How Bad Is Apple’s iOS6 Maps Disaster?

[defacto7]

Source: TPM

Call it karma, call it a comeuppance, call it what you will: The Apple Mapocalypse has come. After kicking Google Maps off its new mobile operating system for the iPhone and iPad, iOS 6, Apple is receiving massive backlash from users around the globe, who report that Apple’s replacement maps, “Apple Maps,” are riddled with strange glitches, inaccurate direction and location data, and fall short of Google Maps.

Apple launched iOS 6, an upgrade for all iPad generations from the iPad 2 onward and all iPhone models from the 3GS and newer, on Wednesday to mostly rave reviews. Users can download it wirelessly from their iDevices by simply navigating to the “Settings: General: Software Update” menus.

But within hours, complaints about the new Apple Maps came pouring in online. So far, they appear to mostly be affecting users outside of the U.S., but complaints from U.S. users are picking up.

Read more: http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/how-bad-is-apples-ios6-maps-disaster.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tpm-news+%28TPMNews%29

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Oh boy! It has a pretty funny picture of the app.

[Sancho]

1. yep..it's a mess..

[Orrex]

2. Get a PC

[mr_hat]

6. Well, you see this is about... never mind. n/t

[Exultant Democracy]

33. chuckle

[yurbud]

87. Android, maybe, windows for phone? No.

[NYC Liberal]

3. I think it's mostly outside of the US.

I know 2-3 non-techy people who updated today and told me they love it. I do too, but I think there's some work to be done in terms of what's in their business directory but that'll get there quickly with crowdsourcing.

[ToxMarz]

8. I know 2 or 3 non techy iPhone users

who would say they loved it if it electrocuted them every time they picked it up.

[beac]

16. .

You owe me a keyboard!

-beac
proud owner of a "dumb" phone

[qanda]

26. Sorry but this made me....

[sir pball]

27. Well, until you need directions.

It doesn't include public transit directions, anywhere, at all (I don't care how long you've lived here, if you're going to a different borough you NEED them). Or traffic information if you're driving. Or street-level imagery to help you find the place when you get there.

[stopbush]

56. Yep. Not a problem in the US.

[olddad56]

4. it might be a short term problem, buy it will create a buying opportunity for the stock.

It will dip but it will come back up. My guess, and it is strictly a guess, is that the will shed about 40 points and then bounce back. JMO.

[KamaAina]

5. That's because they think that all roads lead to Cupertino

[reformist2]

7. Looks like a really bad earthquake hit! ;)

[Warren DeMontague]

9. Once, I was walking around Mountain View tripping, before a Dead Show...

It looked just like this.

[Puzzler]

10. I have an iPhone 4S (in Canada)

... and updated to the ios6 software yesterday. So far the new Apple Maps looks good and works fine.

[im1013]

11. Actually, it's worked great for me!

And I live in BFE...

[eyewall]

12. I didn't realize Google Maps would be uninstalled and have no dedicated app option.

Think I'll stick with iOS5.

[junior college]

13. It doesn't have Street View

I installed ios 6 this morning and was looking at property in Apple Maps and realized it didn't have streetview. Bummer. I tried to install Google Maps but found out that they don't make it for iOS 6. Don't install iOS 6 if you need street view!

[HuckleB]

30. Why would anyone "need" street view.

It can be considered a "want," but it's certainly not a need.

[awoke_in_2003]

35. I have used it...

to get a pic of the place I am going to so I can recognize it. I like visual landmarks.

On edit: I am an iPad user who won't be upgrading until Apple gets their shit straight.

[HuckleB]

37. Uh huh.

Again, it's not a need. None of these things are needs.

[awoke_in_2003]

38. it is a technology...

that Apple, via Google, used to have and now they don't. It is a step backwards. And you know what- google maps isn't a need. They still do print atlases.

[HuckleB]

50. Duh.

[chemp]

55. Print atlases are not a need...

You can still stop at a gas station and get directions.

[HuckleB]

68. Indeed.

I wouldn't trust said directions, but they can be ok at times.

[tkmorris]

46. In that sense you don't *need* a map app at all

Just carry a local map in your pocket. Or ask directions. Or whatever.

