Tim Cook Publishes Open Letter on Maps for iOS 6

[Mliii]

Cliffs notes: Our maps suck, use a competitor's product.

This pretty much sums it up...with a "We got ourselves in WAY over our heads and we didn't look at it closely enough before we released it" footnote.
What an embarrassment...

 

[Popinbottles]

Thats because you're deluded and don't live in anywhere of significance where street view and transit directions are a must. Nice try trollin' tho.

When I'm not happy with a product I just return it and get something that works. It's that simple.

 

[SoGood]

Good on Tim Cook for coming out with a response. I think that Apple has a fair and reasonable case for needing to build their own mapping product in order to provide greater features in the long run. Whilst Google can't provide the best-in-class UI on their Android system, Apple can't at this point provide the best mapping service. Given they are competitors, we just have to settle for a compromise on this one single function on the iPhone. Nothing to get too excited about it except for media's need to hype it and generate web page traffic.

That's all. Looking forward to iOS 6.1 and beyond.

 

[dgree03]

I think this was very "big" of Apple, jerks. All of you, sneering and chiding are pathetic.

It seems Apple is damned on both sides of every situation. Cook is acknowledging the problem and letting everyone know that they won't rest until the product is the best. Coming from any other company, I would say that it sounded hollow. Here, I actually believe the man.

I don't think people realize that your precious map program was 2 years behind what it was on Android. Google was intentionally keeping away features from all iOS users just to keep Apple users hobbled: No turn-by-turn directions or Vector map tiles. Those are big deals. People have been wanting turn-by-turn directions forever. And while most people don't have a clue about what vector is, every time they used their bitmapped MAPS app before iOS 6, they were looking at an inferior product from Google.

Apple HAD to break free from Google over this. Painful as it may be, they were doing it so that their customers would at least have the features they need, along with Flyover which is very cool for taking virtual tours. We have vector maps that look terrific and turn-by-turn, which I used and it got me where I needed to be. I've only put in one crowd source and that was because an address was off by about 30 feet.

They're not perfect yet, but people who are holding Apple to the standard of Absolute Perfection as in GOD, need to step back and realize that Apple deserves to be held to a high standard, but not a perfect one. No one is perfect. Can't we give Apple a little latitude? They are trying to make a product that is on their on timetable. One that they are not being held hostage over. And whether you know this or believe it,... they're doing it for you.

Use the maps app. If it's off, use the button to let Apple know how. If we all work with Apple, this will be a distant memory in no time and we'll have the app that the rest of the industry envies.

Maybe I am reading stories wrong but didn't google want to renegotiate with apple for the to use Google Maps with turn by turn? It seems it was apple who was unhappy with what google was asking for?

With all the money Apple has, why wouldn't they just pay google (or let them brand the app) just so the iOS user can have the best mapping application?

 

[apierrec]

Perhaps Cook suggested using Mapquest or Bing so people could see how crappy the alternatives are.

haha

Hey you, millions of map users, use those other map services which have been operating for a long time and it will just take seconds to find issues on them.

 

[Geckotek]

True. It will be missed and I doubt we will see anything similar in Apple Maps for a very long time, if ever. Downloadable Google Maps won't completely solve the problem either. Why? Because it's not the default map application.

Yeah, but for those rare occasions I need street view, it won't be too painful to open another app. I think the most important feature of a default map is directions.

 

[OllyW]

Not entirely true.
I can think of at least two examples where Steve wrote a letter of apology to the customers.

1) iPhone's launch: 2 months later they lowered the price by 200 bucks.
Steve gave back 100 in form of a gift card for the Apple Store.

2) iPhone 4's launch: Antennagate: Free bumpers if you found them to be necessary for your use case.


Glassed Silver:mac

3) MobileMe launch: 4 extra months free subscription because of all the problems in the first few weeks.

 

[CausticPuppy]

Steve would've never apologized for a product AND told us to use a competitors product. He probably would've pushed the team harder to work out the kinks before launch, too. Miss him

Apple doesn't lose any money if you use a "competing" product on the iPhone. You already bought the phone!

 

[i5pro]

How about saying passbook sucks too? Where's my starbucks card integration?

 

[26139]

Huh?

Don't know how "sincere" this apology really is, especially consdering Apple knew about the poor Maps app when iOS6 beta was released and people were complaining up and down.

Apple is just trying to wipe off the tremendous amount of egg from their face when it comes to this issue...but I think it's going to take more than an apology to fix this.

Like what? Did you stop buying Apple products because of this?

If not, then they've already apologized enough.

 

[dodoei]

Not entirely true.
I can think of at least two examples where Steve wrote a letter of apology to the customers.

1) iPhone's launch: 2 months later they lowered the price by 200 bucks.
Steve gave back 100 in form of a gift card for the Apple Store.

2) iPhone 4's launch: Antennagate: Free bumpers if you found them to be necessary for your use case.


