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Wow. Apple Maps is a disaster.
- Thread starter b24pgg
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Maybe in your country. The rest of the world (including some of Apple's biggest markets) would beg to differ.
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Err... Try using the old Google Maps?
Seriously, sometimes it's like this thing reads my mind.
I know for a lot of users in London, the removal of the London Underground & National Rail logos where the stations are is a big no no and quite off putting
A lot of people use the Underground Station signs as plot points to navigate around the city and replacing them with that stock train symbol, which is not at all distinct until you zoom right in, is ridiculous and makes navigating and planning your route that much harder and frustrating
Bring back the Underground logos (accurate locations of stations and directions would be nice too...), if its good enough for Google, it's good enough for Apple
A lot of people use the Underground Station signs as plot points to navigate around the city and replacing them with that stock train symbol, which is not at all distinct until you zoom right in, is ridiculous and makes navigating and planning your route that much harder and frustrating
Bring back the Underground logos (accurate locations of stations and directions would be nice too...), if its good enough for Google, it's good enough for Apple
Mixed
Been using Apple maps on my new iPhone5 and iPad for a week now. Have taken about 3 business trips (all in the US). My thoughts are mixed.
Likes :
I like the look of the maps, and the APP itself. 3D is much more handy than I thought it would be. I like being able to spin the maps around. They scale and zoom better than google maps. So far, I have not had any accuracy problems.
Flyover view is cool, but pretty useless in reality (and slow).
Not so well :
Traffic updates are pretty horrible on Apple maps. I get very little information on traffic speeds. Google maps use of green/yellow/red lines was fantastic. It was uncanny accurate.
Apple maps are just sparse. Very few restaurants identified, when you are staring at 10-12 right in front on view.
Miss the building outline view.
Oh, and I miss street view. This is the biggest missing feature for me. I travel a lot and street view is invaluable for finding what a building looks like. Where the parking entrance is. Viewing complex intersections in advance to know exactly which lane I need to be in.
Summary : the app itself is pretty good. I like where apple is going with vector graphics for better scaling and performance. But apple maps is just sparse. I rarely use turn by turn, but what little I have used worked pretty well. I believe apple have to upgrade the backend maps sources. They should be able to do this on the fly, as the app probably doesn't need a lot of fixing. I just hope apple dedicates the resources and billions of dollars to get the map sources fixed.
So for now, I will use when I can. Will use google maps on the browser or mapquest at other times. Beat the traffic is pretty good for traffic flow. AND I will be eagerly awaiting google to release maps on IOS. Heck I'd even pay for it.
Been using Apple maps on my new iPhone5 and iPad for a week now. Have taken about 3 business trips (all in the US). My thoughts are mixed.
Likes :
I like the look of the maps, and the APP itself. 3D is much more handy than I thought it would be. I like being able to spin the maps around. They scale and zoom better than google maps. So far, I have not had any accuracy problems.
Flyover view is cool, but pretty useless in reality (and slow).
Not so well :
Traffic updates are pretty horrible on Apple maps. I get very little information on traffic speeds. Google maps use of green/yellow/red lines was fantastic. It was uncanny accurate.
Apple maps are just sparse. Very few restaurants identified, when you are staring at 10-12 right in front on view.
Miss the building outline view.
Oh, and I miss street view. This is the biggest missing feature for me. I travel a lot and street view is invaluable for finding what a building looks like. Where the parking entrance is. Viewing complex intersections in advance to know exactly which lane I need to be in.
Summary : the app itself is pretty good. I like where apple is going with vector graphics for better scaling and performance. But apple maps is just sparse. I rarely use turn by turn, but what little I have used worked pretty well. I believe apple have to upgrade the backend maps sources. They should be able to do this on the fly, as the app probably doesn't need a lot of fixing. I just hope apple dedicates the resources and billions of dollars to get the map sources fixed.
So for now, I will use when I can. Will use google maps on the browser or mapquest at other times. Beat the traffic is pretty good for traffic flow. AND I will be eagerly awaiting google to release maps on IOS. Heck I'd even pay for it.
