8 ms·

Most of my friends still think Apple Maps is a complete failure of a product because of their badly received launch. I'm always able to get them admit that Appl

Most of my friends still think Apple Maps is a complete failure of a product because of their badly received launch. I'm always able to get them admit that Apple Maps' satellite data is far superior when I show them the side by side (try the satellite + map tilt in a major city or try the 3d tours).

xixixao 10y ago
Not exactly the primary features of such a mobile app for most people .)
stephenr 10y ago
Mob opinion is generally not the best gauge of reality. Look at all the shit people are posting about Apple removing an ancient analog audio port, vs how many people are posting about Samsung the phone that self combusts.
- Marazan 10y ago
  That's because unless your Samsung actually blows you up there isn't a perceivable effect vs making me have to buy new headphones if I get the latest iPhone.
  - stephenr 10y ago
    > That's because unless your Samsung actually blows you up there isn't a perceivable effect There is a real risk of the Samsung causing a great deal of damage and/or injury. It's been fucking banned by most major airlines because of the risk, and after much typical Samsung fucking about, have issued a full recall. > vs making me have to buy new headphones if I get the latest iPhone. Why. Why do you need to buy new headphones? Either you a) genuinely aren't aware they include a Lightning to 3.5mm adapter in the box, but somehow feel the need to comment about an aspect you've apparently spent 0 seconds researching; or b) you know damn well they include an adapter and you're being disingenuous. This type of thing is exactly what I'm talking about. You downplay a literal health and safety risk "eh, it won't happen to me" but trump up complaints about "i can't use my headphones" which are not even accurate.
    - GTP 10y ago
      Including the jack to lightning adapter appears to me like a contradiction: it's like saying "we remove the audio jack but we know that you need it".
      - stephenr 10y ago
        Your complaint is that they're including a free adaptor? I know its "cool" to be anti-Apple, but you're clutching at straws.
        egeozcan 10y ago
        > I know its "cool" to be anti-Apple I sincerely doubt that someone would be anti-Apple on HN just because it's cool. What Apple is doing is a conscious choice of direction, which has a lot of potential for discussion. What Samsung did is catastrophic, yes. However, it doesn't have any depth for discussion. Yes they messed up big time, and yes the situation has been down-played, but in the end, it affects Samsung market share and the health of the poor people who got affected. Discussing the market-share of Samsung and their policies doesn't have any meaning, and for the people, you can only hope that the authorities take enough precautions. On the other hand, Apple has been making decisions, which, in the end, can affect far more many people, regardless of their usage of Apple products, in a good or bad way, for a far longer term. It is a statement, at the very least. Or maybe I'm exaggerating, that's also possible.
        stuaxo 10y ago
        This is silly. I know me - I lose stuff, I don't need one extra thing to lose, and I am not buying lightning headphones.
        GTP 10y ago
        No, my complain is that they're removing a standard port in favour of their own propietary alternative while they know that a lot of users would be more comfortable with the standard one. I also think that using the lightinig port has no real advantage over the audio jack but I admittedly don't know much about lightning, so maybe somebody can prove me wrong. (Removing a component from the phone isn't in my opinion an advantage because the audio jack uses a very tiny space and removing it gives you far less choices if you want to buy a new pair of headphones).
  - izacus 10y ago
    Samsung actually blowing up also has no effect on you if you're an iPhone/iOS user and want to update your device for the ecosystem.
- kalleboo 10y ago
  Apple does seem to create more buzz about things in general (it's their way of marketing, for good or evil) but as for me, the Samsung issue is "Li-ion cells are volatile, sometimes there are bad batches" is not a story. We knew that.. Meanwhile, "the death of analog, open standards" is worth discussing.
  - stephenr 10y ago
    Right. A hand-held ticking time bomb is a non-story. An ancient audio port being migrated to a $9 adapter is the end of days. > Meanwhile, "the death of analog, open standards" is worth discussing. Just like the death of the standard floppy disc. And the death of the standard optical disc. And the death of the standard parallel and serial ports. The death of the standard PS2 port. Motorola released a phone earlier this year with no analog 3.5mm jack. Where was the overreaction, the ridiculous petitions and bullshit we see whenever Apple does something?
    - kalleboo 10y ago
      I could go through and refute all of your points with what I believe, but that's just proving my point - there are differing opinions on the matter so it's worth discussing. Nobody is taking the stance that Samsung batteries exploding is a Good Thing. And it's not as if the story doesn't have traction - I'm seeing jokes all over the place about exploding Samsungs. Until someone unearths a story about wilfil negligence (such as when Capacitor Plague was being caused by failed industrial espionage), there's just not much to discuss. We already had the Chinese Batteries discussion recently with the hoverboards. > Where was the overreaction, the ridiculous petitions and bullshit we see whenever Apple does something I addressed this - Apple's marketing is to create massive buzz and expectations with marketing like "perfection" and "magical". Of course there's going to be backlash. They revel in it. They used to market themselves as "the crazy ones". edit: also, Apple also has far bigger market mindshare than Motorola. They alone have the power to bifurcate a market into proprietary standards. With the Motorola phone, people just go "eh" and buy a Samsung. With the Apple, they're still breaking sales records.
    - lostboys67 10y ago
- abpavel 10y ago
