Wow. Apple Maps is a disaster.

[pdqgp]

But some of them are most obviously not Stirling Castle. Google finds it straight away, apple forces you to look through 10 pins to find the right one.
As an example, one of the pins is "Funtastico Bouncy Castles", this would have made my school trips to Stirling castle a lot more enjoyable, but I have no recollection of the castle being even slightly bouncy.

Not unlike Google.

In my case I searched for The Ohio State University School of Dentistry. Google calls it The Ohio State University College Of Dentistry, Columbus, OH and pulls up 9 locations. 1 was the School HQ that I was looking for, 8 others were related offices, etc.. iPhone Maps pulled up 3 locations, 1 was the HQ, 1 was the Veterinary School (Shared offices in this location) and the other was OSU's dental clinic on campus. For kicks I tried my favorite GPS Motion X and surprisingly it didn't find it at all correctly.

IMO Apple maps did the best. Key learning, if you are searching any location by name it's only wise to cross check addresses. I travel a 5 state region by car regularly with a built in Navi in my car and I still live by Motion X. However, I am intrigued by the new Maps Application.

 

[declandio]

... aforementioned pub, shown as a branch of Budgens and with a petrol station icon. And when you tap on it, it tells you it's in Richmond. It's not in Richmond. It's not a Budgens. It's not a petrol station. It's a pub!

 

[Scott006]

Not unlike Google.

In my case I searched for The Ohio State University School of Dentistry. Google calls it The Ohio State University College Of Dentistry, Columbus, OH and pulls up 9 locations. 1 was the School HQ that I was looking for, 8 others were related offices, etc.. iPhone Maps pulled up 3 locations, 1 was the HQ, 1 was the Veterinary School (Shared offices in this location) and the other was a clinic on campus. For kicks I tried my favorite GPS Motion X and surprisingly it didn't find it at all correctly.

IMO Apple maps did the best. Key learning, if you are searching any location by name it's only wise to cross check addresses. I travel a 5 state region by car regularly with a built in Navi in my car and I still live by Motion X. However, I am intrigued by the new Maps Application.

Thats fine, but I think the many examples I and others have listed of apple maps speak for themselves, there are very glaring errors that are simply ridiculous and unacceptably numerous.
Also the fact you are searching for something in Maps suggests you may not know the full address, either way having to second check more or less everything on apple maps isn't what we should have to do.

 

[declandio]

Thats fine, but I think the many examples I and others have listed of apple maps speak for themselves, there are very glaring errors that are simply ridiculous and unacceptably numerous.

Aye.

 

[Bilalo]

Ok apple maps suck, we all got it, bbc news got it, everyone got it around the world and theynsaid they're fixing it... Within a couple weeks i'm suremit'll be in a usable shape and in a couplemmonths in top performance shape, patience people...

 

[pdqgp]

... aforementioned pub, shown as a branch of Budgens and with a petrol station icon. And when you tap on it, it tells you it's in Richmond. It's not in Richmond.

It also clearly shows in the map pushpin that it's an "Approximate Location"

Now in terms of City, I can't speak to that as I don't know your area. Here in the states, we us zip codes you likely use a postal code ? Either way, even my home address says Columbus, Ohio when actually I live in Dublin, Ohio. The zip code is what GPS units go by. I live on the border, literally, so I can see a GPS or even some of our mail saying Columbus. Doesn't matter as the devil is in the details of the zip.

 

[cyks]

Ok apple maps suck, we all got it, bbc news got it, everyone got it around the world and theynsaid they're fixing it... Within a couple weeks i'm suremit'll be in a usable shape and in a couplemmonths in top performance shape, patience people...

Mapping the globe isn't something that can be fixed in a couple of months. If it was, they would have at least fixed the problems reported when iOS6 Beta was first released by now.

