Tim Cook Publishes Open Letter on Maps for iOS 6

[KnightWRX]

RunKeeper is an actual app on your actual iPhone? Really?

http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/runkeeper-track-gps-running/id300235330?mt=8

Yes. Why do you ask ?

See, the thing is that I don't buy that any of this matters with you personally. Whatever the issue du jour is, that becomes "your cause" on MR, like it's a sport or something for you.

See, that's where you have a mistaken impression of me. I have better things to do than take part in issues I don't care about or don't impact my own life.

On the other hand. Seems a sport to you to "track down" those people that criticize Apple and attack them personally instead of addressing their arguments. Maybe it's because you can't actually debate the issues, so you need to resort to ad hominems against the posters here. Do you enjoy the hostile environnement you're creating ?

 

[Joesmith13245]

http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/runkeeper-track-gps-running/id300235330?mt=8

Yes. Why do you ask ?




See, that's where you have a mistaken impression of me. I have better things to do than take part in issues I don't care about or don't impact my own life.

On the other hand. Seems a sport to you to "track down" those people that criticize Apple and attack them personally instead of addressing their arguments. Maybe it's because you can't actually debate the issues, so you need to resort to ad hominems against the posters here. Do you enjoy the hostile environnement you're creating ?

Guys, this is a public forum where all opinions count. I have read through this thread and for the most part I see some legitimate discsussion. There is no doubt that Apple has great products, and I can certainly see passion for these products through the defense in the response by some response. But there we some legit conerns with the maps functionality. I will admit I am not a frequent user of maps. But when I've tried to use it twice in a relatively populated aread(DFW) and received incorrect data I feel there is justification for the complaints.

JohnB.. Your passion for Apple products is second to none. But keep in mind that there are folks who show their passion in different ways. And when a specific function is inferior to a previous release the response can and will be diverse.

Reminder.. This is a technology forum. Lets make sure to keep the debate civilized and respectful.

Thanks.

(Forgive my spelling and grammar.. I am a bottle of wine deep)

 

[rsocal]

This is more than just Maps and needs to be a wakeup call to Apple to get their act together. Time for Tim to step up as CEO and shake things up. The problem is I do not see Tim as the type of CEO that would cut heads.. Ie Scott Forstall. Somehow I don't see Scott shaking at the knees when going into his office. Most will argue that since sales are booming all is fine. Keep in mind these sales(like most) are a direct result of the success of previously releases. So the real test will be when Apple releases their next iteration of the iPhone in 12-18 months.

I do agree under Steve Jobs Maps probably would have been more fine tuned, and If they did release it, Steve would have had the same type meeting they did when they first launched MobileMe and Steve asked if anyone new what it was suppose to do, of course a answer was given, Steve's reply "then why the **** doesn't it do it". I had MobileMe since its release now it's been merged with iCloud and it works great! The Apple Ecosystem is great! I love the ease of use and I'm sure Maps will get there! Give Tim Cook some time, how he responds to this will be a good test! They criticized S.J for not coming forward over the "Antennagate" and how secretive Apple is! Maps is no different then those and Tim Cook did what people wanted and now he gets hammered for that and letting Maps get released. Apple will always be Dammed if they do & Dammed if they don't! Ping was a flop and I didn't hear what I'm hearing about Maps!
It's very typical of anti Apple people to be very hypocritical and don't give me the Bull **** Apple is selling crap, they sell the highest quality products that no electronics company comes close! Their Customer Service is second to none!

I went to best buy today & played around with several phones, Galaxy S3 & the Note (don't have the slightest of what category they're going after with that Phablet) and the Droid Razor. Sorry but they don't come close to ease of use and the smooth UI and the screen clarity! While I was checking them out a husband & wife looking at getting a new phone (he had a 4S). They asked me what I thought of my iPhone 5 and then I let him play with my 5, he said the same thing it's superior all others! So off he went to Apple Store that of course was sold out for the day!
Apple is going to be a little different without Steve Jobs, but he also taught them a lot and in do time someone will step up with Tim cook and the great Sir Ive!!
I do miss Steve Jobs, a true legend and my one of my idles for more then just the great products he made come to life! It was how he ran the company and always wanted a great user experience. He changed the world for the better!
Let him RIP!

