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waze_icon.jpg
On Monday, Waze CEO Noam Bardin took the stage at AllThingsD's Dive Into Mobile conference and talked (via Mashable) about how his company didn't think Apple Maps would be "that good" but that it underestimated consumer reaction to Apple's service.

The social turn-by-turn navigation company had assumed that Apple Maps would be good enough for consumers, Bardin said, but this assumption led to the company being surprised by the negative reaction many users had to Apple Maps when they rolled out as part of iOS 6.

That reaction led to an open letter from Apple CEO Tim Cook in which he acknowledged the issues with Apple's Maps app and promised to improve the product while also recommending a number of alternatives, including Waze, while Apple worked to bring its maps to an acceptable standard.

According to Engadget, Bardin said that consumers are rapidly acquiring certain expectations when it comes to services such as maps, expectations that are not necessarily easily met.
Consumers now have a quality bar, and that bar is going up rapidly. Two years ago, Apple's Maps app on iOS 6 would've been a fine product.
Bardin went on to say (via VentureBeat) that with the quality bar continually being raised, companies will have to pour more and more money into mapping to match the quality consumers desire. Unsurprisingly, Bardin notes that Google is the one setting that standard.
"Google is out there creating a standard of quality," Bardin said. "We feel like we're the only real competition. Rumors say it is $1 billion to $2 billion spent by Google a year."
waze_bardin_dive_into_mobile.jpg
Waze CEO Noam Bardin at Dive Into Mobile (Source: Engadget)
Bardin does feel that Apple Maps is getting better with time, but that Apple is being handicapped by its vendors. TomTom provides much of the data for Apple Maps, and Bardin noted that TomTom cannot put as many resources into its mapping service as Google can.

In early January, it was rumored that Apple was in talks to acquire Waze, but it was later reported that there was no deal in sight. Engadget notes that the CEO dodged questions of potential acquisitions while VentureBeat says that Bardin wouldn't confirm whether Waze supplies Apple with data on improving Apple Maps.

Article Link: Consumer Backlash Against Apple Maps Surprised Waze CEO
 
At this point I prefer Apple's Maps to Google's on the iPhone. I didn't at first because Apple couldn't keep ahold of my position at all when I was driving. But that has been fixed and I prefer the look and the iOS integration.
 
In a couple of years, Apple maps will be the gold standard. And Waze will be irrelevant.
 
I prefer using Apple Maps now. At first I hated it but now it's fine. Though when I ride the subways I still need to use Google's maps.

TomTom may not be able to pump as much money into their mapping as Google can, but who says that Apple isn't pumping money into TomTom? I don't think something like this would be a first time thing.
 
For me the issue with Apple Maps is twofold:

- Data is still lacking and inaccurate in my area.

- For a given level of zoom, it doesn't offer me near the wealth of information Google's app gives me. It's frustrating having to zoom in so close to see everything.

If Apple wanted to do Maps better than Google, why would they handicap themselves by relying on TomTom for data? Surely they must know the time and resources Google puts into their own product. If this was a "stop-gap" effort for transition purposes, they sure missed the mark.

The other issue Maps faces is its built-in reputation for not being good. Once an app starts out bad, it gets branded as such, and it's nearly impossible to convince people it's no longer bad through small background updates.
 
Apple Maps seems to be getting better every time I open it. I still use Google Maps as my main maps app on my iPhone for transit directions and street view, but Apple is certainly doing a good job improving it. I can see it being my main maps app after some of the missing features have been added :eek:
 
In a couple of years, Apple maps will be the gold standard. And Waze will be irrelevant.

Waze already does many things better than Google Maps. (Like live reroutes when a traffic jam suddenly appears ahead of your route, and warning of police).
 
This dude's statement sounds quite self-serving to me. It looks like he is talking up the difficulty with maps thereby talking up Waze. That can be good for Waze so I do not blame him, he is doing his job. But saying he is the only competition out there to Google is just non sense.
 
Two years ago, Apple's Maps app on iOS 6 would've been a fine product

With 11 year outdated info? POIs up to 1 km (about half a mile, whatever) inaccurate? Ridiculous satellite imagery quality?

No. It wouldn't.
 
Apple map is better then google map in my situation. It always get me where I want to go without a hiccup. The user experience is so much better than google map. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones :-0
 
Users tend to exaggerate and Apple Maps are quite good, the app itself is awesome, the data is good imho. Probably it depends a lot from the area around you, i live in italy and i don't think it is high priority for apple maps team, anyway i used Apple Maps yesterday for work and i survived :)
 
For me he missed a vital point however good the maps there is no prospect of a 'street view' so Apple will remain minor league.
As to Apps my feeling is the original Google iOS was easier to use.
 
I'm starting to notice improvements. When I'm in the car, it's easier to use Apple Maps because I just call it from Siri: "Take me home" or "How do I get to ...?". It works flawlessly.

But I still have have a hard time trusting Apple Maps for time sensitive directions. If I need to get to a job and I have no time to recover from getting lost, I'll use Google Maps.

However, I've been surprised to find that Google sometimes gives me wrong directions too. Surprised because Google never gets the flack for being wrong, even though they sometimes are too. It once sent me all the way to the western suburbs of Toronto to get to a part of the city that's in the North-East. I asked Apple Maps for the same address and it gave me a more direct route.

I think that iOS7 will bring some UI improvements and by then, a lot of the glitches that were encountered upon its release will have been resolved. The big news I think will be if Apple announces a partnership with another maps data company... perhaps one more obsessive about pin point accuracy than Google: FourSquare.
 
Google Maps?

Apple Maps take me to my front door with google maps take me to a mile from door, google over played there accuracy I know loads of people who find google maps to be inaccurate. Not saying Apple maps are perfect but the media played it up.
Perhaps there maps are no more accurate than the medias reporting, at least Apple are improving their accuracy shame about the media.
 
With 11 year outdated info? POIs up to 1 km (about half a mile, whatever) inaccurate? Ridiculous satellite imagery quality?

No. It wouldn't.
Two years ago, Google Maps already had way better POIs, more accurate maps and better satellite imagery.
 
I consider Apple Maps to be superior to Google Maps in many ways. The app is a lot smoother and I vastly prefer the 3D controls in it to Google's street view. Being able to get a birds eye view is much more useful than a street level view - if I wanted one of those I could use my eyeballs and look around myself when I'm on the street.

Having said that, I downloaded Google Maps just because they have bus, subway, and other public transit routes that Apple Maps lacks so far. Hopefully we'll see them add that in soon.
 
I have used apple maps on occasion and I find it works fine for me. There is one issue that Erks me and that is voice directions. Sure I have a iPhone 4 but I'm going to use google maps eveytime purely for voice. It must be in apples best interest to try to build there map app reputation and offer this feature to older model devices.
 
I consider Apple Maps to be superior to Google Maps in many ways. The app is a lot smoother and I vastly prefer the 3D controls in it to Google's street view. Being able to get a birds eye view is much more useful than a street level view - if I wanted one of those I could use my eyeballs and look around myself when I'm on the street.

Having said that, I downloaded Google Maps just because they have bus, subway, and other public transit routes that Apple Maps lacks so far. Hopefully we'll see them add that in soon.
Walk around on the street of your final destination. Can't find the exact building? StreetView on Google Maps. Flyover? Neat aesthetic feature, not much practicality.
 
It was the media bashing apple not the consumer !

It was also the consumer too.

--

I've tried giving Apple Maps another go but still not happy with it. POI are far too inaccurate - I've compared Navigon / Google Maps and Apple Maps. Apple maps is the worst, I just cannot trust it.

YMMV of course.
 
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