While Apple will probably fix the location of Mildura in the next week or so, this is one serious error in Apple Maps. There are many many more still there. Maps has taught Apple that what Google does, collection and organisation of massive amounts of data, is hard and not something that can be done over night, Google has spent years and Maps including Thousand of hours of physically driving the roads.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Australian Police Warn Against Use of Apple Maps Due to Safety Concerns
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
In Zurich I was looking for a cafe and found one that, when I expanded the info, turned out to be a lawyer's office - it didn't matter, because the POI icon placed it in the river Limmat anyway. That one did get removed - perhaps because it was lawyer's office...
... no maps app on this planet is idiot proof.
Good map + idiot is not so bad most of the time, same for bad map + common sense.
It's the combination bad map + idiot that is lethal.
You do realize that there are these things called PHONE CHARGERS that can be plugged into cars nowadays???
And perhaps these "adventurers" weren't EXPECTING to be heading into the WILDERNESS when they thought they were following driving instructions toward a CITY.
But yes, you're right, anyone putting faith in Apple Maps nowadays after all the public warnings and all the negative publicity is an UTTER FOOL. Not to mention it only takes less than 5 minutes using Apple Maps in a moving car to know it's absolute RUBBISH.
Whoops - I have to say I did forget about chargers...
I'll get my coat...
TL;DR
This is a forum for posting COMMENTS, not for publishing essays!
----------
I love Apple, I love Apple's products and I will continue buying them, but still I have to admit that Apple Maps are plain useless and complete crap. The TECHNICAL basis (like using vectors etc.) may be superior to the previous Google Maps, also they really do look very beautiful, but beyond that, they are crap. Period. In the last few weeks I've travelled to London, Edinburgh, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Lake Constance and Lisbon using Apple Maps, and they SUCK. The POI data is useless, sorry, there's no excuse. I did only very rarely find any location that I was looking for, where Google Maps most of the time provided me with the correct information.
In my own hometown (Cologne, Germany that is) I've provided at least 20 corrections for PLAIN WRONG POIs in my neighborhood MONTHS ago when iOS 6 came out, and NOT A SINGLE ONE has been fixed yet. I've also submitted a few corrections to Google Maps in the last few years, and each one of them had been fixed within a week or so.
While the corrections in Google Maps I've provided had been fairly simple, like a slightly misspelled name, a location pin on the wrong side of the street etc., the corrections for Apple Maps have been for POIs which are just plain wrong. There have been places that haven't been there for DECADES, there are places that have NEVER been there, and there are locations which are just labeled totally wrong or in a location WAY of their real locations. It really is a desaster!
Yes. Yes they most certainly are. I said as soon as the issues with Apple Maps began to emerge that Apple would only focus on fixing the experience Americans have at first, with Australia being an afterthought. And now it's come back to bite them. They should just throw in the towel and licence Google Maps again, Apple Maps are so far behind here it'll be years before they're even remotely close to being on par.
Simple fix to this problem
Posting this here as I think Apple might read this forum!
It is constructive criticism that would eliminate the problem in a matter of days. Most comments here are throw away 1 liners - I am actually trying to help.
I really wish Apple would fix this problem, it is very simple one they have produced on a system wide level across Australia.
OK here it is and through this ONE (1) simple change this would not have occurred. In Australia there are municipal Councils (much as as there are Counties in the USA), these are NOT the same as cities/towns and should NOT be represented as such.
In many cases this in harmless, for example I live a suburb of Melbourne called "Northcote" which is not displayed as location in Maps there is not a "dot" (but you can find it if your search for it). However Darebin shown as a "dot". Darebin is NOT a place it is a municipal council which Northcote is part. I should not be able to type in Darebin and find a location. There is not place Darebin just a collection of suburbs that make up Darebin.
So get rid of all the council "dots" and any reference to finding them, they are of no use. Unless you want to know in which council you should vote!
Where this issue becomes a big deal is the following:
When a town/city have the same name as the Council! So the town of Mildura is in the "Mildura Rural City Council". Again the Council does not exist in any real sense, but a "dot" is placed in the middle of the council which comes up as "Mildura".
So if you didn't make any reference to the Council this problem that was referred to in this article would not have happened at ALL!
So, STEP 1 Apple: Remove all references to Council, STEP 2 do this for all Councils across Australia. Make sure towns/cities are the listed as "dots" - Problem solved!
I will take 1 hour of Scott Forstall's salary as compensation.
Thanks in advance!
Posting this here as I think Apple might read this forum!
It is constructive criticism that would eliminate the problem in a matter of days. Most comments here are throw away 1 liners - I am actually trying to help.
I really wish Apple would fix this problem, it is very simple one they have produced on a system wide level across Australia.
OK here it is and through this ONE (1) simple change this would not have occurred. In Australia there are municipal Councils (much as as there are Counties in the USA), these are NOT the same as cities/towns and should NOT be represented as such.
In many cases this in harmless, for example I live a suburb of Melbourne called "Northcote" which is not displayed as location in Maps there is not a "dot" (but you can find it if your search for it). However Darebin shown as a "dot". Darebin is NOT a place it is a municipal council which Northcote is part. I should not be able to type in Darebin and find a location. There is not place Darebin just a collection of suburbs that make up Darebin.
So get rid of all the council "dots" and any reference to finding them, they are of no use. Unless you want to know in which council you should vote!
Where this issue becomes a big deal is the following:
When a town/city have the same name as the Council! So the town of Mildura is in the "Mildura Rural City Council". Again the Council does not exist in any real sense, but a "dot" is placed in the middle of the council which comes up as "Mildura".
