Wow. Apple Maps is a disaster.

[toxic]

Given two products, one that needs improvement and one that works, you honestly think the the public would spend time reporting issues when they could just use the existing framework? It would become a newsstand - shoved to the last page along with the other apps you don't use.

in that case, integration with the old Maps still exists, but there would be incentive to use Apple Maps because it has turn-by-turn and 3D.

you think that's worse than Apple pushing out a half-finished product and telling everyone to use a 3rd party or a hamstrung workaround web app instead?

 

[cyks]

Given two products, one that needs improvement and one that works, you honestly think the the public would spend time reporting issues when they could just use the existing framework? It would become a newsstand - shoved to the last page along with the other apps you don't use.

You really think the public will spend time reporting issues now?

A few might, but most will simply ignore any problems and either wait for Apple to fix the problem or follow Apple's advice and use another program altogether.

Now, if Apple had released it as a side app in beta, nearly everyone who used it would help it in some way.

 

[firestarter]

You really think the public will spend time reporting issues now?

A few might, but most will simply ignore any problems and either wait for Apple to fix the problem or follow Apple's advice and use another program altogether.

Now, if Apple had released it as a side app in beta, nearly everyone who used it would help it in some way.

True. Apple has thrown away a lot of public sympathy because of this cynical stunt.

If they'd released a beta alongside the existing maps - or even better - released these maps in a web accessible/editable form, then they could have made use of a whole lot of goodwill to edit the maps.

Apple has a loyal following of skilled/creative people who want the company to succeed. It needs to be nicer to this following and help them to help it. But then Apple has never understood social media...

The problem I see is that all corrections to the mapping seem to have to be sent to third parties first - then once their datasets are updated, Apple changes their own map. There's a lot of room there for continued problems, since the differences people have found between TomTom and Apple maps show that Apple isn't even uploading TomTom data correctly at the moment.

 

[xofruitcake]

Maybe Apple should've just accepted those terms in hindsight uh ?

.

Absolutely not. You are thinking as a user and want instant solution. Apple team is thinking much longer term and much bigger scope as a business. Without location data, mobile device loss more than 1/2 of their value. Passport is an interesting example. A lot of complaint is that the location is not correct now so it is not very usable. Apple can correct the location issue down the road. But if they continue to let Google control the location data, the will never have a function like passport. All Google has to do is to refuse any location data to Apple and all IOS users are screwed. Google can take their sweet time to implement location base service in Andriod and IOS will never catch up. There is a reason that MSFT and Nokia spent so much effort in developing their map. Apple is late in that effort and they deserved to get spank for doing a half ass job. But asking Apple to give up map now is the same as asking Apple to surrender the mobile space to Android and W8. It is not going to happen...

 

[Oliver G]

Over the last two weeks I have been reporting hundreds of errors about roads and about businesses in and around Melbourne, and as of today...

Nothing has changed!

I have also added many operating hours and reviews to many Yelp places and again nothing has changed.

Has anyone noticed any changes since the launch of iOS 6?

 

[OllyW]

Has anyone noticed any changes since the launch of iOS 6?

None of the errors I've reported have been fixed.

 

[mnemonix]

None of the errors I've reported have been fixed.

Nope, neither mine.

You'd think something as fundamental as a railway station should be right?

Try searching for 'Nottingham station', you get half a dozen pins, none of them being the station, and the one that is highlighted is in a suburb 5.5 miles away on the other side of the city - I believe it might be a tram stop.

I can't actually find a successful way to search for the station. 'Nottingham rail station' gives more random pins, 'Nottingham train station' gives 'No results found'.

This isn't a minor issue, or a misplaced POI, this points to deep fundamental flaws in the engine that drives this piece of rubbish.

Fortunately I know where the station is in Nottingham, I live here, but how or why would I *ever* choose to use Apple Maps when I'm away from home given it is incapable of such a simple task?

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Absolutely not. You are thinking as a user

And here was me thinking we are users

----------

You really think the public will spend time reporting issues now?

A few might, but most will simply ignore any problems and either wait for Apple to fix the problem or follow Apple's advice and use another program altogether.