  Note 7 blow rate: 0.01% IPhone 7 jackless rate: 100% If my calculations are correct, then about 10000x more people should write about Apple's jack crucifixion. Also, technology is not "ancient" just because it's 50 years old. Electric motor is over 180 years old, and that's not ancient. It's not ancient if it's used everywhere. If it's used everywhere, it's called modern.
  - ajdlinux 10y ago
    Degree to which my life would be affected by losing my mobile's headphones jack - slightly above zero, courtesy of, well, owning Bluetooth headphones. To be fair, I'm sufficiently middle class that I can afford Bose QC35s, but still. Degree to which my life would be affected if my apartment burnt down - uh, lots. Now, there are plenty of other great reasons why I refuse to buy Apple products and stick with the platform that at least gives me some level of Software Freedom. Getting rid of the headphones jack? Doesn't rate particularly highly there.
    - pierrebai 10y ago
      Then you will be reassured that the number of appartment that burnt down due to Samsung Note 7 is zero. You may also appreciate that Samgsung's fiasco was unintentional, while Apple's choice was deliberate. One is a PR and product disaster, while the other is a cash grab. Conflating issues just because they happened to rival company with loud fan base is dubious.
      - stephenr 10y ago
        Well thank Jeebus it was only CARS that burnt to a pile of scrap and not apartments. I'm all turned around on the matter now.
  - stephenr 10y ago
    > IPhone 7 backless rate: 100% iPhone 7 included adapter rate: 100%. If a phone blowing up is not something to be concerned with (ignoring all the Airlines and government departments telling people to turn them off while flying), then a removed audio port shouldn't even factor into your consciousness when you consider that they give you the adapter for free. > Also, technology is not "ancient" just because it's 50 years old. In the world of consumer electronics, 50 years is ancient. At the end of the day the way the 3.5mm jack is used in 2016 is the ultimate hack-on-a-hack-on-a-hack. The plugs are all the same size, but they could have anywhere from 2 to 5 contact points, depending on device type/manufacturer. It worked for a while, but at some point you have to move on, and someone has to be the first to move. As I said in another comment, Apple has always been ahead of the pack when it comes to adopting new technology and dropping legacy technology. > Electric motor is over 180 years old, and that's not ancient. It's not ancient if it's used everywhere. If it's used everywhere, it's called modern No, if its used everywhere its called "popular" or "ubiquitous". An electric motor can be modern, if it's a new/recent design. That doesn't make all electric motors modern.
- Pigo 10y ago
  Yes, what kind of loser still uses that ancient audio port hides headphones that don't require charging in drawer
kalleboo 10y ago
I still think Apple Maps is a failure because it still utterly blows here in Japan (either their POI data or the search engine is complete crap since it STILL sends me across the country for basic searches). Google Maps has its problems as well (I prefer using local apps if I'm doing car navigation) but Apple Maps is just a complete joke here.
- stevelosh 10y ago
  Apple Maps is also garbage in Iceland. One example: Google Maps has walking paths in Reykjavík and Apple doesn't have them at all. For someone who doesn't have a car here (me) that's kind of important.
  - kalleboo 10y ago
    The car-centricness of Apple Maps is also a problem in Japan. The original release was absolutely ridiculous (it showed the biggest train station in Japan as a park!), and while they fixed the most embarrassing issues, it still deprioritises public transport so you often have to zoom in to ridiculous levels to see train stations, where here they're the main mode of transport so they should have priority over, say, shops.
    - stevelosh 10y ago
      Oh yeah, I forgot Apple Maps doesn't have bus stops here at all either. Google Maps only draws them when you're zoomed way in, but at least they're there.
mikeash 10y ago
Apple's satellite data is terrible when I try it. It still shows my house as a big hole in the ground, for example. Apple Maps is good enough now to get the job done, but it still kind of sucks.
granos 10y ago
This is purely anecdotal, but I've used apple maps twice this year (accidentally - search for maps and hit the wrong icon) and it's taken me to the wrong place both times. I live just outside of a major metropolitan area; suburban but not rural by any stretch of the imagination. I've never had Google Maps take me to the wrong place. At the end of the day, getting where I want to go is the primary concern. If they product doesn't work consistently then I'm just not going to use it. Hopefully my experience is not typical.
- dmd 10y ago
  I've been so astounded by Apple Maps' consistently bad routing that I actually have a recurring todo item every three weeks that says "Try Apple Maps". It has fired 37 times so far, and out of those 37 times that I've tried it (each time I wait until I have a not-used-before destination to try with), Maps has routed me to the wrong place (and I only count it as wrong if it's more than, say, a mile away) 11 times. "My days of not taking Apple Maps seriously are definitely coming to a middle."
  - cpeterso 10y ago
    If Google maps (I presume) is working well enough for you, why are you trying so hard to switch to Apple Maps? :)
    - dmd 10y ago
      Mainly for my own amusement, and partially for Siri integration.
- amyjess 10y ago
  Four years after its release, Apple Maps still puts my address in the wrong location. Whenever I have a Lyft or Uber driver come to my house to pick me up, I always have to text them "please only use Google Maps, do not use Apple or Waze" (Waze has its own issues, which I've written about before).
  - 10y ago
protomyth 10y ago
Apple Maps for me is still broken. It seems to ignore every business and casino on the local reservations. It tells me the nearest gas station is in the next town over but the two on the reservation are not listed. It continues give me local weather for a different town with the GPS. I guess I should feel better that the seat of government for the reservation is once again listed as a town.

