Engineers’ work on cycling and public transit have transformed the app – but rural directions remain a sticking point

Archived version: https://archive.ph/hguLn

Excerpt:

Apple Maps’ offering might surprise people who remember its disastrous launch in 2012, which the Guardian described as the company’s “first significant failure in years”. Users were more than furious – they were lost, sometimes dangerously so. In Australia, police had to rescue tourists from the huge Murray-Sunset national park, after Maps placed the city of Mildura in the wrong place by more than 40 miles. Some of the motorists located by police had been stranded for 24 hours without food or water. In Ireland, ministers had to complain directly to Apple after a cafe and gardens called “Airfield” was designated by the service as an actual airport.

But mostly the map was just glitchy and unhelpful, its directions always a little off kilter. Users revolted and Apple made a rare retreat, allowing Google Maps to be used as the default on many iPhone apps and apologizing for the product.

  • @[email protected]English
    4•11 months ago

    I’m not in the US so I’d use either use Apple Maps, Google Maps and Waze, but until the past 4-5 years none were that great. G-Maps would take me down roads that didn’t exist, or it would Waze occasionally send me to parts of Germany by way of England. We were not amused. Forget using either for actual live navigation, especially in Germany or France - really slow at predicting turns or which lane to be in when they split. They ALL occasionally want to send you to the service dock in the back alley, instead of the front door (a result of getting initial data from delivery companies, I’d bet).

    Apple Maps, about 3-4 years ago, just started getting WAY better for navigation: far better turn prediction, lane bifurcation guidence on top and really nice CarPlay integration with my VW ID.3.

    Another thing to mention - report issues. The more you report, with proof (pictures, especially) the faster the map data gets updated. I’m assuming it’s tied to your iCloud account - I’ve had maps changes happen in 2-3 days, but I’ve been submitting data changes for years now.

    • @soyagiOPEnglish
      2•11 months ago

      As you’ve been very diligent reporting errors and suggesting changes to map data, have you ever considered contributing to OpenStreetMap? You might like helping by using the app Every Door on iOS, for example.

      • @[email protected]English
        2•11 months ago

        While I appreciate OSM, I tend to fix what I use - reminded of the the old cowboy adage: “You gotta dance with them what brung you”. My dance card is full with Apple Maps.