I use street view for a ton of things, and honestly any map app that doesn't have it will not be used by me. For now that means Google Maps is it. So be it.

[kentauros]

60. Good answer!

My phone isn't "smart" enough to use apps like these, so I use Street View at home or at work to familiarize me with the area before I drive into it. It's an exceptionally useful tool

[HuckleB]

69. In other words, you think this drama makes sense.

I don't.

I haven't needed any map where I live for some 20 years.

Hmmmmmm.

It's time to realize that we need to use our brains.

It's kind of important.

[LanternWaste]

92. hey certainly do come in handy

"I haven't needed any map where I live for some 20 years. "

Neither have I. However, they certainly do come in handy for places where I don't live... I would imagine that's "kind of important" too

[kentauros]

44. I consider it a nessity for getting around Houston.

Any time I go for an interview or other impotant meeting I use Street View to find the right entrances, find visitors parking, and discover what the front of the building looks like in case I'm in the wrong area. Sometimes Google gets street numbers wrong. Street View can reveal a company sign you cannot see in aerials alone.

I also use it extensibly to familiarize myself with the route and the area before driving there. Paying attention to the rest of Houston drivers is enough of a pain without also dealing with never-before-glimpsed roads and landmarks. It may not be the epitome of "need" to you but it fits my definition perfectly.

[HuckleB]

51. So no one got around Houston before this technology?

[kentauros]

54. Not nearly as safely, no.

It's a necessity to me. You can take your own risks with our traffic, if you like.

[HuckleB]

65. Prove it.

I suspect it was safer before said technology took hold.

[kentauros]

73. It may have been safer due to not having 5.5 million in the Greater Houston Area.

That's far too much sprawl for me to know every inch of it and get around easily and safely. If you've ever driven here, you'd know what I'm talking about, and it was that way before smart phones. That's as much proof as I need.

[JI7]

47. it helps me a lot

especially when it's a bunch of small places and hard to see the number on them. street view gives me an idea of what the area i am going to be in will look like without having to look out for the number in each place which is sometimes hard to see.

[HuckleB]

52. So you've become dependent on it.

Another skill set gone!

[kentauros]

57. The tools requred to safely navigate in heavily populated areas

outweighs your definition of "need".

Seeing as how you seem to be confused on the generally accepted definitions of the nouns "need" and "want", here they are (and etymologies as needed.)

need
noun
1. a requirement, necessary duty, or obligation: There is no need for you to go there.
2. a lack of something wanted or deemed necessary: to fulfill the needs of the assignment.
3. urgent want, as of something requisite: He has no need of your charity.
4. necessity arising from the circumstances of a situation or case: There is no need to worry.
5. a situation or time of difficulty; exigency: to help a friend in need; to be a friend in need.

(#4 appears to be the definition used in this particular situation, thus my emphasis.)

etymology
need (n.)
O.E. nied (W.Saxon), ned (Mercian) "necessity, compulsion, duty; hardship, distress; errand, business," originally "violence, force," from P.Gmc. *nauthis (cf. O.S. nod, O.N. nauðr, O.Fris. ned, M.Du., Du. nood, O.H.G. not, Ger. Not, Goth. nauþs "need&quot , probably cognate with O.Pruss. nautin "need," and perhaps with O.C.S. nazda, Rus. nuzda, Pol. nędza "misery, distress," from PIE *nau- "death, to be exhausted" (see narwhal).

The more common Old English word for "need, necessity, want" was ðearf, but they were connected via a notion of "trouble, pain," and the two formed a compound, niedðearf "need, necessity, compulsion, thing needed." Nied also might have been influenced by O.E. neod "desire, longing," which often was spelled the same. Common in Old English compounds, e.g. niedfaru "compulsory journey," a euphemism for "death;" niedhæmed "rape," the second element being an Old English word meaning "sexual intercourse;" niedling "slave." Meaning "extreme poverty, destitution" is from c.1200.

want
noun
11. something wanted or needed; necessity: My wants are few.
12. something desired, demanded, or required: a person of childish, capricious wants.
13. absence or deficiency of something desirable or requisite; lack: plants dying for want of rain.
14. the state of being without something desired or needed; need: to be in want of an assistant.
15. the state of being without the necessaries of life; destitution; poverty: a country where want is virtually unknown.

etymology
want (n.)
c.1300, "deficiency, shortage," from O.N. vant, neut. of vanr "wanting, deficient;" related to O.E. wanian "to diminish" (see wane). Phrase for want of is recorded from c.1400. Meaning "state of destitution" is recorded from mid-14c. Newspaper want ad is recorded from 1897. Middle English had wantsum (c.1200) "in want, deprived of," lit. "want-some."

