Apple CEO Tim Cook apologizes to customers for Maps in iOS 6 - Page 5

 

I believe I represented the interpretation from Apple's perspective.  I didn't mean to imply it was the ONLY interpretation.  But let's face it: Apple does not hand control over to competitors.

 

My point was that things have changed since the video you posted was released.  The article explains how things have changed for both Google and Apple.   Any article can be interpreted many ways, and I don't recall wagging a finger, but I don't believe the level of integration and control Google wanted is something Apple would ever agree to.

 

You also get creative by assuming that this had anything to do with Apple being unwilling to pay.  The article doesn't mention money being an issue.  It mentions control. For all we know Apple offered mounds of cash to keep control, but Google preferred control and integration over money.  

 

We can debate this all day but the main point is Apple and Google both wanted to changes and they couldn't come to terms.

 

Google had every right to request more in return for Navigation.

Apple had every right to reject what they asked for.

 

Who is to blame?  Honestly probably both of them.

For Tim Cook the CEO apologizing then the negative feedback must be far greater than the 4-5 negative Fandroids posting here on AI. I'd venture it must be catastrophic.

I actually disagree with that. Have you used Safari lately? It's unusable, lots of rendering issues when Javascript is involved caused by "tweaks" to increase the number of threads in WebKit, memory leaks all over the place resulting in a Webprocess that sometimes privately allocates as much as 6GB of RAM on my Mac, HTML5 local storage data that doesn't go away while Private Browsing (making Private Browsing actually LESS private than regular browsing), and this is just for Safari. The Darwin kernel has been suffering from Bluetooth induced panics since at least Lion which are yet to be fixed, reminders were completely unusable to me when Mountain Lion launch because my street name has non-ASCII characters that completely crashed the application (same thing causing issues to the search in iOS 6's Maps), Notes and most stand-alone small applications privately allocating 500MB of RAM for God knows what (which is amusing, considering that Mail which has a lot more functionality stays stable at 300MB and iTunes stays stable at 500-600).

Things may look as pretty as ever now, but Apple is becoming pretty sloppy in the quality department.

 

We aren't used to an Apple CEO behaving like the CEO of some Android OEM or Wintel junk-box maker. 

 

Given Apple's sheer product strength, this is just a blip on their radar screen. It isn't catastrophic. But it is a little disappointing. 

Apple isn't the copyright holder so they can't just release it. google needs to submit an app etc. Google who should have been working on it since the day Apple didn't sign a lifetime contract, or when they started buying map tech companies

What I love is if you read between the lines. The message then it more of a 'this is brand new but if you want to be a hater just go use something else. We aren't stopping you.' which in a way is what I wish Apple would just flat say. Remind folks that new things in tech are never perfect even at Apple and they need to chill with expecting that every time. Remind them how long Google has been perfecting their maps compared to this 'from the ground up' system.

 

LOL thanks for the anecdote. 

 

Safari performs brilliantly, actually. So there's *my* anecdote. 

Feedback. Not everyone who finds something off just runs to the web to gripe. Some actually 'report a problem'. Maps or otherwise.

Yep, rather like Siri-gate last year. They needed literally millions of voice samples and could either release it or not and hope none of the millions of actors etc they hired leaked what they were doing. And that they could find sufficient variety to be useful.

This is not Apple's fault.  Google will never make a Map app for iOS.  Because it can not make one Map for iOS which is drastically different from the one on Android.  It will bring bad publicity to Google too.  

 

Apple's 'route' is correct.  Google is determined to make Android succeed over iOS.  Some iOS6 Map users will experience short term inconvenience.  In the long term Apple will succeed because it has tremendous resources.  This is the reason I am sticking with Apple this time.  In the Windows era I stick with Apple because MacOS is better.  Apple is having a completely different competitor than Microsoft.   

So they are not tracking me? Or they are tracking me? Which is it?

