This New Yorker is pretty pissed about iOS 6 maps

[Quu]

I have iOS 6 installed on my iPhone 4S and I have to admit I preferred the Google Maps. Luckily for me I didn't use the maps much so it's not a problem for me but just in general I did prefer the Google version.

Also I noticed that Apples maps are quite laggy I'm sure they will fix this later on before release but right now it's not very smooth at all when loading in tiles. Google definitely had a more responsive service.

 

[Vundu]

Apple had to make or find an alternative to Google eventually with it being a stock app.

I am sure it will be great after time.

 

[chewietobbacca]

The troubling thing to me is that Apple, which has prided itself in creating the best overall user experience possible, has actually taken a step back in what seems like a petty squabble with Google and is now doing their own in-house map (which much fewer features) seemingly just to spite Google at the expense of the user

 

[Crzyrio]

The troubling thing to me is that Apple, which has prided itself in creating the best overall user experience possible, has actually taken a step back in what seems like a petty squabble with Google and is now doing their own in-house map (which much fewer features) seemingly just to spite Google at the expense of the user

It is still in beta stop complaining, do you know what the final product is going to be like? Have you seen the difference between beta 1 and beta 2 in maps? It is fairly significant

fewer features? To spite google?

Google was holding them back from providing iOS user a feature much more important that street view.

Turn by turn navigation is a win over street view any day. Not to mention 3D maps, which I don't see available on any other device.

 

[MozMan68]

....and by almost all reviews, it seems Apple's turn by turn has jumped ahead of all others visually. I haven't personally tried it, but the videos show it to be the most clear and functional. Have seen on any current phone.

 

[Tinmania]

....and by almost all reviews, it seems Apple's turn by turn has jumped ahead of all others visually. I haven't personally tried it, but the videos show it to be the most clear and functional. Have seen on any current phone.

You are right: it's now my favorite navigation app, and I paid for several others, including navigon.

But I don't need transit directions, which is what this thread/rant was about. Even that is too early to judge. The solution we see in the final product might very well be a good one.




Michael

 

[MonkeySee....]

....and by almost all reviews, it seems Apple's turn by turn has jumped ahead of all others visually. I haven't personally tried it, but the videos show it to be the most clear and functional. Have seen on any current phone.

Its very clean indeed. Simple and nothing gets in the way. It hasn't got a lot of options at the moment e.g TomToms official app but its not needed.

Its a joy to use.

 

[solarguy17]

Having been to NYC a couple of times since I had an iPhone the transit directions in the google maps app would have been awesome to use. But I didn't remember they existed becuase I don't use them in my home town. Instead I download a map of the sub way system and while that kind of sucked, it didn't work. Since I dont use public transit, I much prefer turn by turn and am looking forward to apple maps. And so with the majority of the users. Some will miss transit but for the mos part, most users won't notice.

 

[Brazuca]

In NY, IMHO, transit apps all suck right now. Including Google. There are some flashes of brilliance, but I keep getting bad directions. Not bad as in "wrong way", but rather "why should I walk 8 blocks to a bus stop if there is one 1 block away?" bad. [looking at google maps]

I'm hoping that at the very least, the new Apple solution will jump start some great 3rd party apps (Hopstop is ugly and also gives stupid directions).

 

[Amnesia87]

So, has there been any update on this? Are there ANY viable alternatives?

I just recently moved out to the Seattle area from out of state and left my car behind so I've been using the Public Transit function all the time.

I hope Google launches their official app so I can test it out and see how it works before I consider upgrading.

This is definitely pushing me to consider the Nokia 920 more and more since Nokia's Transit Directions seem to work pretty well.

 

[MBHockey]

i have been using iTrans NYC for years to get around the city. I had been using Maps a little more in the last year, but it looks like i'll have to switch back to using iTrans NYC more when i'm going to less familiar places.

 

[qwimjim]

thats it, the fanboys are officially insane. apple is removing legitimate functions from an app, there is debate on this, it SUCKS. whether you use those features or not is irrelevant. i love apple products and own 7 of them, and i have no use for public transport routing so i don't care about the missing features, but i also realize that it SUCKS for people that use those features on a daily basis.

its amazing how some people will do anything to justify and rationalize what apple does, even when there is an undeniable issue. its scary, because these same people get to vote! get your heads checked, its messed up.

 

[lamadude]

I use the public transport features in maps every day, I updated my iphone 4s to 6.0, love the OS but there is really no alternative to the public transport features, sure the web app works if you only need it once or twice, but i used this function 10 times a day...

 

[vbtwo31984]

Yes, it does suck, but as a New Yorker, I can pretty much get around without needing directions. If I'm going somewhere where I've never been, then I just get directions before going there and don't really need them while I'm travelling.

This will totally suck for any tourists coming to NYC, as they are already totally lost and having door to door transit directions is a great feature.

This will also suck for me when I go to some other city that has transit. I used Google transit directions before, but now it's gone. It was nice having transit directions in many cities in the world without downloading separate apps for their maps (especially since many transit maps throughout the world are not geographic at all and it's really hard to figure out how to get somewhere using them without knowing exactly which stop you need).