 

[declandio]

It also clearly shows in the map pushpin that it's an "Approximate Location"

Now in terms of City, I can't speak to that as I don't know your area. Here in the states, we us zip codes you likely use a postal code ? Either way, even my home address says Columbus, Ohio when actually I live in Dublin, Ohio. The zip code is what GPS units go by. I live on the border, literally, so I can see a GPS or even some of our mail saying Columbus. Doesn't matter as the devil is in the details of the zip.

Good grief.

I"m going to bed.

 

[Wrathwitch]

It's ok guys. I created a new iPhone maps app. It's only beta but it appears to be on par with Apple Maps after only 5 minutes. A few more days and street view should be ok. Give me time please.

My country
Image


My jogging course when I go on vacation.
Image


Route to above jogging course. Turn by turn is quite handy
Image

Well done Sir, well done!

 

[Scott006]

Ok apple maps suck, we all got it, bbc news got it, everyone got it around the world and theynsaid they're fixing it... Within a couple weeks i'm suremit'll be in a usable shape and in a couplemmonths in top performance shape, patience people...

Hahaha, a couple of weeks, months? Apple maps needs completely revamped satalite imagery (which is currently a patchwork of blurry colour, blurry dull colour and blurry black and white), overlaying the street information onto that will take long enough.
It also needs more detailed street information, more detail on buildings and locations. To compete with Google it needs in built public transport navigation, which it won't get. Oh and also it needs to be accurate, I've found some incredibly obvious errors that would be clear to anyone, even without local knowledge, they need to fix those and then they need to fix the more obscure errors which are pretty much everywhere!

 

[pdqgp]

Thats fine, but I think the many examples I and others have listed of apple maps speak for themselves, there are very glaring errors that are simply ridiculous and unacceptably numerous.

then by your standards the iPHone and iOS both should be canned as viable products because Google and Android do a lot better in many areas than our products. Give me 2 minutes and I can pull my work issued GS3 out and show you how it sucks and iPhones are better. Which do you prefer to have? Go there.

Also the fact you are searching for something in Maps suggests you may not know the full address, either way having to second check more or less everything on apple maps isn't what we should have to do.

You're right in that part of the time if I'm searching a GPS or mapping system I may not know the full address. Lots of times I search by name out of shear convince.

However, I'm a smart traveler and with my "smart" phone I often will insure I have a street address. IMO you're an idiot if you don't get that first before even starting your trip. Perhaps you travel differently.

 

[GiantSteve]

No Excuse For Half Baked Maps

People complain a lot about the new mapping solution, and there are clear reasons for that, but everybody should sit back and think about how big of a new project this is for Apple.

Who cares how big a project this for Apple. A clearly half baked product should not be foisted on their customers... it smacks of hubris. Apple is the worlds most valuable company and they should have spent the time and money up front to bring a finished product to market. There are no excuses for this debacle except using customers as pawns in some strategic gamesmanship with Google.

 

[Scott006]

then by your standards the iPHone and iOS both should be canned as viable products because Google and Android do a lot better in many areas than our products. Give me 2 minutes and I can pull my work issued GS3 out and show you how it sucks and iPhones are better. Which do you prefer to have? Go there.



You're right in that part of the time if I'm searching a GPS or mapping system I may not know the full address. Lots of times I search by name out of shear convince.

However, I'm a smart traveler and with my "smart" phone I often will insure I have a street address. IMO you're an idiot if you don't get that first before even starting your trip. Perhaps you travel differently.

You are clutching at straws here. We are comparing the mapping and navigation functionality of apple maps and google maps, not the entirety of iOS and android, there are other threads for that so if you want to change the subject there are endless threads you could join.

As for knowing the full address, I suppose I do travel differently. I mainly use my portable smart phone on the move, hence I sometimes need to use maps to find places I didn't foresee traveling to, thats fine with google maps and I think I've made clear how it is on apple maps.

 

[ixodes]

Now that I've had plenty of time & travel to test maps, I must say that Apples does have a very long & challenging development curve ahead. A daunting task at best, they are in for a rude awakening.

