Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Still Seeking to 'Radically Improve' Maps for iOS

Too late now

Missed their chance when Apple didn't approve the improved Google maps app the first time it was available. Now it has improved even more while Maps.app has done nothing, and I'm sure Google has withdrawn the app now that they are doing their own phone OS.

Come on Apple - give us a nice surprise.
 
I've been saying that Apple was going to replace Google maps in iOS since last year in iOS 5. I hope I'm right.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8F190 Safari/6533.18.5)

Maps needs the ability to turn off toll roads and highways. Would have been helpful on this vacation.
 
Not sure how people have gotten the idea that only Google has map data...

Maps are old, people. They've been digitized for a damn long time. There are good sources of data available should Apple want to go in that direction.

Now, when you talk about StreetView, yeah, that may be something of an issue.
 
gkarris said:
This may only happen if they get rid of the consumer-quality GPS receiver in it. Would raise the price of the handset, though.

It's more than likely going to be the use of their own software (iMaps?) rather than use Google which has their own Mobile OS now.
Click to expand...

iPhone GPS works great for me, even when I visit New York City.
 
I'm using Garmin Mobile XT on my Windows mobile phone--it's really really nice.

Using maps on my iPad.... uhhhh.... not so nice :p
 
gnasher729 said:
Why not? The USA for example has only 4 million miles of roads. A car with driver + passenger + some decent equipment should be able to map say 10 miles per hour, at a cost of $50 per hour. 200 cars for a year, that's 20 million dollars. And then you have a database that you can sell, and that you can use everywhere. Then write an iPhone app that lets users make corrections, lets businesses add their locations etc. and you are ready.
Click to expand...

That would be great!

mrpither said:
Missed their chance when Apple didn't approve the improved Google maps app the first time it was available. Now it has improved even more while Maps.app has done nothing, and I'm sure Google has withdrawn the app now that they are doing their own phone OS.

Come on Apple - give us a nice surprise.
Click to expand...

WRONG. There has never been a "Google Maps App" for iOS.
 
strabes said:
Seriously, the iOS maps app is so unreliable. Sometimes it's super fast and sometimes (i.e. whenever I really need it quickly) it lags so bad, doesn't load maps or traffic info, takes forever to get directions, etc, and basically makes me want to throw my iPhone out the window. The maps app needs a serious reliability overhaul.

Also, what is so bad about the iOS notification system? I just hit "Close" if I don't care about a notification at that time.
Click to expand...

yep thats what im talkin about. maps take too long to load, or are missing, the search input hangs on me as i input, theres no built-in spoken turn-by-turn, etc.. some of this may be network, but some is iOS.

id much rather have a better maps app than worry about notifications.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8F190 Safari/6533.18.5)

I cannot wait for iOS 5!!! I really hope the cloud takes over the role of iTunes in the area of file syncing, updating, etc. And we see a new maps application! Just those two would be great, but I know they'll be more! :)
 
MacRumors said:



103131-ios_gps_location.jpg


As noticed by 9 to 5 Mac, Apple has posted a new job listing for an iOS Maps Application Developer who can help "radically improve" the Maps application and other location-based services.The posting is reminiscent of a late 2009 job listing looking for a candidate to help "take Maps to the next level". Apple has also beefed up its maps, navigation and location-based services capabilities with the acquisition of Placebase and Poly9 over the past couple of years. Combining those acquisitions with the moving of location services in-house last year and other job postings for navigation-related positions, it certainly appears that Apple is making a full-scale push into the area.

From the very beginning, Apple has relied on Google's technology for maps and location-based services on iOS devices. But as relations between the two companies have soured among increasing competitiveness in mobile devices, Apple is clearly trying to distance itself from Google somewhat by developing its own unique offerings.

Article Link: Apple Still Seeking to 'Radically Improve' Maps for iOS
Click to expand...

I seriously had a dream last night that maps was updated to 3D and you could use the gyroscope etc to fly through optional routes before chosing which one to take ahha.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8F190)

ppilone said:
acslater017 said:
I'm just wondering when they're going to unveil it! If I'm not mistaken, March/April is usually the announcement period, with a launch in June-July.

They haven't announced anything yet, which either means that they're working on something HUGE, or it's behind schedule
Click to expand...

I've been thinking about that: remember when there were rumors of OS X delays because the Mac team was pulled onto the iOS team in order to get 3.0 out? I'm wondering if the opposite is happening now - the iOS team has been pulled onto the Lion team in order to get Lion ready for a summer launch. This could be the reason we're not hearing much about iOS 5.
Click to expand...