Sure, so I suppose companies like Full Power / Motion X don't use the API's from other mapping companies. It's either Apple Maps or nothing
They don't use Apple Maps nor are any others forced to do so. They don't need to use Apple Maps for POI or routing either.that functionality of viewing those is still available via the use of your iPhone it's just not bundled into the OS. You can still use Google Maps free via the iPhone and get tons of other apps to add functionality via the App Store.
and my fathers 1973 Lincoln had automatically controlled bright lights yet his new one does not it's an option. foods used to contain real sugar now it's HFCS. Products change....
I'm not defending Apple. I'm pointing out the fact that just because Apple changed their maps doesn't mean 3P developers are not able to use other API's for mapping or POI's or Routing. Again, I clearly have noted here that I recognize the flaws in their maps that impact some areas more than others.
You're arguing that the functionality didn't change, but admit that it's no longer bundled into the OS and that you have to use other apps to get the same functions. That would constitute as a change to most people.
It'd be closer an example if your father brought in his Lincoln to be serviced, had that feature when he arrived and somehow lost it before he left.
My iPhone 4S is the same product it was a few weeks ago. That didn't change. It's available functions did.
Yes, you are... and a 100+ pages later you continue to troll anyone who has a legit problem with the new maps and somehow try to word it as if it's their fault and not Apple's doing.
Welcome to Google's "Sponsored Links".
Ads in the maps are bad enough, but screwing with directions -- actually routing people to the addresses of Google's paid advertisers instead of the user's intended destination -- would be unthinkable to any company except Google.
And yet there are people ITT that think Apple should have allowed that to continue for another year?
Your iPhone still functions as a smart phone that has the capability to do all those things. Most are readily available to you many at no charge. There certainly was a change but that change didn't change the function. The owner controls how the phone functions by choosing to either use it as a map with any of the various apps or POI tools or navigation tools.
Prior to the new maps, my phone didn't natively have Turn by Turn but it still functioned as a turn by turn navigation device because while Apple did't provide it in the OS they did provide plenty of options for me to select to use.
So moving from an iP4 with iOS 5.1 to an iP5 with iOS 6 isn't analogous to replacing an old car with a newer one?
I would say it's available functions didn't change as you can still do all those things still. My daughter threw the same fit when she found out the new Easy Bake Oven no longer uses a light bulb to bake the cookies.
So moving from an iP4 with iOS 5.1 to an iP5 with iOS 6 isn't analogous to replacing an old car with a newer one?
I would say it's available functions didn't change as you can still do all those things still. My daughter threw the same fit when she found out the new Easy Bake Oven no longer uses a light bulb to bake the cookies.
This thread is about Apple Maps in the iOS forum so what phone we are on shouldn't matter, but I'm sure you'll try to twist it around and troll further. In the meantime, I don't appreciate being compared to your daughter.
I know what this thread is about and it's about a change that happened when moving from iOS5.x or earlier to iOS6 which is exactly what happens when people upgrade to the new iP5 which in turn brings them to the exact situation this thread references thus why I mentioned it.
It's funny you keep mentioning my "trolling" but last I checked I'm at least offering not only helpful suggestions, insight, apps, posing questions vs just complaining, engaging in PM's with other members here, I look at things from an alternative viewpoints, I've opened up and accepted input from others here and even changed my stance on more than one occasion.
So I suppose if all the above is your definition of an internet troll, I think you need to add a new dictionary to your apps list. The easy bake oven comment is actually pretty funny and quite parallel. YMMV if you don't have kids or owned both kinds. It wasn't meant as a zinger, but if you can call me a troll, I think I'm able to compare to a 6yr old.
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Welcome to Google's "Sponsored Links".
Ads in the maps are bad enough, but screwing with directions -- actually routing people to the addresses of Google's paid advertisers instead of the user's intended destination -- would be unthinkable to any company except Google.
And yet there are people ITT that think Apple should have allowed that to continue for another year?
I've seen another reference to this but never experienced any 'sponsored links' in Google Maps app or anything like that... are you sure they did that??
My definition of a troll is fairly simple: someone who enters a thread in with the primary intent of provoking others into an emotional response or otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.
