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Tim Cook Calls Apple Maps Launch His 'First Really Big Mistake' as CEO
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thistleknife
macrumors member
Does Maps still have that rotational design flaw when you try to use it. It is a total disaster with that.
WarmWinterHat
Suspended
dwaltwhit
Contributor
I'll be interested to see in a few more years if people start talking about how great TC was and that Ternus is terrible because ______.
Yep... I use Apple Maps a few times a week. Zero issues.
SactoGuy18
macrumors 603
What I vividly remember is many people here saying they would *immediately turn off and remove AI* as soon as it was released/downloaded on their iPhones. And now, all of a sudden, people are unhappy because it's not on their phones. Too funny.
macos9rules
macrumors 6502
Everyone makes mistakes. It’s through those mistakes that we learn and grow.
Spot-on. Many people here love publicly expressing their unhappiness with Apple. It's an empowering feel-good sort of thing.
And adding advertisements to maps will be his biggest last mistake.
Outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook has named the botched 2012 launch of Apple Maps as his "first really big mistake" in the role, according to a Bloomberg report covering the town hall meeting that was held Tuesday with his recently announced successor, John Ternus.
The Maps app launched with mislabeled landmarks, faulty directions, and a user experience that fell well short of Google Maps at the time. "The product wasn't ready, and we thought it was because we were testing more of local kind of stuff," Cook told staff.
Reflecting on the debacle, Cook said it was "valuable," noting that he expressed regret to users at the time and suggested they use competing navigation apps instead.
From the report:
The fallout led to the first major management shake-up of Cook's tenure, with software chief Scott Forstall – a close Steve Jobs collaborator – pushed out in the aftermath. (Fun fact: Forstall was recently invited back to Apple Park to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary.)
On the bright side, Cook singled out the Apple Watch and its expanding health features as the work he's most proud of. He recalled receiving his first note from a user whose life had been saved by the device. "It caused me to just stop in my steps," he said.
Cook conceded that his list of mistakes would be "extraordinary in length" (the never-released AirPower charging mat and Apple's abandoned car project would surely be high up there) but the CEO has successfully avoided the kind of product recalls and cancellations that have plagued other consumer device companies over the last 15 years.
Cook became CEO in August 2011 and hands over the reins to Ternus, currently chief of hardware engineering, on September 1, 2026.
Article Link: Tim Cook Calls Apple Maps Launch His 'First Really Big Mistake' as CEO
rp2011
macrumors 68040
Wow. After reading this I like Tim even more. Admitting making mistakes is HUGE in my book. And this line in regards to the never released Apple Car is admirable as well. " but the CEO has successfully avoided the kind of product recalls and cancellations that have plagued other consumer device companies over the last 15 years." They missed a bullet by not getting in the car business.
You're making a lot of assumptions. Not everyone is against AI (obviously), and whether you want it or not does not negate the fact that it *was* a big selling point for iPhone 16 series. No one can say Apple Intelligence wasn't a huge part (and still is) of Apple's road map.
A smart move, especially as a 115% tariff on all cars manufactured in China was imposed by the US government in early 2025 just a few months before Apple decided to not go forward with their car.
Of course not everyone. But many people here. It was kind of a competition on who could be the most vociferous about removing it (AI).
Many people here don't realize there are some/small elements of AI already baked into their iPhones. Searching for photos that meet certain criteria in your iPhone's photo library is an example. And it works quite well.
SnowCrocodile
macrumors 6502a
I find Apple Maps perfectly fine now, and have been using it exclusively for several years now.
Sometimes it does have an issue with a specific address - but so does Google Maps, on other occasions.
A big problem I had with GM is that lots of time it loses its orientation when the car stops or slows down, and the view just starts slowly spinning.
The last time that happened, I was trying to exit a hotel parking lot into a busy street in a city I was completely unfamiliar with. I was sitting at the end of service road waiting for a break in traffic, and did not know whether I was supposed to turn right or left because Google Maps didn’t either. Naturally I turned the wrong way and lost 7 minutes.
In the same place and on the same day, Apple Maps routed me to the right business address but a wrong side of the street. To get to the correct side I had to find a spot to cross the interstate.
This happens very rarely now. At least while driving in the US or Canada.
A big plus of AM is the interface. It’s a lot cleaner and just more pleasant to look at than GM. I especially despise the way GM displays traffic lights. Would it kill them to make the icons larger?
I think Cook was fine, many nice products during the years and the hardware is better than ever. But if Forstall was booted due to Maps problems because it was being too local, then Federighi’s solution is no better. The list of features or services being delayed by years or never released at all outside US is very long.
Kriss_De_Valnor
macrumors regular
At least he can admit he made a mistake. The only one man who doesn't make mistakes is the one who does nothing.
"Now we've got the best map app on the planet."
lol lies
Google is still the best. Apple Maps is still trash.
lol lies
Google is still the best. Apple Maps is still trash.
I did like the old skeuomorphic design far better than what we have now.
tennisproha
macrumors 68020
Apple Maps definitely had a great turnaround. It still needs better data and the rating system sucks, but the UI and navigation is beautiful.