Patience. We didn't hear much if anything about iOS 4 this time last year. It was announced in April.

Anyways, if they add turn-by-turn, bike routes, and remove the awful need for "calibration" (I expect this needs an improvement in the GPS hardware?) I'll be thrilled.
 
Probably just using these acquisitions to improve "Places" in iLife or some meaningless drivel like that.
 
smithrh said:
Not sure how people have gotten the idea that only Google has map data...

Maps are old, people. They've been digitized for a damn long time. There are good sources of data available should Apple want to go in that direction.

Now, when you talk about StreetView, yeah, that may be something of an issue.
Click to expand...

Yes, Navteq and Tele Atlas own the market when it comes to road data. However, these days maps are so much more than road information. Google has spent quite a few years obtaining data on places (w/ reviews), streetview, satellite images, etc. They obtain their information from more than just google maps users as well. I'm not sure how Apple can start from scratch and be able to match that kind of data that Google has.
 
ppilone said:
I've been thinking about that: remember when there were rumors of OS X delays because the Mac team was pulled onto the iOS team in order to get 3.0 out? I'm wondering if the opposite is happening now - the iOS team has been pulled onto the Lion team in order to get Lion ready for a summer launch.
Click to expand...

This begs another question.

I know Apple likes to have very agile teams that can be pulled into whichever project needs the most attention at the time, but if OS X is taking a hit because of iOS, iOS is taking a hit because of OS X, iWork hasn’t been refreshed, let alone iWork for iOS, etc, etc, it sounds like Apple just needs more engineers.
 
roadbloc said:
Don't bother Apple. Work on something else.
Click to expand...

You mean like here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/9159034/

roadbloc said:
I think it is a way that Apple can earn more money from the App Store.
A cheap cash in for Apple, as the iPad simply is a pregnant iPod touch. And it lacks multitasking, java and flash.

I do not think Apple have really thought about this one. It's a half baked product, rushed out. If they had included flash, java and multitasking support, this may have been a winner, but now it just looks like an overpriced eReader.

When the rumour of a Tablet Mac was released I imagined a touchscreen iMac, not a bloated iPod touch.

Flame away. :p
Click to expand...

Apple should simply look at your posts and do the opposite. Success guaranteed.
 
All I want is a little scale in the corner. Is that too much to ask? It's impossible to figure out how far away things are visually. In the heat of navigation (especially via car) time is of the essence and having to re-calculate the route just to figure out the distance to destination from the current location takes too long.
 
Vantage Point said:
I can't see apple employees driving around remapping the world to get their own data base
Click to expand...

No need. Apple would just license the map data from either Navteq or Tele Atlas. The map data that Google uses at present is TeleAtlas (Especially for Europe).
 
Any update MUST have the ability to store maps on the device and not stream them from the internet. Data rates are so massively high in other countries that I usually keep data off, or if I have the international plan, will not waste my precious MB's on maps unless I have to.

I could see the reason for keeping it off originally, when capacities were 4 GB and 8 GB. However, with the iPhone 5 having most likely 64 GB of space, the time is here to have the option to store maps locally.
 
*LTD* said:
You mean like here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/9159034/



Apple should simply look at your posts and do the opposite. Success guaranteed.
Click to expand...

I don't see your point other than trying to embarrass another user of this forum. Unless Apple is planning on integrating more social aspects into Maps, I don't see why they need to spend resources on this. And given Apple's history with trying to create social products, I don't have much faith in them doing just that. If Apple thinks they can do it better, all the more power to them. But if they are just creating their own Maps because they don't like Google, then I don't see how the users benefit.
 
bozzykid said:
Yes, Navteq and Tele Atlas own the market when it comes to road data. However, these days maps are so much more than road information. Google has spent quite a few years obtaining data on places (w/ reviews), streetview, satellite images, etc. They obtain their information from more than just google maps users as well. I'm not sure how Apple can start from scratch and be able to match that kind of data that Google has.
Click to expand...

Well, actual road map data and satellite data is all provided by the governments. Street view I'm guessing is Googles only. But it would be nice to see a major improvement on maps and roads. Something seems to be missing and if anyone can take it to the next level, it's Apple. Glad to see something in the works.

Notifications... sure, it would be nice to see better, but that's probably coming in iOS 5.0 anyways. Hopefully the first version of iMaps too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back