 

[dv8r]

I do agree under Steve Jobs Maps probably would have been more fine tuned, and If they did release it, Steve would have had the same type meeting they did when they first launched MobileMe and Steve asked if anyone new what it was suppose to do, of course a answer was given, Steve's reply "then why the **** doesn't it do it". I had MobileMe since its release now it's been merged with iCloud and it works great! The Apple Ecosystem is great! I love the ease of use and I'm sure Maps will get there! Give Tim Cook some time, how he responds to this will be a good test! They criticized S.J for not coming forward over the "Antennagate" and how secretive Apple is! Maps is no different then those and Tim Cook did what people wanted and now he gets hammered for that and letting Maps get released. Apple will always be Dammed if they do & Dammed if they don't! Ping was a flop and I didn't hear what I'm hearing about Maps!
It's very typical of anti Apple people to be very hypocritical and don't give me the Bull **** Apple is selling crap, they sell the highest quality products that no electronics company comes close! Their Customer Service is second to none!

I don't see that many people hammering Tim Cook for doing what he did - I think he did the right thing and he did it fast - it also look's like they have planned this because the marketing material for Maps/IOS was chaged and they added a category to the Appstore. The "heat" doesn't so much hit Tim Cook from what I see, but it's definitely started to be about Scott Forstall - and rightly so.

It can be argued that the quality has dropped with this release - depends on how much (or little) "credit" you want to give Apple. There have been issues with scratches on the black iPhone, some of the white ones seemed to be put together rather bad and there's been wildly different numbers for battery time, some very low. And then there's IOS - Siri in the 4S was disappointing and "she's" still being upgraded in a very slow pace, Maps is a terrible piece of software and Passbook can't do all the nice things they showed during the presentation... (yet?). This IS a problem - it's a lack of sufficient QA inside Apple. This is something that happened on Tom Cook's watch and this is something he should get under control, Apple get's enormous attention and every little detail comes under scrutiny - love it or hate it, that's just what's happening (try look for MicrosoftRumors, HPRumors or SamsungRumors).

 

[rsocal]

Guys, this is a public forum where all opinions count. I have read through this thread and for the most part I see some legitimate discsussion. There is no doubt that Apple has great products, and I can certainly see passion for these products through the defense in the response by some response. But there we some legit conerns with the maps functionality. I will admit I am not a frequent user of maps. But when I've tried to use it twice in a relatively populated aread(DFW) and received incorrect data I feel there is justification for the complaints.

JohnB.. Your passion for Apple products is second to none. But keep in mind that there are folks who show their passion in different ways. And when a specific function is inferior to a previous release the response can and will be diverse.

Reminder.. This is a technology forum. Lets make sure to keep the debate civilized and respectful.

Thanks.

(Forgive my spelling and grammar.. I am a bottle of wine deep)

This is the best thing I've read today, thank you for reminding us to remember why like this sight! I just have a hard time with Anti Apple people talking **** about Apple just to cause problems!

 

[Bensalama21]

OH LOOK! That's an AllThing D article and not an official statement...

Search MacRumors - in 2010 there was debate on Google adding turn-by-turn. So it may not be a little more complex than you think.

And why do you think they didn't? and more complex than I think? Maybe you should open your eyes and you wouldn't have to think so hard.

Why do you think google advertises turn by turn navigation in a lot of their commercials? Why do they list it as their main feature? Because the iPhone didn't have it.

 

[dv8r]

And why do you think they didn't? and more complex than I think? Maybe you should open your eyes and you wouldn't have to think so hard.

Let me see - because Google didn't write the app in IOS, Apple did. And maybe the relationship between Google and Apple was deteriorating and Apple said they wouldn't have it - at that time they had been accruing companies in the Maps game. So it's not "Google didn't add it" it's "Apple didn't add it".

But please "open my eyes" - you seem to be all knowing.

Why do you think google advertises turn by turn navigation in a lot of their commercials? Why do they list it as their main feature? Because the iPhone didn't have it.

The one I just looked up was the "around me" and the new indoors feature before the turn-by-turn, but I guess it varies - the US have turn-by-turn listed first.

 

[tonydickinson]

Sad

A big mistake was made here by Apple. What is beyond me is their internal quality control to let Google go for an App that is in progress. The suggestions that Apple maps should have been a beta would have been totally accepted by the majority of fanboys and the criticisms would have been part of the beta course.

It is incorrect to suggest that Steve Jobs would have done this differently as he is no longer around, and I agree that the "what would Steve have done" question should not be a consideration in 2012. However we know that Steve would have been very annoyed and fired one or two people whom he trusted to get it right.

Come on Apple I hope this is just a fluke and will not become the norm, you are concentrating too much on fighting others rather than focusing on what is important for the Apple image.