Hope Google will make a standalone maps app that will restore all these features. As it is, I'll not be using the Apple maps much.

 

[randymac88]

I live in NYC and agree, this will be a downgrade. But, I rarely used transit on my iPhone anyway as I know the city like the back of my hand by now.

One thing I did think was super cool on my old Android phone with the Google implementation was the bike lane maps. Talk about awesome and helpful.

All that said, I have faith that Apple isn't going to half-ass this one. They've got to start somewhere and mapping is clearly a HUGE feature that will forever be needed.

 

[CAWjr]

I never even knew about the transit function until I saw this thread. I tried it & it does not work in my area. I tried it in a few other cities I frequent, and it is not available there either. That leads me to believe that this integration is pretty limited to cities with a large public transit footprint & not cities where cars are the preferred method of transit.

For me, this is no loss at all because it is a useless feature when not integrated in any cities I go to. But for those that use it on a regular basis, I get your pain & angst, but you have to realize that this decision was made for all devices globally. It's hard to say that it is a huge loss when it only impacts a single digit percentage of your customer base.

 

[0970373]

As a fellow resident of NYC, +1 on the removal of Google Maps being a bummer. I use it all the time. I have the iTrans app and it's great for service alerts but the city map isn't as good. So until we see what the new maps app can do and people start building on it, I guess I'll add a bookmark to my home screen to the web version of Google Maps. Close as you're going to get for now.

Who knows, in some time, the new maps app will prob be great.

 

[ericrwalker]

Not sure why everyone is so mad about google maps going away. Let me show you how to "install" google maps and use public transportation.


Now was that so hard? Now you have Apple(TomTom) Maps and Google Maps.

 

[l.w41sh]

The elimination of mass transit and street view is confirmed. Don't tell me to quit crying when I'm legitimately pissed off about Apple taking away crucial features from me.

Anyone who thinks iOS 6's maps app is an acceptable replacement for the old one is caught up in the reality distortion field. Please... flyover view isn't something people are going to use after a week of playing around with it, if that.

How are we all feeling about maps now?
I have been using Maps since beta 1 and I still use Flyover...

 

[h00ligan]

I have zero doubt google maps will arrive shortly for iOS.

 

[cjmillsnun]

I have zero doubt google maps will arrive shortly for iOS.

I bloody hope so.

I've installed G Maps as a webapp for now, but as soon as google release it natively I'll install.

Apple maps suck. The aerial imagery for my area is pixellated rubbish.

 

[Jjaro]

You expect in 3(-ish) months they'll have added public transport data for around the world (and all the other missing features)? Big bet! It will take years for Apple maps to catch up to Google. We must expect an inferior product for some time, while Apple builds its map database. That's the nature of the beast.

I completely agree 100%. I live in Japan, and thank god I've ONLY updated my iPad to iOS 6, because the new maps app amount of data is garbage compared to Google maps. I will probably wait a little while to update (not only because I'm switching carriers; SoftBank is true garbage), but for Apple to get their **** together. Hopefully Google releases their own maps app soon. They've already released the YouTube app so I expect it to drop relatively soon.

 

[h00ligan]

Are you sure there's no metro info. I will check again because I thought I saw it in there.

I lived on 70th for years so I'll check that area


It looks like its trying to dl an app.....

 

[peglegjack]

Living in Brooklyn, this is a complete and total dealbreaker for me. It's not that I can't get around NY; of course I can. The problem, like many others have said, is the desire to have the shortest possible route to your destination so you're not sitting at a bus stop or subway for 15-20 minutes. Honestly, if you're not knowledgeable to the OP's needs, then you shouldn't even bother contributing to this thread unless you can present a solution. Because I've read the whole thing and I really don't want to hear it.

And no the Google web app is an ugly unintuitive mess that is a significant step back as far as ease of use. It may work if you need it, but there goes the integration with iOS since it's not a native app.

I'm not eligible for a new phone until next June, because if I was then I would seriously consider Android right now even though I love the iOS ecosystem/integration, which is something I NEVER thought I'd say. Until then I suppose iOS5 will have to be good enough for me.

 

[MozMan68]

Living in Brooklyn, this is a complete and total dealbreaker for me. It's not that I can't get around NY; of course I can. The problem, like many others have said, is the desire to have the shortest possible route to your destination so you're not sitting at a bus stop or subway for 15-20 minutes. Honestly, if you're not knowledgeable to the OP's needs, then you shouldn't even bother contributing to this thread unless you can present a solution. Because I've read the whole thing and I really don't want to hear it.

And no the Google web app is an ugly unintuitive mess that is a significant step back as far as ease of use. It may work if you need it, but there goes the integration with iOS since it's not a native app.

I'm not eligible for a new phone until next June, because if I was then I would seriously consider Android right now even though I love the iOS ecosystem/integration, which is something I NEVER thought I'd say. Until then I suppose iOS5 will have to be good enough for me.

So...I'm assuming you read the multiple posts in this thread or listened to the keynote address where they stated that transit through much better third party apps will be available and synced with Apple Maps?