Q: Apple maps very disappointing

I don't know what Google intends to do about a new iOS app, but they are busily updating their web app to include street views (may already be done - I haven't checked.)

I guess I need to keep my iPhone for some practical reasons, but since my new iPhone will include tethering I'm tempted to also carry along my cheap LG Android 2.3 device just for maps.

If I weren't tied to the iPhone platform for some practical reasons (updating apps, helping people with support) I'd probably say, "enough is enough," and get a Samsung Galaxy S3.

doug'

Maybe, but it still giving you routes and directions in India.

Apple Maps is useless for me. I will switch platforms next month before my travel season begins for sure.

Hi

I moved to the Galaxy 3 after years of supporting Apple just too restrictive on how I can control my data but I kept my 4s . I upgraded the other day and cannot beleive how bad the maps are in fact overall how little the upgrade to IOS6 offers it's becoming embarrasing for Apple

On the Galaxy I am of to San Fran for 2 weeks I just go to maps highlight the area and boom download the section, tried that on the 4s and it doesnt even have the US map on it (i'm in the UK)

I know they may be the biggest company in the world but the number of people that I know who are turning their back on Apple in a few years I can see them in trouble if they carry on like this. They really are not listening to their customers at all. For now I made the right choice in switching to Android and Galaxy (phone and tablet) they provide more functionality for me but the UI of the apple is still slightly better although I am hearing that the Jelly Bean update is equalt to IOS

Pull your finger out Apple for 2 years now you have been making yourselves look stupid.

I cleared the extra pin totally by accident. The first thing to try is to press on the pin and an address bar will come up with an arrow to the right. Click on that bar and a new window opens up with the address. Sometimes there is an option that says "remove pin". Press it and it is gone. If the option is not there, then drop a pin on your address. Drag the unwanted pin to your address pin. Make sure the unwanted pin also now has your address. Click on that address bar and you should see the "remove pin" option.

Mine would also not talk at first but I shut down the phone and restarted it and all of a sudden it started working with voice commands.   The clear button only seem to work when two pins are present but if you accidentally drop a third, that's when you can't get rid of that extra pin. Hope this works for you and I hope Apple fixes the "remove pin" option so that it is always present.

Apple Maps is useless in Australia and Malaysia. I rather print from Google Maps before I head to my destination than to rely on Apple Maps.

1. Most places in Malaysia isn't updated.

2. The 'Blue Dot' does not follow my vehicle movement or me walking. The lag in Apple Maps is staggering and I am very frustrated everytime I passed a turning that is routed by Apple Maps when the 'Blue Dot' is still way behind where I just started to drive off.

3. The suggested routes from Apple Maps are far longer than the one normally recommended by Google Maps.

In conclusion, I want Google Maps back.

Speaking of the blue dot (not that it matters, since Apple Maps doesn't shown anything but empty outlines in my Tokyo neighborhood) but why doesn't the blue dot settle down? Every 5 seconds or so it shifts position, even if I'm just sitting here.

doug

For your convenience, here is a list of countries where Apple Maps does not work correctly:

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Antigua & Deps

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Belarus

Belgium

Belize

Benin

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bosnia Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

Brunei

Bulgaria

Burkina

Burundi

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Cape Verde

Central African Rep

Chad

Chile

China

Colombia

Comoros

Congo

Congo {Democratic Rep}

Costa Rica

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Djibouti

Dominica

Dominican Republic

East Timor

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Estonia

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Grenada

Guatemala

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Ireland {Republic}

Israel

Italy

Ivory Coast

Jamaica

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kiribati

Korea North

Korea South

Kosovo

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liberia

Libya

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Macedonia

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Maldives

Mali

Malta

Marshall Islands

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

Micronesia

Moldova

Monaco

Mongolia

Montenegro

Morocco

Mozambique

Myanmar, {Burma}

Namibia

Nauru

Nepal

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Palau

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Romania

Russian Federation

Rwanda

St Kitts & Nevis

St Lucia

Saint Vincent & the Grenadines

Samoa

San Marino

Sao Tome & Principe

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

Solomon Islands

Somalia

South Africa

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Swaziland

Sweden

Switzerland

Syria

Taiwan

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Thailand

Togo

Tonga

Trinidad & Tobago

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

United States

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Vanuatu

Vatican City

Venezuela

Vietnam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

I am so pleased that I didn't update my iPhone 4!   And I feel back for all of those who are suffering! Since I use Google Maps, at least, several times a week, iOS 6 would have rendered my phone unusable for maps. As of yesterday, I have already seen how Apple's mapping app has butchered my city of 3 million. Ridiculous that they would allow such garbage to be released this quickly. 

But here is a curiosity. Everyone seems to be blaming Tom Tom's poor mapping... but I own the Tom Tom US-Canada app and it appears far more accurate than Apple's app. Why?

Anyhow, good luck to all!

Here is the message I sent to Apple.... I doubt it will go anywhere:

Dear Apple and/or to whom it may concern,

I have the iPhone 4 and I was ready to upgrade to iOS6 and, in addition, also purchase the iPhone 5. Thank goodness, I have done neither. Apple is at risk for the first time in a very long time, and as a share holder, I am really annoyed that you didn't see this coming!

More importantly, you are NOT placing your loyal customers and user experience first!

These are the steps you must take OR I (and many others) will do the unthinkable and buy an Android phone:

1) Apologize and admit your mistakes!

2) Allow iPhone 4/4S customers the ability to downgrade (this should have always been available anyway!)

3) Settle your differences with Google and bring back Google Maps! AT WHATEVER COSTS!

You need to do this to mitigate any further damage!