Congrats on the production improvement and reduced wait time for the iPhone 5 - but the Maps issue is an almost unforgivable faux pass, which should not have ever been an issue.

 

[Bensalama21]

Let me see - because Google didn't write the app in IOS, Apple did. And maybe the relationship between Google and Apple was deteriorating and Apple said they wouldn't have it - at that time they had been accruing companies in the Maps game. So it's not "Google didn't add it" it's "Apple didn't add it".

But please "open my eyes" - you seem to be all knowing.



The one I just looked up was the "around me" and the new indoors feature before the turn-by-turn, but I guess it varies - the US have turn-by-turn listed first.

True, Apple wrote the app, but in the contract, the specifically agree to everything that is added. Google didn't want Apple to have it as much as Apple didn't want to have anything a part of Google.

 

[I WAS the one]

I dunno. Have you used the Podcasts App yet?

I was a Instacast user and switch to Apple's Podcast app with no regret whatsoever. I think is weak on design level but in functionality is way superior

 

[rsocal]

Higher Standard

I don't see that many people hammering Tim Cook for doing what he did - I think he did the right thing and he did it fast - it also look's like they have planned this because the marketing material for Maps/IOS was chaged and they added a category to the Appstore. The "heat" doesn't so much hit Tim Cook from what I see, but it's definitely started to be about Scott Forstall - and rightly so.

It can be argued that the quality has dropped with this release - depends on how much (or little) "credit" you want to give Apple. There have been issues with scratches on the black iPhone, some of the white ones seemed to be put together rather bad and there's been wildly different numbers for battery time, some very low. And then there's IOS - Siri in the 4S was disappointing and "she's" still being upgraded in a very slow pace, Maps is a terrible piece of software and Passbook can't do all the nice things they showed during the presentation... (yet?). This IS a problem - it's a lack of sufficient QA inside Apple. This is something that happened on Tom Cook's watch and this is something he should get under control, Apple get's enormous attention and every little detail comes under scrutiny - love it or hate it, that's just what's happening (try look for MicrosoftRumors, HPRumors or SamsungRumors).

That's my point, Apple is always under such scrutiny and your exactly right you won't find other sights for any of the competition! Why is that? Maybe there is a true following for a truly great company!

As for scratches on the back of the iPhone is bull ****, people whined about the glass back breaking to easy on the 4S, now a few people scratched their phone and few white ones with leaking light. When you buy a car and you miss handle it and scratch the paint is it the car manufacturer and CEO to blame? if there is a problem it's handled under warranty and Apple has no problem replacing it! It's funny to me of all the iPhones I get every year (4) for me & my family and never have had the problems that I hear about after every iPhone release?
I have 4 of the new iPhone 5's and not one issue! They work great and Apple Maps have worked just fine, the Turn By Turn is great for everything I've used it for so far! This is the world we live in now, blame other people and there is never accountability! If you drop your phone and it scratches who's fault is that, the manufacture?
Give me a break people, don't buy it if it scratches to easy or if Apple giving you a new phone if it has any manufacturing issues?
It's ok to hold Apple to a higher standard because they are the higher standard!
No one comes close!!!

 

[Decorative]

I think that this was a very humble thing to do. In a way, it shows that Tim Cook can be as honest and upfront about issues in the same way as Steve once was (when he posted open letters about iPhone 4 "antennagate" and Adobe Flash on iOS).

Though I am a bit discouraged about the current Maps fiasco for so many iOS 6 users, I am still optimistic about Apple's ability to fix things fairly quickly. To be honest, I haven't experienced too many problems on my 3GS - perhaps, it is due to the fact that I live in a rather big city.

 

[kahkityoong]

Oh wow, "coming up" with a drug is easy! Maybe you should go to Pfizer or BMS and give them some ideas since their pipeline is so shallow. You can say "He blokes, here's a bloody molecule that cures 'diabeetus' and it don't get metabolized by any CYP450 enzymes and it's elimination is not affected by renal function. Go test it mateys!"

You would be rich mate! And by the time you retire, the geniuses at Apple might have caught up to Microsoft, Google, Mapquest, Tomtom, Garmin, and the many other companies who already managed to do maps as a side project.

gday matey!
lol

That must explain why my volume of MIMS is so thin. Because creating drugs is so difficult.

 

[marcusj0015]

Siri, now Maps, when will it end Apple? You're starting to look like Microsoft. releasing **** that takes years to correct.

