6 ms·

It seems like the quality level maintained by Steve Jobs is quickly deteriorating in favour of business moves designed to wrest more control off Google. They ar

by lhnz 14y ago

It seems like the quality level maintained by Steve Jobs is quickly deteriorating in favour of business moves designed to wrest more control off Google. They are operating in a very similar way to other companies now. Google executives must be laughing very hard right now. If I was Google I'd avoid releasing a Google Maps application for at least a year and let the Android handset manufacturers ruthlessly exploit Android's superior maps.

karlshea 14y ago
And you came to this conclusion based on one bad app? Quite the leap it seems. What's missing in all of these conversations is that Apple's contract with Google for mapping ended this year. No one knows what really happened for Apple to make this change.
- lhnz 14y ago
  Apologies, I wasn't trying to represent what I said as fact hence the word "seems". However, I do feel that this has been a very lacklustre update from Apple... I think it would have been worthwhile to keep the contract with Google (even if it's expensive) while investing in making a better Apple Maps app.
- mootothemax 14y ago
  And you came to this conclusion based on one bad app? Quite the leap it seems. This isn't about "one bad app," it's about a core smartphone app that everybody uses. That's why so many people are complaining and the story is kicking off all over the place.
  - mitchty 14y ago
    I've been using ios 6 maps since beta1, yeah its new, but to wit I don't use transit directions and in a direct comparison with android google maps, ios 6's maps worked fine. This is in many ways who moved my cheese. I don't care if Google or Apple (who made the google maps app pre ios6 anyway using google apis) is responsible for the old maps app not being on ios6. If google wants their app on the apple store they can submit it. If apple denies it thats another matter and not worth arguing right now. ios6 is so much better than 5 overall I think you're being somewhat overly dramatic about one app. Yes it feels rushed, but its likely this is a stopgap due to contractual problems. And besides, these are just phones. People are so up in arms about this its getting to fever pitch levels. Why everyone expects perfection from the start is beyond me. Its a start, and not yet perfect for everyone. Either it gets better and all this complaining was just for pageviews (most likely), or people actually vote with their wallets and switch. Until that switch happens, these arguments are getting tiresome and to be honest aren't very constructive.
- jpdoctor 14y ago
  > No one knows what really happened for Apple to make this change. I find it very unlikely this move was prompted by Google. Honestly, it looks positively amateurish the way the change was implemented by Apple. I will admit it will drive my next phone purchase: Maps are my #2 usage after mail, I very much depend on it to get around.
  - rustynails 14y ago
    Navigon for IOS TomTom for IOS www.google.com/maps in IOS Take your pick. There are solutions that can be used to work around this issue and meet your needs.
api 14y ago
Yeah. Maps is one of the most important smartphone apps. They might have just handed the market to Droid.
- DonnyV 14y ago
  Android already has market share, this will just widen the gap.
- saturdaysaint 14y ago
  If this had any truth to it, Android would have already walked away with the market due to the iPhone's longstanding mediocre Maps app.
vineet 14y ago
Or, Google can release their Map application ASAP and try to build more of a foothold in the iPhone market. I guess then they would have to fear Apple rejecting their app when the time is convenient.
- Osiris 14y ago
  I'm pretty certain that Google won't be able to release a Maps App for iOS because it would violate the terms of replicating built in functionality. People can use the mobile web version, though.
- chimeracoder 14y ago
  > more of a foothold in the iPhone market. More of a foothold? They already had virtually 100% (I'm exaggerating, but I can't think of anybody who used anything else for maps). They don't have any incentive to make life easier for iPhone users. They have an incentive to remind iPhone users how they're really dependent on Google, not [just] Apple.
jad 14y ago
> It seems like the quality level maintained by Steve Jobs is quickly deteriorating in favour of business moves designed to wrest more control off Google. This stuff gets so tiresome. Apple has been buying maps companies for years. Steve Jobs personally ran acquisitions at Apple. He decided which mapping companies to buy and when he did he probably had a good idea of how they would fit into the platform. Development of the new Maps app was surely underway when Jobs was still alive. What do you think happened? Jobs died and the executive team was like, "Alright everyone, we've got 6 months until the iOS 6 beta is out. Let's cancel our contract with Google and get this shit maps app in there pronto!" The reality is that Apple has been dependent upon their biggest competitor for a strategically important smartphone feature. The Wall Street Journal reported[1] months ago that Google initially balked at letting Apple have access to Street View, and didn't allow Apple access to turn-by-turn data. If the issue was only quality, Apple could have turned to Bing or Yahoo. They didn't because owning this technology is a strategic necessity in the smartphone market as it stands today. Having features dictated by competitors is not an option. It's true that the quality of the maps app isn't great. I get looney search results (even when tapping on their search suggestions) and it's extremely frustrating. But there is something to be said for getting it shipped and starting the process of refinement and improvement. It only becomes a strategic problem if the quality doesn't improve noticeably with time. [1] http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FwvSLvrrgcwJ:online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304543904577398502695522974.html+http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304543904577398502695522974.html&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FwvSLvr...
- berkut 14y ago
  > Development of the new Maps app was surely underway when Jobs was still alive. What do you think happened? Jobs died and the executive team was like, "Alright everyone, we've got 6 months until the iOS 6 beta is out. Let's cancel our contract with Google and get this shit maps app in there pronto!" No, I'm sure SJ wanted to get way from Google. But I doubt he would have let Apple release iOS6 maps in the state they're in if he were still in control. Maybe they should have kept it US only and still use the old Google one for outside the US, as that seems to really be where the quality issue is with the data.
- 14y ago
samstave 14y ago
It's just too bad Jobs is dead and is not here to personally fire the apple maps team.
psgibbs 14y ago
I think this idea that every product Steve Jobs released was 100% quality is largely wrong – people just choose to only remember the hits. Apple has always released early - largely polished, but rough around the edges. Remember the early days of OSX? tons of loose ends. The first iPhone? definitely had stability issues, missing huge core features e.g. MMS. AppleTV? Ping? XCode 4?