So if you didn't make any reference to the Council this problem that was referred to in this article would not have happened at ALL!
So, STEP 1 Apple: Remove all references to Council, STEP 2 do this for all Councils across Australia. Make sure towns/cities are the listed as "dots" - Problem solved!
I will take 1 hour of Scott Forstall's salary as compensation.
Thanks in advance!
the data is provided by Tom Tom right? I have never heard of Tom Tom not being accurate so I don't understand why apple maps is having issues.
Majority of people who buy an iPhone expect the "touted turn by turn navigation" to actually work.
It's their first touted built in app in the iphone 5
http://www.apple.com/ca/iphone/built-in-apps/
Map app is a basic program on their front page, just like safari, contacts, mail, and camera apps. If they didn't work well out of the box I am sure you would be upset having to buy another app.
Don't release a map program that is full of holes (while removing one that works well), and expect people not to complain.
Last edited:
So for two months Apple has just let this issue sit after being informed by the police that it was an actual danger to human lives?
I think Cook's apology will have to be taken with a grain of salt then, if they were at all serious, this would have been fixed within a day or two.
I think Cook's apology will have to be taken with a grain of salt then, if they were at all serious, this would have been fixed within a day or two.
To be honest, there must be more to these stories than just faulty Apple Map directions.
1. Mildura is well known as being a regional centre, and on the river. I find it hard to believe anyone choosing to go there wouldn't at least know that. So clearly, it's not going to be along a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.
2. Being the regional centre it is, the highways there are well signposted, with lots of directions pointing to Mildura, no matter where you're coming from.
3. Compare the difference in the route Apple Maps takes to the wrong location from Melbourne, and the actual route. The wrong turn happens in the town of Ouyen, where Apple Maps has you turning left on the B12 instead of continuing straight on the A79. Now about 100m before that intersection is a sign *clearly* indicating Mildura is straight ahead.
Surely, Apple still has some obvious things that need fixing in Maps, but there must be other things at play here.
1. Mildura is well known as being a regional centre, and on the river. I find it hard to believe anyone choosing to go there wouldn't at least know that. So clearly, it's not going to be along a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.
2. Being the regional centre it is, the highways there are well signposted, with lots of directions pointing to Mildura, no matter where you're coming from.
3. Compare the difference in the route Apple Maps takes to the wrong location from Melbourne, and the actual route. The wrong turn happens in the town of Ouyen, where Apple Maps has you turning left on the B12 instead of continuing straight on the A79. Now about 100m before that intersection is a sign *clearly* indicating Mildura is straight ahead.
Surely, Apple still has some obvious things that need fixing in Maps, but there must be other things at play here.
Attachments
Interpreting is not supposed to be part of the experience. The common sense here is to never, under any circumstances, use Apple's Maps.
Alternate suggestion
I don't doubt all of the experiences people have had, but it just doesn't jive with mine, even after over 3000 miles of road trips. However, I rarely get directions to some vague center of a city and put in a more specific address for a destination. That works out to be true for Mildura as well if the location of a restaurant, hotel, golf course, etc. is used as a destination.
I don't doubt all of the experiences people have had, but it just doesn't jive with mine, even after over 3000 miles of road trips. However, I rarely get directions to some vague center of a city and put in a more specific address for a destination. That works out to be true for Mildura as well if the location of a restaurant, hotel, golf course, etc. is used as a destination.
Apple: We are replacing Google Maps with our own
Google: Please proceed Apple
Apple: Our Maps has voice navigation
Google: Go on Tim
Google: Please proceed Apple
Apple: Our Maps has voice navigation
Google: Go on Tim
Are you really going to continually spam the thread with the same post over and over?
Apple maps one of the reasons I decided to skip out on iphone 5. Its terrible. Im glad apple wanted to make their own maps. But the shouldnt have forced it on us.
I was recently in Morocco (where the iPhone is sold) and it was an unmitigated disaster trying to use maps. Awful in every possible way. If I wouldn't have brought an iPad with iOS 5 on it, I'd probably be dead right now. Somebody should be sued for this nonsense. It's not the least bit funny.
Apple partnered with the wrong map data company
Unfortunately, Apple decided to partner with Tom Tom. Tom Tom has to have the worst map data. I labeled my old Tom Tom a Dumb Dumb. I travel for business and use a GPS often. I have many stories from directions from my old Tom Tom. Some are hilarious and some are not funny at all. I wrote Tim Cook and no response (no surprise). I told him easy fix, dump Tom Tom data and use NavTeq. Buy the company, whatever you have to do to fix this. Waiting for the users to update maps is not the answer. Tom Tom has a site where users help them update the maps. I have submitted many corrections. Not one of my submissions have been corrected after two years of using the silly product. I am sure Apple may be a little more responsive but I am not holding my breath.
Unfortunately, Apple decided to partner with Tom Tom. Tom Tom has to have the worst map data. I labeled my old Tom Tom a Dumb Dumb. I travel for business and use a GPS often. I have many stories from directions from my old Tom Tom. Some are hilarious and some are not funny at all. I wrote Tim Cook and no response (no surprise). I told him easy fix, dump Tom Tom data and use NavTeq. Buy the company, whatever you have to do to fix this. Waiting for the users to update maps is not the answer. Tom Tom has a site where users help them update the maps. I have submitted many corrections. Not one of my submissions have been corrected after two years of using the silly product. I am sure Apple may be a little more responsive but I am not holding my breath.