Q: Apple maps very disappointing

I do not doubt that Apple Maps will be a great app but what I do not really understand is, if Apple are using TomTom maps as one of there main providers of mapping/GIS data why does the map data shown in the Maps App not match the map data on TomTom's website?

I live in Brisbane, Australia where we have a newly opened road tunnel called the Airport Link and on TomTom's website (and TomTom GPS enabled navigation devices) it is shown in all is glory and works well for driving navigation but in the Maps App this new road tunnel does not even show up!

I think by the list of sources that Apple are using for their mapping and GIS data the problem is not at that they do not have up to date data or it is wrong, it is that trying to combine the latest data from different sources in such a short space of time has ment that older information from one source has replaced what was newer data from another source.

This means that data from one source might be up to date in one location but old in another, so you can not just say to use one lot of data for all situations in all countries. This is where combining data like this produces discrepancies and errors.

Apple do not have the abbility to travel every square inch of the planet verifying that their Maps app is correct so what better than having Millions of users reporting issues as they are discovered so that they can be fixed. It won't happen overnight but it will happen and when it does I am certain it will me the Maps app the Apple said it would be.

Ben

I'm a mere level 4, and don't live in the rarified atmosphere of a level 6, but would like to chime in here (again).

I despair when I see insults flying back and forth at each other. It often comes, in an extremely annoying and condescending manner from certain strong Apple fans who see see legitimate technical complaints as coming from "haters" or "whiners." And then it is flung back with equal venom from users who post vulgar and profane insults in return.

Then the inevitable posts will appear telling people they are in violation of this or that and to go give feedback instead (which does feel like a black hole). I think those posts miss the point, because the complaints being made are legitimate and technical in essence and it provides valuable information for people who come to the site looking to see if other people have the same problems they do. In this case criticism is not only legitimate, it is vital.

Too often, the people we call "fanbois" are extremely non-supportive of typical users and show little empathy for the very real problems we have. They are too quick to dismiss anybody who makes a legitimate complaint as a "whiner."

In my particular case, the new Apple Maps has left all the block numbers off the maps here in Tokyo. This is the same as leaving the street names off the maps in the U.S. And Tokyo is not exactly some backwater rural area.

This simply makes Apple Maps 100% useless for finding places. I don't think it's reasonable to ask the users to report every missing block number in some crowd-sourcing effort. That doesn't make any sense. Apple took a working product of theirs, which used Google's data, and turned it into a non-working product.

The satellite views are also undeniably worse and blurrier than the Googe data version. I own a house in St. Louis and with the old apps could see it clearly, but now I can't even make out my block with Apple Maps. Again, this is not something that crowd-sourcing can help with.

I don't see how Apple can ever catch up to be honest. Google has spent nearly 10 years using a staff reaching 7,000 people to create their database. Even if Apple spends years to get to Google's current level  Google will have moved on to an even more complete database. Apple has to admit it can't do everything and try to cooperate with Google. Their spat is not in the best interest of their users. None of us care one whit which company gets the traffic and pulls in usage data. No ordinary user cares if Apple "wins" this battle or not. Why should we? We just want working Maps.

And I don't even care if there is voice control or turn-by instructions or some of these other esoteric things. I just want to be able to follow the blue ball and find the shop, or where I'm meeting my friend. And slipping into street view so I can actually see where I am and get my bearings.

But all I see now are huge empty outlines, which are useless. And no amount of my reporting this is going to help.

doug

Well said, Doug. On ALL counts. Well said. My sentiments, exactly.

Tgara. Nobody was throwing insults.

Help points? To an egoist or fanboy that might mean something and if only like-minded people agree with you. You don't need me or anyone else to remind you that it was Apple fanboys and girls who started this flame war of us vs everyone else. The culture has become so deep routed that it is devoid of any logic and sensibility. It's defend the almighty at all cost regardless of what the  omnipotent one may or may not do, whether it is right or wrong. And that my dear Tgaray is the problem with the Apple eco-system and this forum. There is so much bad attitude and prejudice (such as yourself) going on that the admins are having a hard time restraining people like you.

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Doug,

I completely agree with you.

In my particular case, the new Apple Maps has left all the block numbers off the maps

This simply makes Apple Maps 100% useless for finding places.

True, but that can be corrected and in no way justifies endless ranting, speculating and bashing Apple.  The latter has become the sole agenda of many posting here, and they have been indistinguishable from the many paid drones of competitors sent here to troll.  Google, is still available for you!

The satellite views are also undeniably worse and blurrier than the Googe data version. I own a house in St. Louis and with the old apps could see it clearly, but now I can't even make out my block with Apple Maps.

That very may well be true for many (not all) areas, but has zero meaning for navigation.  Did you EVER locate ANYTHING by satellite view of the roof, or find it in anyway useful for any location you weren't already highly familiar with?

what better than having Millions of users reporting issues as they are discovered so that they can be fixed. It won't happen overnight but it will happen and when it does I am certain it will me the Maps app the Apple said it would be.

That's the point being refuted by the troll-boys who are promoting defecting to androgyny or downgrading to iOS 5 as the only legitimate "solution", while flaming Apple in the process.  The LAST thing they want to see or admit to is for iOS 6 Maps to improve by constructive support by users.

modular747 wrote:

 

 

That's the point being refuted by the troll-boys who are promoting defecting to androgyny or downgrading to iOS 5 as the only legitimate "solution", while flaming Apple in the process.  The LAST thing they want to see or admit to is for iOS 6 Maps to improve by constructive support by users.