by lhnz 14y ago

karlshea 14y ago

And you came to this conclusion based on one bad app? Quite the leap it seems. What's missing in all of these conversations is that Apple's contract with Google for mapping ended this year. No one knows what really happened for Apple to make this change.

lhnz 14y ago
Apologies, I wasn't trying to represent what I said as fact hence the word "seems". However, I do feel that this has been a very lacklustre update from Apple... I think it would have been worthwhile to keep the contract with Google (even if it's expensive) while investing in making a better Apple Maps app.
mootothemax 14y ago
And you came to this conclusion based on one bad app? Quite the leap it seems. This isn't about "one bad app," it's about a core smartphone app that everybody uses. That's why so many people are complaining and the story is kicking off all over the place.
- mitchty 14y ago
  I've been using ios 6 maps since beta1, yeah its new, but to wit I don't use transit directions and in a direct comparison with android google maps, ios 6's maps worked fine. This is in many ways who moved my cheese. I don't care if Google or Apple (who made the google maps app pre ios6 anyway using google apis) is responsible for the old maps app not being on ios6. If google wants their app on the apple store they can submit it. If apple denies it thats another matter and not worth arguing right now. ios6 is so much better than 5 overall I think you're being somewhat overly dramatic about one app. Yes it feels rushed, but its likely this is a stopgap due to contractual problems. And besides, these are just phones. People are so up in arms about this its getting to fever pitch levels. Why everyone expects perfection from the start is beyond me. Its a start, and not yet perfect for everyone. Either it gets better and all this complaining was just for pageviews (most likely), or people actually vote with their wallets and switch. Until that switch happens, these arguments are getting tiresome and to be honest aren't very constructive.
jpdoctor 14y ago
> No one knows what really happened for Apple to make this change. I find it very unlikely this move was prompted by Google. Honestly, it looks positively amateurish the way the change was implemented by Apple. I will admit it will drive my next phone purchase: Maps are my #2 usage after mail, I very much depend on it to get around.
- rustynails 14y ago
  Navigon for IOS TomTom for IOS www.google.com/maps in IOS Take your pick. There are solutions that can be used to work around this issue and meet your needs.

api 14y ago

Yeah. Maps is one of the most important smartphone apps. They might have just handed the market to Droid.

DonnyV 14y ago
Android already has market share, this will just widen the gap.
saturdaysaint 14y ago
If this had any truth to it, Android would have already walked away with the market due to the iPhone's longstanding mediocre Maps app.

vineet 14y ago

Or, Google can release their Map application ASAP and try to build more of a foothold in the iPhone market. I guess then they would have to fear Apple rejecting their app when the time is convenient.

Osiris 14y ago
I'm pretty certain that Google won't be able to release a Maps App for iOS because it would violate the terms of replicating built in functionality. People can use the mobile web version, though.
chimeracoder 14y ago
> more of a foothold in the iPhone market. More of a foothold? They already had virtually 100% (I'm exaggerating, but I can't think of anybody who used anything else for maps). They don't have any incentive to make life easier for iPhone users. They have an incentive to remind iPhone users how they're really dependent on Google, not [just] Apple.

jad 14y ago

> It seems like the quality level maintained by Steve Jobs is quickly deteriorating in favour of business moves designed to wrest more control off Google. This stuff gets so tiresome. Apple has been buying maps companies for years. Steve Jobs personally ran acquisitions at Apple. He decided which mapping companies to buy and when he did he probably had a good idea of how they would fit into the platform. Development of the new Maps app was surely underway when Jobs was still alive. What do you think happened? Jobs died and the executive team was like, "Alright everyone, we've got 6 months until the iOS 6 beta is out. Let's cancel our contract with Google and get this shit maps app in there pronto!" The reality is that Apple has been dependent upon their biggest competitor for a strategically important smartphone feature. The Wall Street Journal reported[1] months ago that Google initially balked at letting Apple have access to Street View, and didn't allow Apple access to turn-by-turn data. If the issue was only quality, Apple could have turned to Bing or Yahoo. They didn't because owning this technology is a strategic necessity in the smartphone market as it stands today. Having features dictated by competitors is not an option. It's true that the quality of the maps app isn't great. I get looney search results (even when tapping on their search suggestions) and it's extremely frustrating. But there is something to be said for getting it shipped and starting the process of refinement and improvement. It only becomes a strategic problem if the quality doesn't improve noticeably with time. [1] http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FwvSLvrrgcwJ:online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304543904577398502695522974.html+http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304543904577398502695522974.html&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FwvSLvr...

berkut 14y ago
> Development of the new Maps app was surely underway when Jobs was still alive. What do you think happened? Jobs died and the executive team was like, "Alright everyone, we've got 6 months until the iOS 6 beta is out. Let's cancel our contract with Google and get this shit maps app in there pronto!" No, I'm sure SJ wanted to get way from Google. But I doubt he would have let Apple release iOS6 maps in the state they're in if he were still in control. Maybe they should have kept it US only and still use the old Google one for outside the US, as that seems to really be where the quality issue is with the data.
14y ago

samstave 14y ago

It's just too bad Jobs is dead and is not here to personally fire the apple maps team.

psgibbs 14y ago

I think this idea that every product Steve Jobs released was 100% quality is largely wrong – people just choose to only remember the hits. Apple has always released early - largely polished, but rough around the edges. Remember the early days of OSX? tons of loose ends. The first iPhone? definitely had stability issues, missing huge core features e.g. MMS. AppleTV? Ping? XCode 4?