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Apple Testing Maps Notifications to Inform Users of Fixed Problems

Frustration

Apple still hasn't fixed the location of my house, but I've only given about 18 reports and 14 months.

Google had the same issue (I believe they both originally received the data from the same incorrect source) and fixed it within a week.

SBlue1 said:
I have to admit Apple fixed my home street name. After two dozen reports and 18 months though. :D

So finally friends can use their iPhones to get directions to my place.
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MikhailT said:
Seriously? You think Apple only have one developer in the entire company?

They have dozens of different teams working on various parts of iOS at any given time. There's a very good chance they have more than one team working on the Maps since it requires various data sources to blend it in well.

This probably only took a day to code by one of the team members not on the cartographic team, or even if it was by the cartographic team, it wouldn't affect their productivity that much.
Click to expand...

If you are happy with more carp and guff that add nothing to the actual product, good for you. iOS and Mac OSX are perfect for you. Sadly I use my computer as a tool to earn a living, all this notification stuff is just guff to keep the Facebook crowd happy. As is all the social media interaction in Apple Software. None of it provided any benefit in productivity at all.

As for the cartographic team, they don't have one, they'd of used a group of GIS guys to construct them from the data they bought on the cheap. No cartographer worth their salt would have let it go out the door in the state it is now, let alone the pile of steam poo it was on first release.
 
I’m from Germany and since the release of the Apple Maps App I’ve reported many, many problems (wrong addresses, wrong names of tourist attractions, of names, etc.). None of the problems have been solved. None!
 
It's good that Apple seem to be finally making an effort to improve the quality of POIs, but they're years behind Google with this stuff. It's going to be a long, long time before they catch up.

As a developer, there's a bit of a dilemma because Apple's maps SDK (MapKit) is, in general, much better than Google's. It's easier to work with, easier to customize, less buggy, and has smoother performance.

But on the other hand, if your app needs to be able to geocode POIs, Apple's database is so bad it's practically useless. (and Google's terms of use prohibit using their Places API with non-Google maps)
 
How about fixing the UI so that I can scroll the map while navigating instead of having to hit overview. All it does now is some bizarre rotation if you try to move the map during navigation.
 
Let me guess: this new feature will only work in the US, and the rest of us will simply have to put up with the steaming pile of poo that is Maps.

We all have GPS in our iPhones. We all have cameras. Why can't we report an error by taking a GPS-certified snapshot of the incorrect POI so Apple can trust users who report errors. Then Apple could actually act on reported POI errors in stead of blowing the users off.

As I have stated for a long time, for places outside of the US Apple needs to learn it's 'POI' and not 'POS'. There are a lot of unemployed people who need work,so why can't Apple invest some of its non-US offshore billions in improving the Maps experience for 'the rest of us' who do not live in the US. grrr.... :mad:
 
robjulo said:
How about fixing the UI so that I can scroll the map while navigating instead of having to hit overview. All it does now is some bizarre rotation if you try to move the map during navigation.
Click to expand...

That's a feature. It's no different from standalone GPS units (e.g. Garmin). You don't want to accidentally move away from the navigation view while you're driving.
 
Reason077 said:
It's good that Apple seem to be finally making an effort to improve the quality of POIs, but they're years behind Google with this stuff. It's going to be a long, long time before they catch up.

As a developer, there's a bit of a dilemma because Apple's maps SDK (MapKit) is, in general, much better than Google's. It's easier to work with, easier to customize, less buggy, and has smoother performance.

But on the other hand, if your app needs to be able to geocode POIs, Apple's database is so bad it's practically useless. (and Google's terms of use prohibit using their Places API with non-Google maps)
Click to expand...

To be fair, Google has had a tremendous headstart. Apple did themselves no favors by releasing alpha quality software on something as important as Maps. To their credit they have been trying to improve it. Notifications is a good step towards creating goodwill with Maps users. A fanbase that tries to help improve your product deserves to know their efforts aren't just being ignored.
 
Reason077 said:
That's a feature. It's no different from standalone GPS units (e.g. Garmin). You don't want to accidentally move away from the navigation view while you're driving.
Click to expand...

Hardly a feature, it's a nuisance. Google maps does it right as they allow scroll and zoom so I can quickly see where it is taking me and look for alternate routes if there is a road block..
 
69Mustang said:
To be fair, Google has had a tremendous headstart. Apple did themselves no favors by releasing alpha quality software on something as important as Maps. To their credit they have been trying to improve it. Notifications is a good step towards creating goodwill with Maps users. A fanbase that tries to help improve your product deserves to know their efforts aren't just being ignored.
Click to expand...
It's not just that. Google take very seriously users corrects, and they should - it's a free resource money can't buy.

Report issue with Google maps, and you not only get receipt and update once completed (24 hours turnaround for my corrections!) but also occasionally get personalised reply, which is really encouraging.

I gave up on Apple maps. I sent so many reports and they went unnoticed and uncorrected. Shame, real shame.
 
dumastudetto said:
It may have got off to something of a bumpy start, but I now firmly believe that Apple Maps is the market leader in this space and exclusive to our thriving Mac and iOS ecosystems.

It's just another competitive advantage of investing in the Apple ecosystem - getting access to these amazing tools and cutting edge technologies.