xixixao 10y ago

Not exactly the primary features of such a mobile app for most people .)

stephenr 10y ago

Mob opinion is generally not the best gauge of reality. Look at all the shit people are posting about Apple removing an ancient analog audio port, vs how many people are posting about Samsung the phone that self combusts.

Marazan 10y ago
That's because unless your Samsung actually blows you up there isn't a perceivable effect vs making me have to buy new headphones if I get the latest iPhone.
- stephenr 10y ago
  > That's because unless your Samsung actually blows you up there isn't a perceivable effect There is a real risk of the Samsung causing a great deal of damage and/or injury. It's been fucking banned by most major airlines because of the risk, and after much typical Samsung fucking about, have issued a full recall. > vs making me have to buy new headphones if I get the latest iPhone. Why. Why do you need to buy new headphones? Either you a) genuinely aren't aware they include a Lightning to 3.5mm adapter in the box, but somehow feel the need to comment about an aspect you've apparently spent 0 seconds researching; or b) you know damn well they include an adapter and you're being disingenuous. This type of thing is exactly what I'm talking about. You downplay a literal health and safety risk "eh, it won't happen to me" but trump up complaints about "i can't use my headphones" which are not even accurate.
  - GTP 10y ago
    Including the jack to lightning adapter appears to me like a contradiction: it's like saying "we remove the audio jack but we know that you need it".
    - stephenr 10y ago
      Your complaint is that they're including a free adaptor? I know its "cool" to be anti-Apple, but you're clutching at straws.
      - egeozcan 10y ago
        > I know its "cool" to be anti-Apple I sincerely doubt that someone would be anti-Apple on HN just because it's cool. What Apple is doing is a conscious choice of direction, which has a lot of potential for discussion. What Samsung did is catastrophic, yes. However, it doesn't have any depth for discussion. Yes they messed up big time, and yes the situation has been down-played, but in the end, it affects Samsung market share and the health of the poor people who got affected. Discussing the market-share of Samsung and their policies doesn't have any meaning, and for the people, you can only hope that the authorities take enough precautions. On the other hand, Apple has been making decisions, which, in the end, can affect far more many people, regardless of their usage of Apple products, in a good or bad way, for a far longer term. It is a statement, at the very least. Or maybe I'm exaggerating, that's also possible.
      - stuaxo 10y ago
        This is silly. I know me - I lose stuff, I don't need one extra thing to lose, and I am not buying lightning headphones.
      - GTP 10y ago
        No, my complain is that they're removing a standard port in favour of their own propietary alternative while they know that a lot of users would be more comfortable with the standard one. I also think that using the lightinig port has no real advantage over the audio jack but I admittedly don't know much about lightning, so maybe somebody can prove me wrong. (Removing a component from the phone isn't in my opinion an advantage because the audio jack uses a very tiny space and removing it gives you far less choices if you want to buy a new pair of headphones).
- izacus 10y ago
  Samsung actually blowing up also has no effect on you if you're an iPhone/iOS user and want to update your device for the ecosystem.
kalleboo 10y ago
Apple does seem to create more buzz about things in general (it's their way of marketing, for good or evil) but as for me, the Samsung issue is "Li-ion cells are volatile, sometimes there are bad batches" is not a story. We knew that.. Meanwhile, "the death of analog, open standards" is worth discussing.
- stephenr 10y ago
  Right. A hand-held ticking time bomb is a non-story. An ancient audio port being migrated to a $9 adapter is the end of days. > Meanwhile, "the death of analog, open standards" is worth discussing. Just like the death of the standard floppy disc. And the death of the standard optical disc. And the death of the standard parallel and serial ports. The death of the standard PS2 port. Motorola released a phone earlier this year with no analog 3.5mm jack. Where was the overreaction, the ridiculous petitions and bullshit we see whenever Apple does something?
