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Apple's Maps App Directs Alaska Drivers onto Airport Taxiway
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Both Apple and Google maps are loaded with errors, it all depends on your location. While yes I will say Apple maps had more general errors, Google maps in my location isn't even close to perfect.
Google Maps satellite imagery is AT LEAST 4 years behind in my area. It's missing some pretty important roads that opened about 4 years ago. While Apple Maps has them and gives me directions to actually use them!
Also never forget a year ago when I first moved to this new town for college I searched for directions to the local Walmart. It gave me directions to a Walmart that was literally all the way across the country (like 12 hours away it said).
It's Apple so of course it's going to be made public when errors like this pop up. Yes Apple maps is filled with more errors in general but lets not act like Google Maps is perfect. It varies by location. Google maps never seems to update around my location and I am even in a very urban area.
Google Maps satellite imagery is AT LEAST 4 years behind in my area. It's missing some pretty important roads that opened about 4 years ago. While Apple Maps has them and gives me directions to actually use them!
Also never forget a year ago when I first moved to this new town for college I searched for directions to the local Walmart. It gave me directions to a Walmart that was literally all the way across the country (like 12 hours away it said).
It's Apple so of course it's going to be made public when errors like this pop up. Yes Apple maps is filled with more errors in general but lets not act like Google Maps is perfect. It varies by location. Google maps never seems to update around my location and I am even in a very urban area.
The airport's chief of operations, Melissa Osborn, needs to be fired if people can just drive across the runway. And airport security is a joke. Its remarkable how many people here aren't alarmed by the security lapses but demand blood from Apple for giving inaccurate directions to stupid people.
Apple should really just hire someone to drive around using Google Maps for 40 hours a week and write press releases when he/she finds something wrong. Good grief, it's as if some people haven't used a GPS that will tell you to make 18 U-turns instead of taking the next left in 100 feet. It's software mapping the country (and others). It's going to have errors.
Services are the future, and Apple has no choice but to join the game or be marginalised over the years. They are in a fortunate position to be able to push through their endeavours based on their install base and popularity. They just simply cannot fack it up too many times or people will rebel.
It's interesting they didn't move sooner with how phenomenally successful iTunes has been.
Waiting for the inevitable Apple Search (tm) and Apple Social.
It's interesting they didn't move sooner with how phenomenally successful iTunes has been.
Waiting for the inevitable Apple Search (tm) and Apple Social.
Don't try to excuse the inexcusable. Apple Maps very obviously sucks and seems to be one of the worst navigational systems on the planet, if not THE worst. The folks at Apple just get what they deserve for their arrogance -- when you always claim to be the best that there is, then you should live up to expectations or be ready to take the flak.
That being said, they could have licensed Google Maps, or Navigon, or, or, or. But no, they had to reinvent the wheel and found out the hard way that they were not up to the task. It's one thing to design nice looking user interfaces for rather simple tasks. Shipping mapping solutions is a different ball game.
Maps is not the only thing Apple sucks at. In case you haven't noticed, they are also no longer selling server hardware and server software and they don't even know what mission critical business software looks like.
While Apple cannot be blamed for the stupidity of some of its customers (who drove across a landing runway or whatever), they still have to accept responsibility for the gigantic failure that Apple Maps is. They should have dumped it a long time ago and replaced it with something that actually works. There are enough better alternatives on the market - only their egos are in the way of providing their customers with a reliable solution.
Why? Apple did a smart thing by cutting Google out of the base operating system. Before, Apple paid Google for substandard services (Youtube, Maps), now Apple has forced Google to improve their services on iOS, and forced them to pay for the privilege bringing apps to iOS.
In the end, the enduser still gets Google Maps for free.
Navigation systems give a suggested route based on their (mostly 3rd party sourced) knowledge of roads and rights of way - but as the driver you still have to use a bit of sense when the sat nav directions are obviously wrong. Roads change and it takes time for the data to filter back up through the various agencies and into the data that Apple (or the other sat nav makers) use.
I'm not saying Apple are blameless here, but that blame needs to be spread around a bit to the data providers. Apple are also far from the only people with mapping errors.
There are at least a dozen or so reports every year here in the UK (and that is just the ones that make the news) of wuckfits blindly obeying their sat navs and driving onto railway lines or into rivers and this was happening well before apple maps so I'm putting this down to basic stupidity of the drivers not paying attention to their surroundings.
"Why did you turn left and start driving up the railway tracks?"
"My satnav said to"
"I'm charging you with driving without due care and attention... licence please."
These people who followed blindly need to take some responsibility too.
I'm not saying Apple are blameless here, but that blame needs to be spread around a bit to the data providers. Apple are also far from the only people with mapping errors.
There are at least a dozen or so reports every year here in the UK (and that is just the ones that make the news) of wuckfits blindly obeying their sat navs and driving onto railway lines or into rivers and this was happening well before apple maps so I'm putting this down to basic stupidity of the drivers not paying attention to their surroundings.
"Why did you turn left and start driving up the railway tracks?"
"My satnav said to"
"I'm charging you with driving without due care and attention... licence please."
These people who followed blindly need to take some responsibility too.
There's a little difference between having a two-way street marked as a one-way and routing people onto an active airfield.
Google was prepared to offer turn-by-turn to Apple, at a price of course. Problem was that Apple wanted it for free.
As an Apple customer I couldn't care less about what data providers Apple employ. I bought the service from Apple, no one else, so as far as I'm concerned Apple is the entity that has failed in delivering on it's promise to me, the customer.
I've never once been tempted to download Google Maps. Apple Maps works great everywhere I've been. Maybe if you live in the middle of nowhere (Alaska) you might have the occasional error, but here in civilization the maps work just fine.
Since when did people stop using common sense when they were driving, or stop checking their directions before they took off on a trip?
I'm not a lawyer, but I'm not convinced that either Apple, or a lost driver would be 100% scott-free, if push came to shove. I'm pretty sure that as a provider of the info, Apple has the legal responsibility to ensure the data they provide is reasonably accurate, without glaring or potentially life-threatening errors, just as the person driving the car would be expected to be vigilant about his surroundings. Ignorance has never been a lawful excuse.
No fence? No gates? Last time I drove onto a runway they not only had to open several gates, I had to wait for one of those "follow me" trucks to show me the way.
An open run- and taxi way sounds like a great way to attract evil, evil terrorists who can suicide-drive into starting planes...
An open run- and taxi way sounds like a great way to attract evil, evil terrorists who can suicide-drive into starting planes...
People are deluded if they give Apple a pass during this latest snafu. During the past year I've been on Microsoft, Blackberry and android. All their map apps are just ok but it gave correct information. I just returned to the iPhone 5s and the Map app is so inconsistent and unreliable.
Apple's first party apps are horrible compared to what you can get on the App Store. They really need to buckle down and get serious.
Apple's first party apps are horrible compared to what you can get on the App Store. They really need to buckle down and get serious.
If Apple had stuck with Google, we'd still have no turn-by-turn on our iPhones. I'm much happier the way things turned out. Apple Maps work great for me, and if they don't work great for you, Google was forced to release their own app which includes all the features they refused to give before.