 

[Oletros]

Yeah, I guess the old Google Maps that everyone remembers as being so great wasn't actually as good as they're making it out to be?

He is talking about the web app, not the iOS app

 

[Fishticks]

And why do you think they didn't? and more complex than I think? Maybe you should open your eyes and you wouldn't have to think so hard.

Why do you think google advertises turn by turn navigation in a lot of their commercials? Why do they list it as their main feature? Because the iPhone didn't have it.

And now they can even boast that the iPhone doesn't have a 2D map solution.

 

[Fishticks]

I've said it on twitter and I'll say it again: I have had better experience with Apple's new Maps app on iOS 6 / iPhone 5 in the last week than any other time using a GPS prior.

I am new to turn-by-turn directions, late to the party - yes, but I put it to good use in Maps on iOS 6, driving through DC and into MD and it felt like magic. Truly.

Maps on iOS 6 is one of my favorite new features.

That's my experience.

bp

The point is, we don't care about your experience.

 

[a0me]

Well, these are people who live in LA, SF, NYC (suburbs of), Chicago, and smaller towns in Ohio. So if by part of the world I live in you mean "United States," then, yeah, you are right.

And even though I assume that the US is still Apple's biggest market for iPhone, it's not even close to being 50% of iPhone global sales.
I've never seen an actual breakdown of iPhone sales by country, but if it's anything like this little chart for Apple's geographic revenue breakdown, Apple might want to give a bit more thought about the markets that generate 2/3 of their revenue.
(It's also worth noting that a country slightly smaller than California (Japan) brings Apple the equivalent of about 20% of their US revenues.)

Interestingly, these markets which generate 2/3 of Apple's revenue also seem to be markets for which maps with accurate public transport data (such as location of stations, etc...) is also very important as shown on this graph showing the numbers of passengers carried in rail transport per year (notice how the US isn't even in the chart).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_u...Passengers_carried_in_rail_transport_per_year

 

[iphoneclassic]

It will be interesting watch iPhone sales numbers in next set of 22 countries.

Hope Apple at least restart signing iOS 5.1.1 so that 90-100 Million older device users get a chance to downgrade.

 

[KnightWRX]

True, Apple wrote the app, but in the contract, the specifically agree to everything that is added. Google didn't want Apple to have it as much as Apple didn't want to have anything a part of Google.

Again, that's not true. Google would have let Apple have it, along with vector maps, in exchange for clear Google branding (so that people knew where it came from) and built-in Latitude (ie, forget Apple's Find My Friend, they would have had to use Google's broader service).

Apple didn't want that.

----------

It will be interesting watch iPhone sales numbers in next set of 22 countries.

Hope Apple at least restart signing iOS 5.1.1 so that 90-100 Million older device users get a chance to downgrade.

Maps isn't going to affect iPhone sales, just like the antenna thing didn't.

 

[gertruded]

I started using the new maps application and found that my home is marked in the wrong location. I did not need to go further, back to Google maps.

 

[Oletros]

It will be interesting watch iPhone sales numbers in next set of 22 countries.

In Spain with the economical crisis and Movistar and Vodafone not subsidizing smartphone like they did in the past they will be lower than the 4S.

But it has nothing to do with maps.

 

[Idefix]

The volume of publicity regarding the abysmal Maps is drowning out what should glowing publicity about the fast, new, shiny iPhone 5!

That's what this apology is all about! Damage control!

What should have been a glowing iPhone 5 introduction has been hijacked by Apple's ill-conceived feud with throwing out Google Maps.

Apple sticks foot in mouth, Tim Cook concedes that foot is still in mouth, and likely to be there for quite some time. Years???

 

[r.harris1]

The point is, we don't care about your experience.

You imply that the great "we" does care about yours. Interesting.

 

[entatlrg]

A big mistake was made here by Apple. What is beyond me is their internal quality control to let Google go for an App that is in progress. The suggestions that Apple maps should have been a beta would have been totally accepted by the majority of fanboys and the criticisms would have been part of the beta course.

It is incorrect to suggest that Steve Jobs would have done this differently as he is no longer around, and I agree that the "what would Steve have done" question should not be a consideration in 2012. However we know that Steve would have been very annoyed and fired one or two people whom he trusted to get it right.

Come on Apple I hope this is just a fluke and will not become the norm, you are concentrating too much on fighting others rather than focusing on what is important for the Apple image.

Congrats on the production improvement and reduced wait time for the iPhone 5 - but the Maps issue is an almost unforgivable faux pass, which should not have ever been an issue.

Sensible and well written.