But the unhappy ones are the vocal ones. So this letter, which rather half ass apologizes, is an attempt to shut them up.

By the way, Allenbf. here is your first sentence: "How can he get the Google app available now?"  

Is this grammatically correct English?

 

Everybody is a "former" employee after they leave firm "A" to go work for firm "B". 

Most users want a simple application which takes the to what they want to do.

If using Safari gets you Google Maps, then Apple should create a simple automation app which does that function in one step and call it Google Maps or something. 

Does using your browser limit what Google can do with branding or data harvesting?

Does this allow Apple to control its destiny?

 

No matter what you or anybody tell me, Apple should not have released their mapping program without fixing all these image issues. It was not ready for public use. 

In light of that video I saw I don't think Steve Jobs would have released the Apple Maps app in its current poor state.

The situation is also affecting the stock price. I know of several people who have put off upgrading to the new phone in spite of the Safari solution you mentioned. 

Which decisions concern you?

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Edited by MacRulez - 1/21/13 at 3:13pm

That only tells me you haven't used it, otherwise you would know, because the experiences that I report are common to everyone using it. Do you want me to provide you with a very common use case where Safari fails so you can verify it for yourself and stop calling an anecdote or will you admit you're lying and not reply to my post out of shame?

It is worse than some of those 15 year old offerings. But that's the key. Those boys have been working on this longer. As Tim says 'from the ground up'. Like Final Cut X etc, when you go back to ground it is insane to expect perfection the moment something is released. Tim left out the 'insane expections that this would be perfect from the start compared to stuff from companies that had more time to be perfect' part of his letter. Likely because he's not the CEO of Samsung so he doesn't insult users by calling them stupid to expect so much from the start. Wise move on the one hand, mistake on the other. Cause Apple needs the world to reset their expectations about perfection in products overall. Perhaps with a reminder that it was the same when Steve was around. And no one is making them buy Apple, so the haters can shut it.

I absolutely hate playing the WWSD game. Jobs flip flopped numerous times on his positions at Apple, and for anyone to second guess what he would do in any situation is absolutely impossible.

But I wholeheartedly agree with you that this is a far more likely response from Apple if Steve had been at the helm, based on previous actions, and would have been a far more effective response than this lame milquetoast reaction from Cook. In fact, it's so soft, I wonder what Cook is trying to do, or what ties bind him ... Maybe he thinks nobody could get away with Steve's antics besides Steve. Either way, totally agree this is the tactic Apple should have taken,

 

Don't you think that would have been useful information to have included in all your posts complaining about iOS 6 maps?  You seem to regard yourself as a perfectionist and hold everyone to your standard -- how could you have overlooked this obvious potential problem or failed to mention it?

 

Would we be correct to assume that you reported the problem and solution to Apple?

Edited by Dick Applebaum - 9/28/12 at 9:59am

You are welcome to not like the iPhone etc and go buy what you want.

But stop with the armchair CEO games. You have no idea why Apple does what it does. So just don't.

I wish I had 25 percent of 666,000 shares of AAPL. No I am a small time investor with only several thousand shares.

I have no plans to jump ship. However, is one of those problems that did not have to happen in the first place.

Apple got a little sloppy and it might burn us for a while.  

The Q4 numbers might be a disappointment. Well see.............. 

 

 The websites *I* visit work just fine.  So I won't be encountering your problems.   *shrugs*

Yeah, not sure what version of Safari he's running, but it works great for me.

 

 

How did it handle the "crossovers" in turn-by-turn?

Blips don't require a CEO full page apology.
This is more like a fail of epic proportions or "epic fail" if you'd prefer. .
Edited by iSheldon - 9/28/12 at 10:14am

 

Just stop. You're already so deep into that hole you dug before; why not just head back there and keep digging instead of starting a new one? 

And trolls don't need have arguments based in logic or fact to use the word "require" as though they know anything. 

 

Best post to date in all these map threads!  Clear and concise!

