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Wow. Apple Maps is a disaster.
- Thread starter b24pgg
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It's very likely Apple maps are never going to be as good as Google Maps so perhaps you need to start thinking about switching to Android.
I've been sitting here trying to think of a solution to the maps problem, and it just occurred to me: they should use Facebook locations. All that checking in people do could really help out right now with the accuracy.
Possibly. Possibly Win8 too. I will wait the 13 days out of my iPhone 5 return window and then decide.
Ok, here's my objective opinion about Maps. I downloaded iOS6 on my iPad2 to test just for this thread. Won't be touching it on my iPhone as reviews made me doubt the quality of Maps.
I live in Osaka, Japan and like Tokyo it is a good test since it's so crammed with stuff. Actually Osaka is much more difficult to get around than Tokyo and Kyoto because the orientation of streets in those places was updated after around the Heian period (grid style). Osaka still retains a lot of the old crooked and random street directions that can really benefit from good GPS.
I thought I'd throw in some info about the Japanese address system since it is a little interesting for people who have never been here
The lower levels of the address info is not in Apple Maps. You can see that Google Maps has numbered addresses over the buildings. You need these big time in Japan.
Maps appears to be very inconsistent. Most building names aren't visible and it is very difficult to find buildings I know of even in my area. I have to guess at the shape and locations near other major buildings to find what I'm looking for. If I was a tourist I'd be F'd. Google Map's 2D maps had names over all grey shapes representing building names. Yes, I am zoomed in as well. Also the accuracy of the building shapes in Google Maps is very realistic. As you can see shapes in Apple Maps is quite vague. Details like these can help in dense areas where you know the shapes of well known buildings and are using those shapes as search points.
Here is my current location. Tell me you don't see a difference. A pretty but useless map vs. a standard useful map. The shape accuracy in Google is exact. Also notice the railroad to the right? Recognizable on Google Maps but in Apple Maps it looks like some kind of road.
Next, satellite view. Wow talk about piss poor resolution. Looks like views from 2005 or something. Viewing at medium zoom seems to be clear but zooming in close produces atrocious results. Where are these images coming from? Tom Tom?
Not illustrated on the screen shots but when zoomed in street names disappear. Quite inconsistent. They need to be present in all zoom levels.
On further inspection, It seems like the data services that Apple Maps is using is listing places that have provided English names to the directory services. That means if a business doesn't have an English equivalent entry it's not listed. I'm not sure what's going on. Just guessing. The directory service Apple is using doesn't even have most of the Japanese language data. Whereas the directory service Google Maps uses has all Japanese data.
In the last photos look at my area which is an old neighborhood. Apple's database doesn't possess the Japanese data thus all is empty. Except for one shrine, one market and one school nothing is listed. Is this because the area is too old for the directory services Apple is using? Google has all the data including the building addresses (small visible numbers).
EDIT: Just realized Google Maps also has one way street indicated with arrows. There are many in my area. Actually all over Japan. More than any other country.
In summary I wouldn't want to be traveling on vacation or looking for a cafe with my gf relying on Apple Maps.
I can also tell you unequivicablly that if Steve were around heads would be rolling.
.
I live in Osaka, Japan and like Tokyo it is a good test since it's so crammed with stuff. Actually Osaka is much more difficult to get around than Tokyo and Kyoto because the orientation of streets in those places was updated after around the Heian period (grid style). Osaka still retains a lot of the old crooked and random street directions that can really benefit from good GPS.
I thought I'd throw in some info about the Japanese address system since it is a little interesting for people who have never been here
The lower levels of the address info is not in Apple Maps. You can see that Google Maps has numbered addresses over the buildings. You need these big time in Japan.
Maps appears to be very inconsistent. Most building names aren't visible and it is very difficult to find buildings I know of even in my area. I have to guess at the shape and locations near other major buildings to find what I'm looking for. If I was a tourist I'd be F'd. Google Map's 2D maps had names over all grey shapes representing building names. Yes, I am zoomed in as well. Also the accuracy of the building shapes in Google Maps is very realistic. As you can see shapes in Apple Maps is quite vague. Details like these can help in dense areas where you know the shapes of well known buildings and are using those shapes as search points.
Here is my current location. Tell me you don't see a difference. A pretty but useless map vs. a standard useful map. The shape accuracy in Google is exact. Also notice the railroad to the right? Recognizable on Google Maps but in Apple Maps it looks like some kind of road.
Next, satellite view. Wow talk about piss poor resolution. Looks like views from 2005 or something. Viewing at medium zoom seems to be clear but zooming in close produces atrocious results. Where are these images coming from? Tom Tom?
Not illustrated on the screen shots but when zoomed in street names disappear. Quite inconsistent. They need to be present in all zoom levels.
On further inspection, It seems like the data services that Apple Maps is using is listing places that have provided English names to the directory services. That means if a business doesn't have an English equivalent entry it's not listed. I'm not sure what's going on. Just guessing. The directory service Apple is using doesn't even have most of the Japanese language data. Whereas the directory service Google Maps uses has all Japanese data.
In the last photos look at my area which is an old neighborhood. Apple's database doesn't possess the Japanese data thus all is empty. Except for one shrine, one market and one school nothing is listed. Is this because the area is too old for the directory services Apple is using? Google has all the data including the building addresses (small visible numbers).
EDIT: Just realized Google Maps also has one way street indicated with arrows. There are many in my area. Actually all over Japan. More than any other country.
In summary I wouldn't want to be traveling on vacation or looking for a cafe with my gf relying on Apple Maps.
I can also tell you unequivicablly that if Steve were around heads would be rolling.
.
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Is this a joke!?
The..... thing that Apple replaced the great Google Maps app with.
What happened!????