I'm proud of Apple for sticking at this, working hard, and delivering a product that is a joy to use every day of the week.
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Thanks Phil. I love your posts!
 
dumastudetto said:
It may have got off to something of a bumpy start, but I now firmly believe that Apple Maps is the market leader in this space and exclusive to our thriving Mac and iOS ecosystems.

It's just another competitive advantage of investing in the Apple ecosystem - getting access to these amazing tools and cutting edge technologies.

I'm proud of Apple for sticking at this, working hard, and delivering a product that is a joy to use every day of the week.
Click to expand...

I'm just going to leave this here.
 

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Not Happy

I'm the biggest apple fanboy however when it comes to maps I'm not a happy camper they don't make fixes that quickly at all i and 5 others have been reporting the wrong location marker as well as a bug when you type my exact address including state town road zip it comes up in the wrong state at a similar road its so frustrating ..... we all keep reporting the bug and incorrect marker location ( off by a half mile) still no fix many months later
 
Apple isn't buying those companies for frilly features, they're buying them for the experienced developers and their proven data set. Embark has remarkably accurate data on transit. When Maps has this transit info, it will be spot on. That's the point, they'll have a better launch if Maps in iOS 8.

The one and only mistake Apple made was not launching Maps as a Beta service. If they slapped Beta on it, like Google did for years on Gmail and GMaps, then people would have been much more forgiving. It took years for Google to work this stuff out. Apple (or, more likely, Forestall) over-reached.

One can only speculate, but Apple's not a company that ignores major quality issues. If they're not fixing the problems people are reporting in Maps it is because the whole thing is fundamentally flawed. Maps is probably being re-worked from the ground up.
 
Yeah. Right. So am I to believe that there is actually someone reading those reports? Impressive. Then could anyone out there please, please check my reports from over one year ago? Especially the one about a factory that was closed in 2002? Yep, it's twelve years. There's a big shopping mall here now.

I mean, seriously, it's 12 years. There are iPad users who are younger than that.
 
Reason077 said:
It's good that Apple seem to be finally making an effort to improve the quality of POIs, but they're years behind Google with this stuff. It's going to be a long, long time before they catch up.

As a developer, there's a bit of a dilemma because Apple's maps SDK (MapKit) is, in general, much better than Google's. It's easier to work with, easier to customize, less buggy, and has smoother performance.

But on the other hand, if your app needs to be able to geocode POIs, Apple's database is so bad it's practically useless. (and Google's terms of use prohibit using their Places API with non-Google maps)
Click to expand...

How do you measure that Apple is "years" behind Google in Map? Is there some kind of way to measure this kind of things?

You're not the only one throwing around "years behind". We all know there's no way to know but people just like to exaggerate to make a point. It's so annoying.
 
lincolntran said:
How do you measure that Apple is "years" behind Google in Map? Is there some kind of way to measure this kind of things?

You're not the only one throwing around "years behind". We all know there's no way to know but people just like to exaggerate to make a point. It's so annoying.
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Some find being pedantic annoying too. You know what he meant. What's the point in calling out that "years" is not an accurate measure? Nobody else seems to be confused by his language. Apple is mostly on par with actual street addresses, but for names of places, Google is way ahead.
 
Same here

QuiteSure said:
Apple still hasn't fixed the location of my house, but I've only given about 18 reports and 14 months.

Google had the same issue (I believe they both originally received the data from the same incorrect source) and fixed it within a week.
Click to expand...

i agree i had the same experience google also emailed me to tell me its fixed
 
How to Contribute?

Does anyone know how to contribute to the maps? Apple cites openstreetmaps.org as a source but it is hard to contribute to that map without aerial maps, IMO.

----------

They must have recently done a push with map changes, the new 231 west of West Lafayette now works correctly in iOS, it worked in the Maps App, but not in iOS 7 (iPhone) as of 2 weeks ago when I submitted a problem.

Additionally, both google and apple maps suggested (at least 12 months ago) taking a right off of a Meridian Street bridge, a 15 foot +/- drop, when navigating from the south to Holliday Park in Indianapolis, IN. Both are now fixed, but I can't be sure when that happened.
 
mangonights said:
The one and only mistake Apple made was not launching Maps as a Beta service. If they slapped Beta on it, like Google did for years on Gmail and GMaps, then people would have been much more forgiving.
Click to expand...

I think the other mistake that they made was dumping GMaps completely for Apple Maps. They took a service that was heavily used and trusted and replaced it with something that wasn't up to scratch. Initially they should have given people the option of GMaps or AMaps until Apple was satisfied that AMaps was up to scratch. Just slapping a Beta logo on it would still have materially degraded the iOS experience for many users.
 
Why would I need notification of something that's been fixed... Why would you fix something that definitely ain't broken....as far as I'm concerned.. it just works.. and works frikkin well!!
 
I live in Sri Lanka. Whenever I try to get directions to some place, I get a message saying "A route to the destination from its nearest road cannot be determined"

I wonder when this is gonna be fixed?
 
dallardice said:
I think the other mistake that they made was dumping GMaps completely for Apple Maps. They took a service that was heavily used and trusted and replaced it with something that wasn't up to scratch. Initially they should have given people the option of GMaps or AMaps until Apple was satisfied that AMaps was up to scratch. Just slapping a Beta logo on it would still have materially degraded the iOS experience for many users.
Click to expand...

Good point.
 
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