google maps on Android? All you have to do is give it a voice command and it will give you turn by turn directions by voice, list or map and when you reach your location it shows you a photo of your destination. I remember how Navigon on the iPhone would dump you in the middle of an office park and leave it to you to figure out where you were going.

I guess Crapple maps is one less things the children in Cupertino haven't figured out how to copy from Google.

 

[jayducharme]

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

There are many things that Apple leaves to 3rd parties. If turn-by-turn is vital to you, there have been many options on the market for years. When Apple straightens out Maps' current problems, there will be no need for those third-party options.

I wonder if this move to the new Maps app was made for liability reasons. If I relied on the old Maps app for directions, I would be begging for an accident. It was so difficult to read the little text box that it was almost useless unless I could keep pulling over to see what the next turn was. If Apple was going to include that functionality, perhaps they felt it had to be safer to use.