I feel like I'm in a nightmare! Is this real? Is my calendar all screwy and this is actually April 1st?
The..... thing that Apple replaced the great Google Maps app with.
What happened!????
I feel like I'm in a nightmare! Is this real? Is my calendar all screwy and this is actually April 1st?
The..... thing that Apple replaced the great Google Maps app with.
What happened!????
I feel like I'm in a nightmare! Is this real? Is my calendar all screwy and this is actually April 1st?
I used to have a TomTom GPS... For similar reasons, I took it back and got a Garmin...
What's obvious from looking at Apple Maps in Japan is that there was little or no involvement from Apple Japan.
If there was ample local involvement (like with Google Maps) all these essential Japan-specific features would not be missing.
That's what happens when you only have a select number of developers working under total secrecy, even within their own company.
Time to start collaborating Apple. If you think Japan's a big market then make us feel important.
If there was ample local involvement (like with Google Maps) all these essential Japan-specific features would not be missing.
That's what happens when you only have a select number of developers working under total secrecy, even within their own company.
Time to start collaborating Apple. If you think Japan's a big market then make us feel important.
I've been using the Maps app on and off since the first beta hit, but I'm really only just seeing how bad it is after looking beyond my road.
There are roads missing that have been there for over 10 years!
It's just poor - OpenStreetMap and Waze can do a better job without billions in the bank.
The amount of home businesses that have cropped up on the map is insane. I doubt they want people knowing where they live...
There are roads missing that have been there for over 10 years!
It's just poor - OpenStreetMap and Waze can do a better job without billions in the bank.
The amount of home businesses that have cropped up on the map is insane. I doubt they want people knowing where they live...
Yes because even in Japan Google was driving around in all their little cars with the camera on top. Looks like ET. However, that was for street view and nothing to do with their satellite or 2D overlays. Or was it? Did those cars also provide street level location data for their 2D imagery? I don't know and I don't know who they were working with for that data.
Not going to happen. Apple is a vertically integrated company and, while it does offer some nice integration, all individual tools in its arsenal are just solid mid-range solutions. Vertical integration is such an anachronism in 21st Century!
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Actually those cars did much more than StreetView. Google developed software to process the imagery that the cars collected (street signs etc.) and used it to enhance the maps data.
I believe they do more than just street view. Those cameras I think can read text, symbols, street sign, and recognize storefronts which is then used to update maps as well.
Not good enough because we've lost all of the integration with the OS, like clicking on a contacts address for example.
Well, Google Maps' interface clearly understands the Japanese address system (both in terms of the overlay and search functionality), correctly color-codes subway routes (this was a relatively recent addition and I bet this was implemented because Google Japan was at the helm) and has clearly visible train station exits.
Unless you have someone who has spent some time in Japan, these things can easily be ignored, which is what happened with Apple Maps.
I also read an article about a Google Japan employee who pitched the idea of a level-based address search which requires no typing (specify prefecture first, then city, then ward, followed by block... right down to the property number) and had it implemented in the browser version of Google Maps in Japan.
This would never happen with Apple.
Google has its camera in everyone's backyard, whether we use them or not. So why is Apple using Tomtom instead? It can't even find businesses that google map was doing on my iPhone prior to the 'upgrade'! So I can use turn by turn Siri directions to where? Maps can't find it anymore! Someone needs to implement a Steve inspiration and bust some heads to get this fixed!
I've used this system but not on Google. It just requires clicking on the address level you are searching for. So you click on Osaka Prefecture when presented with a list of prefectures. Then it moves to the city selection and you click on Osaka City when presented of a list of cities and so on. It's popular on pages that help you enter in addresses such as when you're applying for internet service or a new credit card and can't remember or can't be bothered to type in a full address. Nothing earth shattering but useful and I'm sure a big ￥ maker.
With all due respect chiefpavvy, you were always going to defend Apple weren't you. I've never seen you say a bad word against them, even when they deserve it.
In my (admittedly small) city in the UK they've missed three large supermarkets (one of which is the largest Sainsburys in the UK) and the local supermarket in my village.
If I wasn't from around here, the maps would have me driving ten miles to go shopping. Thats worrying when there's a supermarket within five minutes walking distance from here.
My local pub is also shown as being about 200 metres away from where it actually is.
Street names need to be shown sooner, I.e. when you're more zoomed out (and yes I have labels set to the smallest setting)
They're not as good as what they replaced, no where near.
That information about Japanese addresses was really interesting, and helped illuminate mapping functionality that many of us would probably never contemplate. I love that rigid general > specific address format; it's so logical, right down to writing names with the last name preceding the first. I've long thought our address scheme is illogical for that reason:I thought I'd throw in some info about the Japanese address system since it is a little interesting for people who have never been here
Name (most specific)
Number (less specific) Street Name (less specific)
Apartment/Unit (more specific)
City/town (less specific), State (least specific) ZIP code (more specific)
Yeah, the method of selecting the address is not new but each time you select a level it would zoom the map and highlight the area specified. It was the way it was implemented that impressed me.
Anyhow, the point is that Apple can't release a piece of software that caters towards the US market and expect it to work all over the world. Sure, when Google Maps began it was US-centered and maps of Japan were barren of data but once the rein was given to the individual markets it grew into a giant. To Apple non-US markets are nothing but sales figures, at lease it feels that way.
those of you chastising us for voicing our concerns do realize we're pissed over something we pay for, right? apple is compensated handsomely for giving us a product and then creating software and service packages to go with that hardware.
we're not complaining about the temperature or brand of beer in our buddy's fridge that he's giving us for free. many of us use this for work and are not happy with the reduced functionality for which we have been paying.
we're not complaining about the temperature or brand of beer in our buddy's fridge that he's giving us for free. many of us use this for work and are not happy with the reduced functionality for which we have been paying.