  - kalleboo 10y ago
    I could go through and refute all of your points with what I believe, but that's just proving my point - there are differing opinions on the matter so it's worth discussing. Nobody is taking the stance that Samsung batteries exploding is a Good Thing. And it's not as if the story doesn't have traction - I'm seeing jokes all over the place about exploding Samsungs. Until someone unearths a story about wilfil negligence (such as when Capacitor Plague was being caused by failed industrial espionage), there's just not much to discuss. We already had the Chinese Batteries discussion recently with the hoverboards. > Where was the overreaction, the ridiculous petitions and bullshit we see whenever Apple does something I addressed this - Apple's marketing is to create massive buzz and expectations with marketing like "perfection" and "magical". Of course there's going to be backlash. They revel in it. They used to market themselves as "the crazy ones". edit: also, Apple also has far bigger market mindshare than Motorola. They alone have the power to bifurcate a market into proprietary standards. With the Motorola phone, people just go "eh" and buy a Samsung. With the Apple, they're still breaking sales records.
  - lostboys67 10y ago
abpavel 10y ago
Note 7 blow rate: 0.01% IPhone 7 jackless rate: 100% If my calculations are correct, then about 10000x more people should write about Apple's jack crucifixion. Also, technology is not "ancient" just because it's 50 years old. Electric motor is over 180 years old, and that's not ancient. It's not ancient if it's used everywhere. If it's used everywhere, it's called modern.
- ajdlinux 10y ago
  Degree to which my life would be affected by losing my mobile's headphones jack - slightly above zero, courtesy of, well, owning Bluetooth headphones. To be fair, I'm sufficiently middle class that I can afford Bose QC35s, but still. Degree to which my life would be affected if my apartment burnt down - uh, lots. Now, there are plenty of other great reasons why I refuse to buy Apple products and stick with the platform that at least gives me some level of Software Freedom. Getting rid of the headphones jack? Doesn't rate particularly highly there.
  - pierrebai 10y ago
    Then you will be reassured that the number of appartment that burnt down due to Samsung Note 7 is zero. You may also appreciate that Samgsung's fiasco was unintentional, while Apple's choice was deliberate. One is a PR and product disaster, while the other is a cash grab. Conflating issues just because they happened to rival company with loud fan base is dubious.
    - stephenr 10y ago
      Well thank Jeebus it was only CARS that burnt to a pile of scrap and not apartments. I'm all turned around on the matter now.
- stephenr 10y ago
  > IPhone 7 backless rate: 100% iPhone 7 included adapter rate: 100%. If a phone blowing up is not something to be concerned with (ignoring all the Airlines and government departments telling people to turn them off while flying), then a removed audio port shouldn't even factor into your consciousness when you consider that they give you the adapter for free. > Also, technology is not "ancient" just because it's 50 years old. In the world of consumer electronics, 50 years is ancient. At the end of the day the way the 3.5mm jack is used in 2016 is the ultimate hack-on-a-hack-on-a-hack. The plugs are all the same size, but they could have anywhere from 2 to 5 contact points, depending on device type/manufacturer. It worked for a while, but at some point you have to move on, and someone has to be the first to move. As I said in another comment, Apple has always been ahead of the pack when it comes to adopting new technology and dropping legacy technology. > Electric motor is over 180 years old, and that's not ancient. It's not ancient if it's used everywhere. If it's used everywhere, it's called modern No, if its used everywhere its called "popular" or "ubiquitous". An electric motor can be modern, if it's a new/recent design. That doesn't make all electric motors modern.
Pigo 10y ago
Yes, what kind of loser still uses that ancient audio port hides headphones that don't require charging in drawer