 

[pdqgp]

You are clutching at straws here. We are comparing the mapping and navigation functionality of apple maps and google maps, not the entirety of iOS and android, there are other threads for that so if you want to change the subject there are endless threads you could join.

I'm making a direct correlation that both mapping software's show issues and both can return similar results just the same. I'm not trying to change the subject, I'm basically saying you have a choice, make one. Do you like Google maps? Great, use their online app. Want to continue crying about losing the old iOS Maps, then go back to v5.1 or next time don't upgrade so quickly. You saw the same threads I did prior to pushing upgrade and knew others stated there dislikes. If you claim you didn't then shame on you for being on MacRumors and not reading the beta testers OS6 forum.

As for knowing the full address, I suppose I do travel differently. I mainly use my portable smart phone on the move, hence I sometimes need to use maps to find places I didn't foresee traveling to, thats fine with google maps and I think I've made clear how it is on apple maps.

I travel for a living doing about 50k miles per year in my company car. I use my iPhone on the move every day, most all the time. If you're truly looking to say the new maps isn't as good, again, great, post all the details you want. I'll gladly share that the old one sucked balls when compared to other apps and you should likely look to use one of them instead of the ones being discussed here.

 

[declandio]

.

 

[Scott006]

I'm making a direct correlation that both mapping software's show issues and both can return similar results just the same. I'm not trying to change the subject, I'm basically saying you have a choice, make one. Do you like Google maps? Great, use their online app. Want to continue crying about losing the old iOS Maps, then go back to v5.1 or next time don't upgrade so quickly. You saw the same threads I did prior to pushing upgrade and knew others stated there dislikes. If you claim you didn't then shame on you for being on MacRumors and not reading the beta testers OS6 forum.



I travel for a living doing about 50k miles per year in my company car. I use my iPhone on the move every day, most all the time. If you're truly looking to say the new maps isn't as good, again, great, post all the details you want. I'll gladly share that the old one sucked balls when compared to other apps and you should likely look to use one of them instead of the ones being discussed here.

I bought an iPhone 5, I don't have the option to downgrade. I did realise apple were changing the maps, but I foolishly assumed Google Maps would still be available and apple maps would be usable.

Again you are going off comparing it to other things, I'm sure other things fail just as much, but we are talking about apple maps here. Two wrongs don't make a right. The issue I and other people are having is that we are no longer able to use iPhones to properly navigate as was possible prior to iOS6, this isn't apple introducing a brand new feature, this is a downgrade and that is not acceptable, especially after all that boasting in the keynote.

 

[pdqgp]

... aforementioned pub, shown as a branch of Budgens and with a petrol station icon. And when you tap on it, it tells you it's in Richmond. It's not in Richmond. It's not a Budgens. It's not a petrol station. It's a pub!

Okay....now I see what you are saying. I agree, it's not a Budgens they show. Can't tell it's a bar but I'll take your word for it. Here's an image of the address Maps calls the Budgens.

 

[cyks]

However, I'm a smart traveler and with my "smart" phone I often will insure I have a street address. IMO you're an idiot if you don't get that first before even starting your trip. Perhaps you travel differently.

Right. So when we're driving in unfamiliar territory and see that we're running low on fuel, it'd be idiotic to trust the nav system we're using and should confirm and reconfirm it's location before we start heading towards the gas pump symbol....or must we preplan and map out the fueling stations before we leave the house?

 

[pdqgp]

I bought an iPhone 5, I don't have the option to downgrade. I did realise apple were changing the maps, but I foolishly assumed Google Maps would still be available and apple maps would be usable.

Fair enough, but I would change your wording to say you foolishly made a purchase without doing the research needed prior to making a purchase. Your wording points the finger at Apple when you're the one who bought the phone so dang early and leaped into the new product mix without verifying if your assumption was factual. Apple didn't force you to buy it on an assumption.