Now, if Apple had released it as a side app in beta, nearly everyone who used it would help it in some way.

Quite. I have no intention of even opening Maps anymore at this point. It is utterly useless to me and I simply don't have the inclination to work on the Apple Map application for free. It lives in a folder away from my home screen so I don't even accidentally open it now.

What those defending Apple in all this don't seem to realise, is that if Apple had done what most of us complaining are saying was the sensible approach - release it as a beta alongside Google, it would have been BETTTER FOR APPLE AS WELL AS US. Their reputation wouldn't have suffered and people would have been willing to beta test and help improve the app.

But to do that requires accepting that it isn't actually good enough at the moment, which it seems many here are still in denial over, despite the reported experience of so many others as opposed to their own personal experience. I'm still not convinced even Apple think this yet, most corporate apologies are simply cynical PR exercises, the proof will be in what they do to give us back the functionality we've lost. Suggesting we do something that we already knew was not an adequate replacement is not good enough.

We're really not all trolls. There are 4 iOS devices and 3 OS X devices in my house. I want them to succeed as a company because I'm invested in their eco system, as well as needing a decent Maps app.

 

[Kukulcan]

We're really not all trolls. There are 4 iOS devices and 3 OS X devices in my house. I want them to succeed as a company because I'm invested in their eco system, as well as needing a decent Maps app.

They left you most Google functionality (minus streetview) using Google as webapp or in browser (I can't even see how that is so much less conenient, only that opening it means instant 3MB data transfer, that's why I rather open Apple Maps)

On the other hand they added great functionality for those who care to open the new Maps and try it. Yeah, the maps seem to be rather TBT than POI optimized as they are from TomTom...but you still have all your POIs in Google Maps.

It is probably a german thing, but all the reviewers here tested Maps by using it to get somewhere and found it a satisfying experience, not even caring about other stuff.

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I can't actually find a successful way to search for the station. 'Nottingham rail station' gives more random pins, 'Nottingham train station' gives 'No results found'.

This isn't a minor issue, or a misplaced POI, this points to deep fundamental flaws in the engine that drives this piece of rubbish.

Use Google Maps as you are used to and please stop complaining. We know by now that Apple has less and maybe misplaced POIs, so why do you insist on using the worse solution for this case?

 

[shotts56]

None of the errors I've reported have been fixed.

Ditto. If there was the slightest indication that me reporting problems were gradually being dealt with, I would continue to do more. But I just feel like I'm wasting my time now, so sod them.

 

[VulchR]

You'd think Apple would be hiring an army of people to correct bugs in Maps - it's not as though labor is expensive these days. Instead, like many others have reported, my reports of errors have not been acted on. Mostly where I am the new Maps app is OK, but it is annoying to find errors here and there and not have them corrected. I gather Apple has relied in part on Yelp - a big mistake....

 

[iphoneclassic]

Raster vs Vector

Is Raster vs Vector an app function or map store format? Couldn't find any information. Google switched to vector only in 2010 on Android. So either Google is just keeping two sets of maps or Apple didn't rewrite the app for vector graphics.

 

[daviddth]

None of the errors I've reported have been fixed.

Same here. About 40 local business updates, and 3 road errors and no change.I assumed they would be done in order of being placed in, but no luck. I'll simply have to wait a bit longer, but an email, news release etc would be nice letting people know how things are progressing on updates

 

[steve-p]

I gather Apple has relied in part on Yelp - a big mistake....

Actually I'm not so sure about that, at least in terms of UK POIs and their locations. Some research on one near me with a spelling mistake and another with a name that changed over 10 years ago seems to show it's not Yelp at all. Both businesses appear in a load of second rate listings services on a Google search. They presumably all get their data from the same place Apple do, and given their profile, it's almost certainly very cheap. But it's not Yelp.

 

[Kukulcan]

None of my errors have been fixed, but I continue to make changes, when I see a problem. In the ecosystem as it is now, it will unfortunately take time until they are fixed.

Nobody knows what Apple is doing right now, but I am sure that is one of their top priorities. But you can't just change stuff like that in a matter of days or weeks.