BTW, I doubt that this will reach a decision maker but I feel better for writing it and sending it into the ether.

I am not sure if I can post URLs but the latest scope on the Maps app from Google is that nothing is ready to go and that it is up to Apple to nogotiate with Google, if they want it.

Google, "No Google Maps Coming to Apple's iOS 6 Soon, Eric Schmidt Says" for more details.

Yes you can post URL's, (you just cut and paste them in)

here are a couple you should read to realise why Apple Maps don't and won't work

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

Why Streetview is the heart of Google Maps:

http://mashable.com/2012/09/07/how-google-builds-its-maps/

When you read the info on the link above "how Google builds its maps" you will realise just what a poor substitue Apple Maps is for Google Maps with Streetview

Well, I've done plenty of whining in the last 5 days about iOS 6 maps and I'm just about over with all but 3 key things at this point.

• The geographical boundaries (water edges and lack of detail and accuracy) are hugely simplified (and sometimes non-existent) compared to Google Maps.  And in most cases even if you zoom in really close...somethings appear and some don't.  To me geographical data should be visible at all zoom levels.  And for god's-sake make the boundaries accurate.  They're using vector graphics for crying out loud, there's no excuse for simplifying these things.
• The building outlines can only be viewed largely at a zoom levels that are unusable in most cases (it's better on the iPad but on the iPhone it's unusable).  Meaning you have to zoom in too far to actually see building outlines.  Not to mention the way it denotes types of zoning (i.e. hospital, University, governmental boundaries) are inaccurate as well.
• Transit overlays on top of the maps.  It's great they they at least show transit stops on iOS 6 maps.  But not having the routes overlaid on the maps is a huge annoyance.  I could care less about Siri telling me which train route is the best and time tables.  Just give me the overlay transit system on the map and I can find my way.  In larger, more complex transit systems...showing the layouts of the stations and exit locations is also a huge advantage Google has over iOS Maps.  Check Beijing on Google Maps for a great example.

Using 3rd Party Apps is totally counter intuitive to the Apple method of design (meaning the one-stop-shop).  If you want us to use 3rd party transit Apps, allow the Dev's to design "Plug-Ins" to the iOS Maps Apps, not the other way around.  If I have to switch to a separate App, It's a FAIL in my book and totally pointless.

Being able to see multiple layers of information in a Mapping App is what made Google Maps so brilliant.

Google had the vision to see maps as more than just for planning a trip from point A to B.  The ability to see all these layers of information allowed for an experience that was so much more than just navigation.  It became a tool for exploration and learning (in Google Earth there were Wikipedia links too).  With Street View you could quite literally tour the world (where available).  There are many more layers of information that made Google maps better (like names of buildings on College Campuses)...but you see my point.

I'd have to say that is really the one reason why I hate iOS Maps.  And I guess I shouldn't really be surprised, because everything in this new App is typical Apple's MO.  Start Small and get better over time with generational improvements.

That said though, I think the problem is that since Google has been at this for nearly 7+ years and is so flooded with data, people are used to that and we can't wait another 7 years for iOS Maps to catch up.  My guess is it won't take another 7 years...perhaps half that, but still that's a long time to wait for Apple to just get ON PAR with Google from now on.

I understand that crowd-sourcing is a necessary evil to improve maps accuracy.  But if you look at my bullet-points above, most of I believe are THE KEY issues with iOS Maps are not something that necessarily needs crowd-sourcing to improve.  Just give me an accurate map with vital info.  Addresses and location accuracy will come.  We all agree even Google still has issues with that.

Also solely relying on Yelp! for location services is a mistake.  They need multiple sources.  If I learned anything in school, it's that you need at least 3 sources for all information you present.  You need to cross-reference data for accuracy...triangulation of data if you will.  And Apple dropped the ball on that.  ****, all Apple had to do is go to the local visitor's center in any major city and get the free city map to see what the vital info is they need to show.

Something needs to happen fast.  Or there will be a lot more articles about the deficiencies of this App.

I tested a little more today with Apple Maps. (In India)

My obs - The standard view is devoid of most details, only shows main roads, no buildings / parks / monuments / byelanes / localities etc.

However, all these are viewable with clarity in the hybrid / satellite view and also in 3D view.

I also checked on few places in London and Ireland, and the result was quite ok.

The routing and directions part worked when searching in UK, but doesn't work in India. So someone visiting India cannot rely on Apple Maps anyway for the time being.

The blue spot keeps shifting within @ 100m accuracy, but otherwise it was as near as my floor in 3D view.

So, I feel apart from routing, directions and standard view, rest of the things are quite ok ;-)

Apple has disappointed us in a way we never would had thought.

But where is Apple in all of this ? Why do we not hear from Apple. What is being done ? When will it be fixed ?

Do they have anything in mind for us users who had a working platform a week ago ?

I guess we are many Confused Apple user, or perhaps soon, not so much  Apple users

Losing Google's YouTube App on iOS:

No biggie...we don't have to watch Gangnam Style

Losing Google Maps on iOS:

Millions of users in the Apple community disoriented...Apple, this is a monumental and fundamental part of what makes the iPhone or any smartphone a fledging Internet communications device. We have become so dependant on this in our daily lives and we take google maps as a feature that we pay for on iPhone having paid 1000's of dollars on products.

When the first iPhone came out, google maps was a primary feature and since then it always has been for millions of us. Now... Suddenly this smartphone is not so smart after all is it?

All we as customers want is some official statement regarding the situation so we can make calculated decisions in our own lives. The majority of users don't care about your beef with Google... We just want to know what's going to be done about this fiasco of epic proportions.