By the looks of things, want and need are used interchangeably these days, further evidence that our language is ever evolving. Meaning, too, that you are choosing to stick with outmoded and exclusive definitions of the two words. So, how does it feel to be obsolete in one's thinking and actions?

[HuckleB]

66. Pure hogwash.

In fact, if you "need" to be distracted to use said tools, then you are clearly making said area less safe.

Cut the BS, please.

[kentauros]

74. As usual

you've ignored the content of my post (as well as everyone else's in order to "win" the "debate".) Notice in this post that I say I use Street View before I drive there. Or perhaps this sentence directly after: "Paying attention to the rest of Houston drivers is enough of a pain without also dealing with never-before-glimpsed roads and landmarks."

So, how about you cut the BS that Street View is useless? We that do use it aren't you (thankfully!) and find it quite useful in our driving needs.

[JI7]

77. yup, street view is used before you drive

the poster probably thinks we are using street view while we are driving.

[kentauros]

79. I like to use it on my screen at home

as it's fairly large (24".) I can't imagine using Street View on a tiny phone screen. The detail would be worthless, in my opinion Not to mention dangerous, trying to either use both hands to move the SV man around or one-handed with a thumb and trying to pan or zoom. Sure, some folks likely do just that, but they're the ones we're avoiding and paying attention to the road and existing landmarks we've already glimpsed on a computer screen.

[JI7]

64. not dependent, but it's useful

[HuckleB]

70. Seldom useful.

Which is why this drama is funny.

[JI7]

76. maybe not for you

in places like los angeles where parking can be tough to find i like looking to see what the area looks like before , this way i can get an idea of where to go. i don't need it but it helps.

[RC]

75. And another, more efficient, safer one to take it's place.

It sure beats risking asking directions at night in strange neighborhoods.

[intaglio]

63. For my work Street View is a need

There are times in the tiny streets of towns and villages in Cornwall that I have to view a property location

[HuckleB]

67. So no one did your type of work before the past few years.

Interesting.

NOT!

[enlightenment]

78. If it's not interesting, why do you continue posting in this thread?

Do you get gold stars from Apple for every denigrating post you make?

[Bodhi BloodWave]

93. more then likely apple pays him by the post *snorts*

there is no reason real reason for him to keep posting how its 'not really' that useful in who knows how many ways when there have been a ton of people saying its useful for their work et al.

the fact that so many have said its useful to them invalidates the 'its not really useful' claim and I'm starting to get the mental image of somebody holding their fingers in the ears and repeating something over and over in stubbornness

[tinrobot]

80. As a cyclist, it is very useful.

Among other things, I can see how wide the shoulders are on a road I might travel, so I can pick the safest route beforehand.

[rootProbiscus]

14. International diplomacy at its best, just duplicate Senkaku islands

Anyone know if they've done the same with Jerusalem? Kashmir maybe?

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. They've wiped out Shakespeare's birthplace!

It can't find Stratford-upon-Avon. A search for Luton, rather than finding the town just north of London with a population of 240,000, gives you the tiny village in rural Devon. Manchester United Football Club now plays, it seems, not at the Old Trafford ground (capacity: 75,000) but at the Sale community football ground a few miles away (capacity: however many people can stand on the touchline. There are no stands at all).

[formercia]

17. Intelligence Services all over the World are having a fit.

Track that.