 

[Compile 'em all]

Same here. About 40 local business updates, and 3 road errors and no change.I assumed they would be done in order of being placed in, but no luck. I'll simply have to wait a bit longer, but an email, news release etc would be nice letting people know how things are progressing on updates

I think the fact is given the substantial amount of corrections they will be getting, their limited resources, AND the fact that they have to verify them, it is understandable that any problems reported will take a lot of time till you see them being fixed.

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Is Raster vs Vector an app function or map store format? Couldn't find any information. Google switched to vector only in 2010 on Android. So either Google is just keeping two sets of maps or Apple didn't rewrite the app for vector graphics.

I didn't google it but based on the naming alone, it is simply the format of the images being loads. If you load vector tiles you can zoom in and out without losing quality. With raster, you most likely every time you zoom in our out you have to load new tiles. Anyway that is just an educated guess. Don't know how it really works.

 

[dv8r]

So why aren't you carrying a classic Nokia mobile phone?

Because it's not a smartphone - that didn't seam fairly obvious to You?

 

[Stonefly]

I'm not using it anymore

 

[Brazuca]

Same here. About 40 local business updates, and 3 road errors and no change.I assumed they would be done in order of being placed in, but no luck. I'll simply have to wait a bit longer, but an email, news release etc would be nice letting people know how things are progressing on updates

Same here. I think the priority should be, however, on finding out *why* the POIs are bad. Something in the process of merging the datasets has gone wrong. Find out why, fix it, and continue moving ahead.

What I imagine is happening is that Apple is checking their process with their suppliers, making sure that their datasets are consistent, etc. At the same time, passing on the error reports to their suppliers to get those fixed.

As soon as they figure out the underlying problems, they can fix that and roll out all the updates to POIs, etc.

It would be nice to get an email, blog post, or something. But it's not really Apple's modus operandi....

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Is Raster vs Vector an app function or map store format? Couldn't find any information. Google switched to vector only in 2010 on Android. So either Google is just keeping two sets of maps or Apple didn't rewrite the app for vector graphics.

What Apple gets to use in their iOS 5 Maps app depends on what data they licensed. This, in turn, is a function of both what Apple was willing to give, and what Google was willing to give.

For whatever reason, Apple did not have a license to either vector or turn-by-turn. You can blame Apple, google, the dog next door, whatever. But what iOS 5 had was all that Apple could use according to its license.

If you buy into the idea that Google was holding back on key features on iOS to make Android look better (as I do), then you can see immediately why Apple had to make its own Maps.

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Actually I'm not so sure about that, at least in terms of UK POIs and their locations. Some research on one near me with a spelling mistake and another with a name that changed over 10 years ago seems to show it's not Yelp at all. Both businesses appear in a load of second rate listings services on a Google search. They presumably all get their data from the same place Apple do, and given their profile, it's almost certainly very cheap. But it's not Yelp.

Don't remember where I got this, but AFAIK, Yelp only provides the business info (description, hours, pictures, etc). The actual location and name of POIs comes from other sources.

So here is another possible point of failure (merging this data). I notice some of these errors around NYC.

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I didn't google it but based on the naming alone, it is simply the format of the images being loads. If you load vector tiles you can zoom in and out without losing quality. With raster, you most likely every time you zoom in our out you have to load new tiles. Anyway that is just an educated guess. Don't know how it really works.

Gruber has a post with a few links that have explanations and data. Interesting how much data is saved using vector. Apparently, the whole UK maps in vector is <200mb (!).

Vector maps and data

 

[OllyW]

Gruber has a post with a few links that have explanations and data. Interesting how much data is saved using vector. Apparently, the whole UK maps in vector is <200mb (!).

That might go up a bit when they get round to labelling a few more towns.

 

[dv8r]

Don't remember where I got this, but AFAIK, Yelp only provides the business info (description, hours, pictures, etc). The actual location and name of POIs comes from other sources.

I think they got geolocations from Yelp also - where I am the POI's list match the one on Yelp almost 100%. It might vary in different areas since Yelp is fairly lacking in some parts of the world, this would also explain why some see more precise POI's than others.