Glassed Silver:mac

They never admitted the antenna problem, or did they?

 

[powrman811]

Maps has worked perfectly for me here in Orlando b

 

[kayloh20]

I think the only qualms I've ever had with Apple Maps are the locations of points of interest as well as routing. An actual address and the more famous points of interest work really, really well. It's a shame that they handed off transit routing to third party developers. I've never found a transit application which comes near in quality to Google's transit routing. Actually, most of the AppStore ones have very low ratings and are missing a lot of things (mainly because none of them are from the actual transit companies).

 

[dmelgar]

Believe it or not, millions of iPhone users don't care about turn-by-turn but depends on the accuracy of the maps themselves, the POI and public transport info.
Apple could have kept Google Maps as it was, without adding any feature, and developed simultaneously their own dedicated turn-by-turn app. Problem solved.

I don't get the issue. If that's all you need, use google maps website. Works fine.

Ios6 adds turn by turn and Siri integration it's awesome. I can say things like,
"Take me home",
"Navigate to best buy", etc. it's great.

 

[randomnut]

Well i'm glad that they are holding their hands up and admitting it's crap and they are going to work to get it up to scratch.

Ideally they need to just team with some up to date content providers. Reaslistically though given they are trying to map pretty much the entire planet i'm surprised they are that far along in the space of time they've had. No excuse for releasing a sub par app worse than the one it replaced though.

It's a shame its in such a state, as I think the software itself is brilliant. It seems so much better with its use of vector etc but its just let down by crap data (the most important bit...)

 

[26139]

No

Maybe I am reading stories wrong but didn't google want to renegotiate with apple for the to use Google Maps with turn by turn? It seems it was apple who was unhappy with what google was asking for?

With all the money Apple has, why wouldn't they just pay google (or let them brand the app) just so the iOS user can have the best mapping application?

No, turn by turn navigation via Google Apps isn't licensed for use outside Android devices.

 

[newyorksole]

How about saying passbook sucks too? Where's my starbucks card integration?

ummm why don't you ask Starbucks?.....

 

[Fishticks]

OPEN LETTER TO TIM COOK

Give us Google Maps App back.
I PAYED for that when I bought my iPhone 3G, my iphone 3GS and my iPhone 4S: Google Maps was advertised by Apple, on Apple ads and Websites, and everywhere, it is part of what I paid for.

I payed for it, I bought it, I own it.

Apple has no right to remove it from my devices with their update if I can't have it back on the Appstore.

Give it back. NOW.

Apple knows that 80+% of it's users will take anything apple gives them. They'll bitch and moan, come to a forum like this and puff out their chest. The iOS owners will claim it will get better, and maybe next year in iOS 7 it will be perfect (wishful thinking), ect ect, ect. But Apple know's your not gonna return your device.

What they don't know is whether I will buy the next device.
What they don't know is whether I will talk my friends and family into buying the next devices.
What they don't know is whether that many people (not just only fans anymore) will go on buying their devices when such huge defects appear.

Motorola failed. Nokia failed. Blackberry failed. Apple could be failing.
Live with it.

 

[powrman811]

How about saying passbook sucks too? Where's my starbucks card integration?

That's on Starbucks. Not Apple.

 

[CausticPuppy]

Jeeze, guys, I respect the man for actually posting this letter - something Steve Jobs would have never done. I've been a pretty harsh critic of Maps, and still will be after this letter, but I respect the man for admitting there's a problem.

Steve Jobs apologized for lowering the iPhone price by $200 only 2 months after launch:

http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/


He also apologized for Mobile Me:

http://ismashphone.com/2008/08/steve-jobs-admi.html

 

[GREEN4U]

Tim Cook is an idiot. He's about as sincere about this as he was about "doubling down on security." LMFAO.

 

[dgree03]

No, turn by turn navigation via Google Apps isn't licensed for use outside Android devices.

source?

It isnt CURRENTLY licensed for use, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be..

 

[Fishticks]

I donn get the issue. If that's all you need, use google maps website. Works fine.

Ios6 adds turn by turn and Siri integration it's awesome. I can say things like,
"Take me home",
"Navigate to best buy", etc. it's great.

Do you have the DUMB app, or is it native to your OS ?

 

[a0me]

"Iconic, beloved" doesn't do a company much good when that product is a huge flop.

Let me try to explain this again...
The Cube was a critical success BUT a commercial failure.
Apple Maps ISN'T a critical success.

 

[Shasterball]

Believe it or not, millions of iPhone users don't care about turn-by-turn but depends on the accuracy of the maps themselves, the POI and public transport info.
Apple could have kept Google Maps as it was, without adding any feature, and developed simultaneously their own dedicated turn-by-turn app. Problem solved.

I disagree. Just about every iPhone user I know bemoaned the fact that turn-by-turn was not available. Of course, they would rather have accurate maps without turn-by-turn as opposed to turn-by-turn but inaccurate ones. But that's an unremarkable proposition.