[fascisthunter]

18. hmmmm something smells, cuz it works for me

[Hestia]

19. Again, what's what with an actual map? n/t

[Systematic Chaos]

20. Once you're done visiting all the pink dots, the neighborhood will pretty much look like this anyway

[Systematic Chaos]

21. Check this site out, people! It's almost as funny as LOLcats or People of Walmart...

...in its own strange way. Well, to me at least.

http://theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com/page/3

[Odin2005]

23. OMG, that's hilarious!

[dipsydoodle]

24. Classic

Thanks for posting.

[defacto7]

34. Haaa...

Always loved this... I like the new version best though. More realism.

[Glimmer of Hope]

40. Lol!

[annabanana]

89. wonderful!. . .n/t

[dipsydoodle]

90. More to the point

Apple Maps thinks that every skyscraper in Houston has a gas station.

[Odin2005]

22. Karma!!!

[Hugin]

25. Dali Map App.

Last edited Fri Sep 21, 2012, 12:02 PM - Edit history (1)

As usual, with the release of iOS6 Apple has effectively dry docked over $1,500.00 of my home electronics for a grand total of $3,000.00 since 2008.

I think I've finally learned my lesson. When I can finally afford an Apple gizmo within less than a year Apple will abandon support for it. No more here, TYVM.

The coolness factor of the iPad has taken a lurch downward.

My iPod Touch ( Abandoned by Apple in early 2011 ) does remain the coolest thing I have ever owned, however.

[sir pball]

28. It actually makes me worry for (what's left) of the very soul of Apple

Hear me out...beyond the horrendousness of the app itself, I worry that it's symptomatic of something far bigger.

To say releasing something this blatantly unfinished and half-usable is unlike Apple is the understatement of the century; Steve Jobs was a control freak for sure but he was a perfectionist control freak with a "user experience über alles" mindset. The ecosystem has always been integrated and controlled and micromanaged with a laserlike focus on that single goal and that more than anything is what's brought them to where they are today.

Until now...I wandered across a blog the other day that makes a very good point: Apple has used their platform dominance to privilege their own app over a competitor's offering, even though it's a worse experience for users." Apple certainly has the resources to write a mapping app that would at the very least be feature-complete; the current state of the app makes me think that development was radically rushed and definitely started after Jobs' death. He would never have allowed this no matter how he felt about Google - FFS, the early versions of OS X shipped with Internet Explorer; IE5 at the time was the best browser available so in it went even though it was from the Devil himself. I don't doubt that Apple could equal Google Maps, but under Jobs it would have been held back until it was complete and ready to compete on its merits. If this is Apple's new direction, "user experience in-house apps über alles", it bodes ill.

[Hugin]

32. Gasp! Could it be nascent Investor Creep?

OMG!

( Sadly, I think you're correct in your theorizing. :/ )

[defacto7]

36. Apple's soul died in the late 80's

[sir pball]

39. Thus my parentheses

I'll give them some credit for the Steve years 2.0, but yeah, nothing was quite as epic as those days playing with the old SE..

[defacto7]

43. I cut my teeth on the 6502 chip assembly lang.

It was different then.

[sir pball]

45. I started on the IIgs

In the lab at school...ahh, the Toolbox..

[tinrobot]

81. Jobs probably set the wheels in motion on this.

Under him, Apple started the policy of kicking off apps that competed with Apple products (even when Apple products were inferior).

His war against Adobe, for example, basically killed Flash on mobile.

He also made Google a top enemy, which resulted in the lawsuit and also may have influenced Apple's decision to do maps.

[sir pball]

85. I don't know..

AMaps is so laughably half-baked and unfinished that I sort of wonder. Steve's been gone for quite a while; I'd expect any app that was started that long ago would be far more complete and polished. I mean, this is just ridiculous - the work of 2 or 3 coders grinding for 6 months kind of rough.

[Ghost Dog]

82. How could Apple get a version of Street View up and running quickly?

(And internationally). Google has a few years' head start there.

[sir pball]

84. Street View is going to be the nail in AMaps' coffin.

First, AMaps has incomplete map data to begin with - no point having Street View if you don't know where the streets are. There's a far bigger issue than that, though: AFAIK there's no 3rd-party source for the street-level imagery; airborne images, satellite or aircraft, are purchased from outside companies that probably don't have exclusive licensing deals with Google. Apple can fairly easily pick those up. But the Street View stuff is 100% proprietary to Google, they built the trucks, planned the routes, and processed the data, they own it and can do what they wish with it. I suspect that includes not licensing it to Apple.