This threads focus, as its title states, is Wow. Apple Maps is a disaster. You yourself have stated throughout it how the new Maps work for you. If that is the case, why do you continue to post if not to disrupt?
You claim you are offering helpful suggestions, insight, apps, ect, but, for the most part youve spent the majority of the time belittling the posters and saying that its their own fault for not doing the research.
Sorry, but I dont see how thats even the slightest helpful.
To all those that hit the update button on day one, heck even week one or pre-ordered a phone, they made a choice to do that and take a leap on as you said on an unreleased product from a secretive and non-transparent company, containing a totally new built from ground up and unproven core application.........Hmm.....sounds to me perhaps you should re-read this paragraph and ask yourselves if that was a very informed decision you made.
I agree the information is easier to read in Google Maps but I get the info just fine in Apple maps too, only that those dotted lines are not that great to read.
But I don't care that much if it sorts the routes by ETA using this information.
And I found the road works information to be more up to date than in Google.
We have to consider the position of existing pre iPhone-5 iPhone owners. They did not choose to buy anything new or lose any functionality, even if they had been smart enough to research what would get lost.
But these pre iPhone 5 owners are being railroaded into IOS 6 by an automatic silent download to their devices of IOS 6 and a nag to do a 1-touch 'upgrade'.
Already I have noticed important apps that cannot be installed unless I move to IOS 5.1 or higher. But I cannot as IOS 5.1 is no longer available unless I am willing to jump through some serious tech hoops that might involve having to set my iPhone up all over again. This non official route also relies on how long Apple with 'sign' IOS 5.1 for,
It is exactly the non techy people who care more about the actual function the want to achieve - e.g. tourism navigation or business travel - that are going to be hit hardest.
But these pre iPhone 5 owners are being railroaded into IOS 6 by an automatic silent download to their devices of IOS 6 and a nag to do a 1-touch 'upgrade'.
Already I have noticed important apps that cannot be installed unless I move to IOS 5.1 or higher. But I cannot as IOS 5.1 is no longer available unless I am willing to jump through some serious tech hoops that might involve having to set my iPhone up all over again. This non official route also relies on how long Apple with 'sign' IOS 5.1 for,
It is exactly the non techy people who care more about the actual function the want to achieve - e.g. tourism navigation or business travel - that are going to be hit hardest.
Sponsored links most certainly existed in iOS 5.
But only as one of the search results. The idea that they interfered with people's selected routing and sent them somewhere else is just a flat out fabrication.
I have to admit, that made me laugh. You come across as an utterly mental apple fanboy. Your insight seems to amount to "it's your fault not apples" and your suggestions "well you shouldn't have upgraded then".
I love apple, but their maps are ******* that should not (with a year left to run on their google contract) have been foisted onto users in such a poor state.
You could have come on the thread saying "yes, they're *******, how can I help people who are unhappy find solutions" but mostly you've been an apple apologist. Then you get affronted when you're called on it!
Well player sir, well played.
It may be great for you, but it's a train wreck here. Quite apart from every POI being in the wrong place, and all the missing ones, there are some that are misspelt, and one that changed name over 10 years ago has the old name. Convenience stores are shown as gas stations. Satellite imagery turns black and white just down the road to the east, and the nearest city with a population of 150,000 has low res illegible satellite imagery that may as well not be there at all. Don't make it sound any better than it really is.
It looks to me like there are too many people to whom change is always bad. If the current Apple maps were first and Google came along with their current offering there would be all kinds of complaints just because they are different.
I like the graphics and the turn by turn and it all works well for me. I have no need for transit directions so I have no opinion on them. All of this complaining has to do with someone's pet needs which are not like Googles offering. Apple maps will soon leave everything in the dust. Meanwhile use something else if the Apple maps don't serve your needs.
The world seems to be in bitch mode since the internet because so common. You only live once. Wouldn't it be better served with a positive attitude? If you don't like it, leave it, but for heavens sake quit complaining. It just raises your blood pressure.
I like the graphics and the turn by turn and it all works well for me. I have no need for transit directions so I have no opinion on them. All of this complaining has to do with someone's pet needs which are not like Googles offering. Apple maps will soon leave everything in the dust. Meanwhile use something else if the Apple maps don't serve your needs.