I think you need a crash course in basic psychology about speculating, ranting, life, and how Apple doesn't listen to their customers.

Like Doug already mentioned in his very logical post, "no amount of my reporting this is going to help" Apple fix the mapping issue. The sooner people like you and those infatuated with one organization or OS realize this, the more likely we will have the correct and sound solution which is the ONLY solution: bring back Google maps.  And since Coke fessed up and brought back the old Coke, there is no reason why Apple can't bring us back Google maps. Sadly, like the fanboys, Apple has an ego taller than Mt. Everest. It's more like the size of Jupiter. This WILL prevent them from rolling back to Google Maps and being integrated in their OS.

You need a course in rational, analytic thinking.  Fixing iOS 6 Maps is the ONLY alternative and using the already available Google until that happens is what you should be doing. 

Your "new Coke" analogy completely misses.  They always owned and could use whenever they liked the old formula, so going back was no issue. In fact, they never completely dropped the old Coke - they just dropped the New.

Remember, even if available, "going back" to Google means losing turn-by-turn voice, which Google refused to licence to Apple and which forced Apples hand into their own product.  The drones will be whining and ranting again if that happened.

"troll-boys", "androgyny"...get a life modular.

People are voicing an understandable and justified complaint about a new feature which turns out to be a POS and, in case they updated their phones, left them in a worse state. Not exactly what I expect from an "upgrade"

They do so because apart from a lukewarm acknowledgement (I hardly call it an apology) there is no solution. And Apple seemingly does not care for the grievances of their paying customers.

No short term solution other than reversing the decision is possible. I personally doubt that Apple will be able to get to the data quality that Google offers mid or long term. Yet still you seem to have a near-religious belief in Apple being able to fix what requires years of development, experience manpower and resources.

Apple screwed this big time and we want them to know that we won't have it. The last thing we do need is some level 6 dwarf entering the arena and screaming blue murder because someone dares to (rightly) critcise his master and idol.

If you think that iOS 6 is so f**** brilliant and the best thing since sliced bread, go ahead and open your own Apple Maps appreciation thread - I am sure it wil gather a huge followship and you can have a nice, clean conversation on all the great Apple Maps features.

Until that time, I am looking forward to a Galaxy Note 2 that will ship on Monday, people like you have tought me that the best way of dealing with such problems is to be pragmatic and vote with your feet - customer loyalty does not count for Apple as they seem to believe that there are still enough useful idiots out there who will buy any POS they throw on the market.

I have been using Android for years so I am new to the forum and to the iPhone.  There is clearly much to learn and I am starting to see some of the reasons Apple customers are so loyal.  But, this map problem is a big deal for me and it looks like the same for many others.  Does anyone know how quickly Apple could review and approve a new app from Google if they really wanted to give is the product we want?   Using the web version on the phone does not work right.

Thanks Doug.

You have covererd the situation well.

Like you, the new maps application has rendered my favorite ever consumer device into a nearly great consumer device.

Apple maps is a far inferior product to Google Maps which for me, worked seemlesly in both provincial Indonesia as well as all of Australia.

To quote Doug:

"Apple took a working product of theirs, which used Google's data, and turned it into a non-working product."

As has been covered widely by experts in the field, apple will not be able to catch up to google for a long time. To ask paying users to donate their time, effort and patience to a for-profit company in helping them catch up to google is preposterous.

Simply, give us back the full functionality of an application that has a proven track record.

Personally, this has left such a sour taste, that if not remedied in days, I will never ever give apple my precious mapping information when given the chance not to.

So you are saying that what you say is always gonna be right because you have more firkin help points? And we shouldn't be allowed to voice our opinion about something we pay a lot of money for that we don't like? Take your points and shove them up your kazoo. Good luck with that chief.

I have an i-pad, live in texas and was an avid user of google maps. The new apple maps map was clearly advertised in all the ios6 upgrade material, and still is, as a brilliant new piece of software that will be a huge improvement on the old way of doing things.

So i upgraded my ipad to the new Ios and then discovered the mapping software was barely workable for me and if outside of the US actually non-funcitonal. My home town in the uk doesn't even have a name on the map. Apple outside of the US is actually a laughing stock right now.

Now I have got the free version of live view installed so I can, via a slightly more roundabout way, get a street view when I need to. Street view is not a gimmick. I never book a hotel nowadays without using street view to see what the neighborhood looks like. I have a shortcut to the web version of google maps and I use that for traffic every day and for general,use.

So with these workarounds in place I am functional to a degree.  The only problem for apple is that now I won't ever use their maps app again and so I won't  feed it corrections and if everyone else follow's apple's advice too, no-one else will either. So good luck waiting for an improved ios6 mapping app, let me know how that works out for all you apple fans.

I work in the IT industry. When you implement a piece of code that doesn't work you regress it out and put it back to the previous version. It's basic IT 101 stuff. So when someone above posts 'the only alternative' is to stick with ios6 and use workarounds, they may in fact be right due to Apple's arrogance but sorry, it is NOT the correct alternative. The correct alternative is to give a regression path to users  to the earlier ios. Simples

Using Google maps on the internet is not a solution. It lacks one of its best resources - the street view, because iphone does not support flash player. I was just thinking that if that maps app of IOS 6 would be released if the Steve Jobs were still alive on the command of Apple.

Not only that but it is way more inconvenient.