I'm sorry but while I empathize with your situation, I feel there's a level of responsibility you in the role as a consumer have to own.

The issue I and other people are having is that we are no longer able to use iPhones to properly navigate as was possible prior to iOS6,

Completely not true. You had the option of researching things prior to buying an iP5. Others have the option of doing the same on the upgrade and even more so - not upgrading. You also have plenty of options to navigate as prior to iOS6...again, stay on v5.1 or use google's online app.

this isn't apple introducing a brand new feature, this is a downgrade and that is not acceptable, especially after all that boasting in the keynote.

We can agree to disagree on some things. What prior users wanted most was the addition of turn by turn. They have that. If people are making decisions based on a keynote address alone then the Android fans who call them "sheep" are spot on. I'm not shocked many don't do the research but that falls on them and it's their role to do the research first.

 

[MassiveAttack]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF3xBfA-uAM

good video review on iOS maps. It's getting a failing grade all across the board.

plus
http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/20/3363914/wrong-turn-apple-ios-6-maps-phone-5-buggy-complaints

How on earth did they release such an unfinished product?

 

[pdqgp]

Right. So when we're driving in unfamiliar territory and see that we're running low on fuel, it'd be idiotic to trust the nav system we're using and should confirm and reconfirm it's location before we start heading towards the gas pump symbol....or must we preplan and map out the fueling stations before we leave the house?

I do the above all the time and here's what I do. I push Motion X search, click on the fuel icon, it lists them out and I find one that's close. As I approach an exit, here the states, the majority will show signs, and I can clearly see the location markers in good timing with the announcements from Motion X. If I don't I have to make a call as to exit or go to the next one. I rarely if ever have made a poor choice.

Again, I own the responsibility to know that a GPS is a just a tool. If I rely solely on a GPS for my important navigation decisions, I'll consider myself the "tool".....if you get my drift.

 

[faizoff]

Here is a good blog post from a GIS expert that has followed the development of Google and now Apple Maps.

Informative

http://blog.telemapics.com/?p=399

Thank you for sharing this wonderful link. Everyone should read this, it's a very succinct and informative insight on the problems faced when mapping from the ground up.

Excellent read.

 

[Scott006]

Fair enough, but I would change your wording to say you foolishly made a purchase without doing the research needed prior to making a purchase. Your wording points the finger at Apple when you're the one who bought the phone so dang early and leaped into the new product mix without verifying if your assumption was factual. Apple didn't force you to buy it on an assumption.

I'm sorry but while I empathize with your situation, I feel there's a level of responsibility you in the role as a consumer have to own.



Completely not true. You had the option of researching things prior to buying an iP5. Others have the option of doing the same on the upgrade and even more so - not upgrading. You also have plenty of options to navigate as prior to iOS6...again, stay on v5.1 or use google's online app.



We can agree to disagree on some things. What prior users wanted most was the addition of turn by turn. They have that. If people are making decisions based on a keynote address alone then the Android fans who call them "sheep" are spot on. I'm not shocked many don't do the research but that falls on them and it's their role to do the research first.

I apologise for assuming that my £530 iPhone 5 would be at least on par, if not better, than the previous version. I'm sorry that when apple proclaimed their maps were the best thing since sliced bread, I thought they would be at least "good".
There are certain things you come to expect with a top of the range smart phone, maps is one of them. I have the feeling that if the iPhone 5 was incapable of making calls you would pass the blame onto me, I after all should have went over the beta with a fine tooth comb, and naturally not expected any improvements when it comes to the release version. Given your outlook, god help the majority of smart phone customers who aren't particularly technical and don't come on these forums.

 

[KnightWRX]

Is it me or is pdqgp running in full damage control mode for Apple ?

Let it go man, there's tons of issues, some universal, some localized with the maps app. Don't try to tell others what is fine or not and what they lost will eventually get fixed. You're not being paid by Apple to do this, let them take care of this PR mess they created for themselves.