Sure, Apple has the resources to go collect their own street-level imagery but the sheer immensity of the task puts AMaps at an almost insurmountable disadvantage on that front. They just don't have the time to roll it out before GMaps ships a standalone iOS app and (re)establishes their mindshare.

[HuckleB]

29. Oh, the drama!

How the heck did people get around before these apps?

The drama is just hilarious.

[Trajan]

48. What do they call haters of technology ?

Ah ... Luddites .....

[HuckleB]

49. What do they call haters of logic?

Any way, nice red herring.

[Bodhi BloodWave]

94. logic would dictate that you use the best tools available to you to do whatever you need to do

if its more efficient and saves time to use street view to know exactly what you are looking for when driving in an unfamiliar area then logic would lean toward.....looking at street view

[Kablooie]

31. Take a look at TAHITI. It's alive, breathing and ready to attack you.

[LilSol]

41. some little mistakes

Had some small spelling mistakes like Glieberg to Gleiberg!

[Retrograde]

42. But they seem good at displaying Apple stores!

Is this so you know where to go to complain?

[randr]

53. Samsungs anwser

[kentauros]

58. I think that whenever I do get a "smarter" phone

(I have a Kyocera Loft - crackberry lite) I'll likely go with whatever Samsung has available. Assuming Apple hasn't driven them out of the country by then...

Thanks for the video!

[Pab Sungenis]

59. I'm in the opposite camp.

I live in a new neighborhood (constructed in 2006). My street wasn't on Google's maps, but is on iOS 6's.

[goclark]

61. Some friends went to the Grove Mall. Los Angeles yesterday

There was a loooooog line waiting to get into the Apple store.
I want to guess 60/100 people in line. Guessing because some could have been "couples/families)


had been waiting their turn for hours.

[defacto7]

62. sheep

[HuckleB]

71. Are you dissing Shaun, because... well...

[Canuckistanian]

72. Never once had a problem with Nokia Maps

In fact, I'm replacing my Garmin GPS with my phone's GPS. A lot more features and I don't have to pay for map updates.

[Ghost Dog]

83. Yes. Nokia looks increasingly interesting

(depending on the quality of Windows Phone 8 + apps).

... Unlike our competitors, which are financing their location assets with advertising or licensing mapping content from third parties, we completely own, build and distribute mapping content, platform and apps.

In other words, we truly understand that maps and location-based apps must be accurate, provide the best quality and be accessible basically anywhere. That’s been standard practice at Nokia for the past six years, and we also understand that “pretty” isn’t enough. You expect excellence in your smartphone mapping experience.

Our superior apps are built on the most accurate, automotive-grade Navteq maps, meticulously developed by over 20 years of know-how. We believe that the best user experience comes indeed from precise data, robust processing of core platform functionalities like routing, geocoding and traffic, and by user friendly apps. All this cannot be built overnight.

A mapping experience is a must-have feature for many of us. In fact, a recent survey by IDG found that 77% of respondents are using smartphones for GPS navigation. No wonder that many of our readers are closely following the recent development and changes of mapping apps and the user experience on the newest smartphones...

/... http://conversations.nokia.com/2012/09/20/benchmarking-mobile-maps/

[center] [/center]

[cstanleytech]

86. I wonder if this is the first sign of what to expect from now on from Apple without Steve Jobs.

After all look at the history of Apple, when Jobs ran it the first time the company did well and then he left and it almost went under and then he came back and helped guide them into a powerhouse but now this map issue comes along *shakes head in wonder*
I hope that I am wrong though and that this isnt the first major sign of the company going back to its stumbling, bumbling days but considering the magnitude of this error I fear that I may be right.

[Kablooie]

88. We did get MobileMe under Jobs and it was a mess too.

So he wasn't perfect protection from imperfection.

I do feel a slight difference already though and I'm afraid there will be more rough edges in the upcoming products.

[cstanleytech]

91. Yes, but his batting average was usually pretty high for something being successful.

Hopefully though Apple will learn from this mistake fast.