So here is another possible point of failure (merging this data). I notice some of these errors around NYC.

Apart from missing a lot of POI's, I haven't seen them way off in NYC, like they are where I am now.

 

[Brazuca]

I think they got geolocations from Yelp also - where I am the POI's list match the one on Yelp almost 100%. It might vary in different areas since Yelp is fairly lacking in some parts of the world, this would also explain why some see more precise POI's than others.



Apart from missing a lot of POI's, I haven't seen them way off in NYC, like they are where I am now.

There are some embarrassing POIs in NYC. A couple of central park POIs in the middle of 5th ave. Looks like an offset from where they should be. Whoever is feeding geolocation of these POIs is screwing up.

 

[xofruitcake]

Same here. I think the priority should be, however, on finding out *why* the POIs are bad. Something in the process of merging the datasets has gone wrong. Find out why, fix it, and continue moving ahead.

I think one of the problem can be the gps location. Initially the IOS map show my location as the house across the street with the pin set at the middle of the street between our house and the house across the street. I reported the error as address error. A couple days later, the pin that show my location was moved to the house next door (and give me the wrong address again). So I reported the problem as pin in the wrong location and move it to our house. All GPS locator has a built in error rate (i.e. accurate to within 5 ft, 10ft etc.). A problem can be as simple as how to calibrate the GPS unit with the error rate and fit them in to the location data that they get from Tom Tom or other source (which also has their own error rate). So I know that Apple is working at my report. The issue can be more complicate than all of us realize. Apple already burn the bridge for map in IOS 6 i.e.. everyone know that the map is not ready for prime time except may be in China (since their data provider in China is a local firm and has better data than Google ever will in China). The damage to anyone else is minimal (real user has already move on and find some substitute either with their Iphone or get an Android if they have to have app version of Google map. Everyone else who keep repeating the same 5 points problems just want to rub the problem in Apple's face. The rest of us will try to help out if we can). It is up to Apple to fix the map before the next upgrade cycle. If Apple has the best mind in the industry working for them, it is time for those guy show their talent.

 

[kas23]

Apparently, the whole UK maps in vector is <200mb (!).

Vector maps and data

I believe it!

 

[daviddth]

I think they got geolocations from Yelp also - where I am the POI's list match the one on Yelp almost 100%. It might vary in different areas since Yelp is fairly lacking in some parts of the world, this would also explain why some see more precise POI's than others.

Thats quite possible as I remember looking at the Yelp data locally a while ago and it was 1 step below useless. Out of maybe 50 businesses, 2 or 3 were in the correct place, 10-15 had shut down (sonr 3+ years earlier), and the rest were hundreds of meters away from their real locations, some on train lines, one in a lake...

I think one of the problem can be the gps location. Initially the IOS map show my location as the house across the street with the pin set at the middle of the street between our house and the house across the street. I reported the error as address error. A couple days later, the pin that show my location was moved to the house next door (and give me the wrong address again). So I reported the problem as pin in the wrong location and move it to our house.

No. I'm not worried about where I am located, but were POI's are located, and they are a fixed location on the map, and have nothing to do with the accuracy of the GPS.

Showing your location as across the street could simply be the reflection of the signals from the satellite creating miniscule errors in timing, and thus moving your location to an incorrect one - this is worse inside as the strength of the signals is not enough to penetrate most houses, so the signal is often reflected and bounced enough to cause errors

 

[DaffyDuck]

You'd think Apple would be hiring an army of people to correct bugs in Maps - it's not as though labor is expensive these days. Instead, like many others have reported, my reports of errors have not been acted on. Mostly where I am the new Maps app is OK, but it is annoying to find errors here and there and not have them corrected. I gather Apple has relied in part on Yelp - a big mistake....

Tele Atlas traditionally has a 6 month release cycle. According to David Pogue, Apple sends corrections to their providers. I am guessing this is a requirement in the contracts they sign and is also necessary if Apple wants to continue to integrate new releases from their providers into their meshed database. Changes from Yelp may happen more quickly however, I submitted a request to remove a non-existent McDonalds near me 3 weeks ago and it's still on the map (and on Yelp's website).