kalleboo 10y ago

I still think Apple Maps is a failure because it still utterly blows here in Japan (either their POI data or the search engine is complete crap since it STILL sends me across the country for basic searches). Google Maps has its problems as well (I prefer using local apps if I'm doing car navigation) but Apple Maps is just a complete joke here.

stevelosh 10y ago
Apple Maps is also garbage in Iceland. One example: Google Maps has walking paths in Reykjavík and Apple doesn't have them at all. For someone who doesn't have a car here (me) that's kind of important.
- kalleboo 10y ago
  The car-centricness of Apple Maps is also a problem in Japan. The original release was absolutely ridiculous (it showed the biggest train station in Japan as a park!), and while they fixed the most embarrassing issues, it still deprioritises public transport so you often have to zoom in to ridiculous levels to see train stations, where here they're the main mode of transport so they should have priority over, say, shops.
  - stevelosh 10y ago
    Oh yeah, I forgot Apple Maps doesn't have bus stops here at all either. Google Maps only draws them when you're zoomed way in, but at least they're there.

mikeash 10y ago

Apple's satellite data is terrible when I try it. It still shows my house as a big hole in the ground, for example. Apple Maps is good enough now to get the job done, but it still kind of sucks.

granos 10y ago

This is purely anecdotal, but I've used apple maps twice this year (accidentally - search for maps and hit the wrong icon) and it's taken me to the wrong place both times. I live just outside of a major metropolitan area; suburban but not rural by any stretch of the imagination. I've never had Google Maps take me to the wrong place. At the end of the day, getting where I want to go is the primary concern. If they product doesn't work consistently then I'm just not going to use it. Hopefully my experience is not typical.

dmd 10y ago
I've been so astounded by Apple Maps' consistently bad routing that I actually have a recurring todo item every three weeks that says "Try Apple Maps". It has fired 37 times so far, and out of those 37 times that I've tried it (each time I wait until I have a not-used-before destination to try with), Maps has routed me to the wrong place (and I only count it as wrong if it's more than, say, a mile away) 11 times. "My days of not taking Apple Maps seriously are definitely coming to a middle."
- cpeterso 10y ago
  If Google maps (I presume) is working well enough for you, why are you trying so hard to switch to Apple Maps? :)
  - dmd 10y ago
    Mainly for my own amusement, and partially for Siri integration.
amyjess 10y ago
Four years after its release, Apple Maps still puts my address in the wrong location. Whenever I have a Lyft or Uber driver come to my house to pick me up, I always have to text them "please only use Google Maps, do not use Apple or Waze" (Waze has its own issues, which I've written about before).
- 10y ago

protomyth 10y ago

Apple Maps for me is still broken. It seems to ignore every business and casino on the local reservations. It tells me the nearest gas station is in the next town over but the two on the reservation are not listed. It continues give me local weather for a different town with the GPS. I guess I should feel better that the seat of government for the reservation is once again listed as a town.