The world seems to be in bitch mode since the internet because so common. You only live once. Wouldn't it be better served with a positive attitude? If you don't like it, leave it, but for heavens sake quit complaining. It just raises your blood pressure.
No. If you had read even a bit of this thread, you'd see that the bulk of our complaining has to do with the maps being completely useless and unreliable as maps. Not the graphical differences, not the limited POI, but the basic maps underneath. While Google's may not be perfect, they're nowhere near the abomination that Apple forced us into.
Believe me, I would love to use something else because Apple's Maps don't even come close to serving my needs...unfortunately, they're what's now taking up the Map Kit and crippling the bulk of my 3rd party which use them as we'll.
Are you also one of these people that dismissed the early claims that Apple Maps was rubbish, it was simply a beta, and it would all be fixed in the release?
Your entire argument rests on a fallacy. The point of the upgrade *may* have been to introduce turn-by-turn, but the point of the Maps app until now has been to provide functional maps with directions for all forms of transport, and the intoduction of a new feature certainly shouldn't imply the loss of previous functionality.
Also, your position on public transport users being a minority is unsubstantiated and in my opinion incorrect. With the majority of urban dwellers outside of the rather unique case of the West Coast of America relying on it to get around I would expect them to be a majority actually.
[/Quote] We are waiting. And after 5 years of rocking an iPhone, I'm looking into a contingency plan to extract myself from that ecosystem.
The only way this will be resolved in the near future (1-2 years) is with
1. a functional Google App
2. a means to set that map as the default app for mapping
That's the only way this will be fixed.[/QUOTE]
I agree with every word of this. My entire family uses iPhones, Macs, and numerous other Apple devices, but the new Maps has all but convinced us that the Apple we trusted is no more.
As you say, there is exactly one way to fix this now: Apple has to confess its sins and allow a Google-branded Google maps to be user-selectable as a default. Otherwise, we're looking at the beginning of Apple's long and painful decline.
The only way this will be resolved in the near future (1-2 years) is with
1. a functional Google App
2. a means to set that map as the default app for mapping
That's the only way this will be fixed.[/QUOTE]
I agree with every word of this. My entire family uses iPhones, Macs, and numerous other Apple devices, but the new Maps has all but convinced us that the Apple we trusted is no more.
As you say, there is exactly one way to fix this now: Apple has to confess its sins and allow a Google-branded Google maps to be user-selectable as a default. Otherwise, we're looking at the beginning of Apple's long and painful decline.
You're right, user have no role in the entire process aren't expected to anything but push upgrade as soon as it's available without any regard even though there is history across many facets of Apple, technology and life that should give some pause to not jump in feet first without concern. How's that worked for so far?
very typical 'statement'. I'm glad you have all the answers and there is no need to discuss or questions to 'ask'.
again, you're right. your mindset and way of looking at this whole thing is the only way it is and will ever play out. You are the king our God. How dare I doubt you. I'm sure you won't change a thing next time because there's no need to do so.
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What amuses me here is the parade of apologists, hypocrites, who would laud Apple for X, Y and Z and yet gloss over the problem with Maps.
Maps did not debut as an alpha or beta product, and Apple prides themselves on the level of polish they put into their apps, OSes, and hardware. In fact, consumers pay a premium for these higher-quality devices and the platform(s) they run on. Why is it suddenly acceptable to have a Maps application that is, for a great many people, unfinished and in some cases completely useless?
Overall I like Apple's products and services, but there's no way I can give them a pass on this. Maps wasn't ready.
Maps did not debut as an alpha or beta product, and Apple prides themselves on the level of polish they put into their apps, OSes, and hardware. In fact, consumers pay a premium for these higher-quality devices and the platform(s) they run on. Why is it suddenly acceptable to have a Maps application that is, for a great many people, unfinished and in some cases completely useless?
Overall I like Apple's products and services, but there's no way I can give them a pass on this. Maps wasn't ready.
I don't think its asking too much for a MAP to show me POI information. That's a big part of the value of a map, above and beyond driving directions.