That's why their stock is at an all time high while Apple's can't break $700. Apple is arrogant they think they are the best and can do better than the rest..despite all their billions they cannot in maps like in the OS where the other company  dominates simply because they have a better product....

I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but copy-pasting the address directly from a dropped pin didn't work before (now it does, though it drops another pin in a completely wrong place, so I assume they just added the street to the database without knowing its exact location despite it being on their own map).

 

Fine, fine.  If you don't want it, don't use it.  Sell your phone, tell your friends to buy Android, or at least tell them not to upgrade to iOS 6 (the iPhone 5 upgrade isn't even relevant, since it's the iOS that contains Maps, NOT the phone).  

 

You may know a few ppl who put off uprading.  That's their choice.  5 million + haven't.  And the Apple store still says "Shipping in 3-4 weeks"

 

Last, my grammar was correct, I only missed the "".  Because you said "Tim should make the map available now" and I replied "How can he get it available now?"  It should have read How can he "get it available now?"  So you get 1/2 point for that.

If you go back and read it closely you'll notice he never appologizes for Maps being bad. Only for falling short of expectations. Not the same. Especially when those expectations were that iOS Maps would be on par with services that are at least 12 years old (and were ot perfect in the first public release either). To point this out would be read as insulting customers for having stupid expectations. And Samsung is the company that insults folks, not Apple.

Mostly it is temporary sensationalism. You know, like the other so called Android talking points.

 

Don't buy an iPhone. It has a walled garden. 

Don't buy an iPhone. It has a small screen.

Don't buy an iPhone it doesn't have a memory card slot.

Don't buy an iPhone. It doesn't have a USB port.

etc, etc.

 

All completely useless arguments which had no effect on iPhone sales.

So just add another talking point. Don't buy an iPhone. The Maps app will get you lost.

 

With Christmas season coming, the Map-gate issue will fade into irrelevance for common users. Only the hard core fanatics on both sides will continue to debate but the sales numbers will likely be through the roof anyway.

Speak for yourself, apologist! This is the BIGGEST mistake Apple has made since the release of the iPhone. They put their hated of Google AHEAD of its userbase. An apology was VERY appropriate in this situation.

 

 

Uh… huh… 

I must have missed something. What hole are we talking about? And why would you claim I'm deep in whatever it is rather than waiting until I recognize it myself? Unlike you I don't have a problem admitting that I'm wrong when I actually AM wrong and it is fully demonstrated to me, though I honestly don't know what you're talking about.

haha wow. Still defending maps, huh? After the CEO himself admitted it was a failure? LOL. You apologists crack me up! You live in your own weird little bubble.

 

The courtesy of an apology is a good touch given that some people got upset. For myself, I suppose I find Steetview more useful than Turn by Turn, but that said, I am totally on board with Apples new product. I prefer the look of it already, have noticed the speed, added functions, etc and look forward to regular improvements and updates. It was really an untenable situation for them. This had to be done and some crowd sourced improvements is a major way that this stuff gets better and better.

 

Would Apple ever launch their own street view initiative? .... curious about that, and it IS quite useful and at times, entertaining. Big job though.

 

What you're saying about Safari has as much significance as you as a single user do. Nothing more. Safari is not bad because you have problems with it. 

 

 

So...you're saying this is about hatred, not about $$ and user experience, then?  It's not about controlling your own product, your own destiny?

 

Alrighty, then.  

That's all you got? It's common knowledge that Apple had a year left on its contract with Google. Er go, they could have (SHOULD HAVE) worked on Maps for another year. The fact that they put it out early shows that iOS6 was more about Apple than its users. If I'm wrong, then enlighten us as to why. It's not like I'm the only one that thinks this...

http://www.imore.com/yes-ios-6-more-about-apple-new-user-features-thats-okay

 

I didn't say I was the only one with problems, quite the opposite, I even offered to demonstrate how common those problems are to the people who don't regularly use Safari.