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I agree with what you say, except for wrong directions being a minor issue. A very typical use case for me is meeting somebody at a place I haven't been before.

I agree with what you say, except for wrong directions being a minor issue. A very typical use case for me is meeting somebody at a place I haven't been before. I've frequently trusted Google maps to take me there and it has never sent me to the wrong place. Sometimes it doesn't know the place I am looking for which is acceptable but the thought of ending up in a completely different location, with people waiting for me, seems like a much bigger problem than bad reception. I would not just shrug and correct the wrong information, I would be furious. And the derived problem from this is given the knowledge that there are some problems, I would never trust Apple maps unless I know where I am going anyway.

gfodor 14y ago
I agree its a real problem. I don't think it's a minor issue, but it has some attributes that reduce its severity with regards to choosing an appropriate public response by Apple: - It's likely rare. Either people catch the mistake early (as you mentioned) or the algorithm actually works. - It's correctable. Sometimes you can eyeball the map, sometimes you can see how it messed up and work around it. Sometimes you know better and "override" it by driving the way that you know. Ultimately you can ask someone or pull up google. - It's unclear where you direct your anger to. When your phone drops calls, you blame AT&T. If it's the hardware, you blame Apple. If there is an error in the map, who do you blame? Us techie's realize the details, but do most people know who authored the maps? If people understood it was Google before they might still think it's Google's fault now. If the algorithm gives you the wrong directions, do you blame apple or the "stupid computer"? It seems like there is less of an emotional anger towards Apple, the company, when this error occurs (excluding those of us who understand the intricacies of what parties are involved for what types of error.) A big dynamic here is that people were used to a certain level of quality from Google. Did they know it was Google? Do they know who is to blame for the step backwards? I'm certainly curious what specifics prompted this response. Cook has never been in charge before and speaking from experience it's always incredibly tempting to want to make a public statement and backtrack when the mob is yelling at your door, but despite common advice it's not always the right decision for the company.
- verelo 14y ago
  I feel like im missing something, is there a real reason why they cant just reinstate the google maps app? That's the only thing holding me back from buying the phone (the fact that its not there is scary, but the fact that consumers are left hanging with a few words of "sorry" is more concerning) I get why Apple doesnt want to be Googles friend, but...this has gone too far.
  - gfodor 14y ago
    I think their license is due to end soon and it would probably be a logistical nightmare. If you live in the bay area or NYC area I've not experienced any major issues with Maps other than it asking me to take slightly more roundabout routes (but perhaps marginally faster ones) than necessary once in a while.
kisielk 14y ago
I've always double-checked my Google maps results to make sure they make sense before actually using them. There have been numerous times where it didn't correctly interpret my query and gave me directions to somewhere else. Typical problems include differences between street suffixes like St., Ave., Dr., or directions like E. and W.
chime 14y ago
Exactly! I don't know why people are replying to my post arguing that I shouldn't rely on my phone's GPS. Well, then why is it even there? For guidelines? Since my home city and work location are wrong, I am very apprehensive about trusting Apple maps too. Who knows if the Panera's I'm meeting someone at is even in the right plaza? Do I need to call up every place for directions before I go there? If so, then why should I downgrade to that experience when Google Maps hasn't been wrong so far? I think people who live in cities with good public transportation do not realize the nightmare that is driving around in smaller cities where every other street is Peach Tree and every intersection is Palm Dr. and Palm Ave. Google Maps has worked perfectly all these years. Apple Maps needs to be just as correct, if not more from the first day of launch. I refuse to believe that there was no way for Apple to get the GPS usage data to build a better mapping app all these years. Find-my-friend/phone already goes through their servers. Users connect to 3G and visit the Appstore all the time. Even iPod gets new artwork from Apple servers. All of that's enough to know where the bulk of your users are and where they've been. Once you know where your users are, then you work with mapping companies who understand that a zip code can belong to more than one city!

gfodor 14y ago

I agree its a real problem. I don't think it's a minor issue, but it has some attributes that reduce its severity with regards to choosing an appropriate public response by Apple: - It's likely rare. Either people catch the mistake early (as you mentioned) or the algorithm actually works. - It's correctable. Sometimes you can eyeball the map, sometimes you can see how it messed up and work around it. Sometimes you know better and "override" it by driving the way that you know. Ultimately you can ask someone or pull up google. - It's unclear where you direct your anger to. When your phone drops calls, you blame AT&T. If it's the hardware, you blame Apple. If there is an error in the map, who do you blame? Us techie's realize the details, but do most people know who authored the maps? If people understood it was Google before they might still think it's Google's fault now. If the algorithm gives you the wrong directions, do you blame apple or the "stupid computer"? It seems like there is less of an emotional anger towards Apple, the company, when this error occurs (excluding those of us who understand the intricacies of what parties are involved for what types of error.) A big dynamic here is that people were used to a certain level of quality from Google. Did they know it was Google? Do they know who is to blame for the step backwards? I'm certainly curious what specifics prompted this response. Cook has never been in charge before and speaking from experience it's always incredibly tempting to want to make a public statement and backtrack when the mob is yelling at your door, but despite common advice it's not always the right decision for the company.

verelo 14y ago
I feel like im missing something, is there a real reason why they cant just reinstate the google maps app? That's the only thing holding me back from buying the phone (the fact that its not there is scary, but the fact that consumers are left hanging with a few words of "sorry" is more concerning) I get why Apple doesnt want to be Googles friend, but...this has gone too far.
- gfodor 14y ago
  I think their license is due to end soon and it would probably be a logistical nightmare. If you live in the bay area or NYC area I've not experienced any major issues with Maps other than it asking me to take slightly more roundabout routes (but perhaps marginally faster ones) than necessary once in a while.

kisielk 14y ago

I've always double-checked my Google maps results to make sure they make sense before actually using them. There have been numerous times where it didn't correctly interpret my query and gave me directions to somewhere else. Typical problems include differences between street suffixes like St., Ave., Dr., or directions like E. and W.

chime 14y ago

Exactly! I don't know why people are replying to my post arguing that I shouldn't rely on my phone's GPS. Well, then why is it even there? For guidelines? Since my home city and work location are wrong, I am very apprehensive about trusting Apple maps too. Who knows if the Panera's I'm meeting someone at is even in the right plaza? Do I need to call up every place for directions before I go there? If so, then why should I downgrade to that experience when Google Maps hasn't been wrong so far? I think people who live in cities with good public transportation do not realize the nightmare that is driving around in smaller cities where every other street is Peach Tree and every intersection is Palm Dr. and Palm Ave. Google Maps has worked perfectly all these years. Apple Maps needs to be just as correct, if not more from the first day of launch. I refuse to believe that there was no way for Apple to get the GPS usage data to build a better mapping app all these years. Find-my-friend/phone already goes through their servers. Users connect to 3G and visit the Appstore all the time. Even iPod gets new artwork from Apple servers. All of that's enough to know where the bulk of your users are and where they've been. Once you know where your users are, then you work with mapping companies who understand that a zip code can belong to more than one city!