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

Originally Posted by Waverunnr 
Er go, they could have (SHOULD HAVE) worked on Maps for another year.

Uh… huh… 

Stop. Proof?

Tim Cook, I don't believe you give a fig about providing me with with the best customer experience possible. For example, both Bing and Google can provide crisp and detailed satellite maps for the areas I need. The satellite maps from Apple are shockingly bad - absolutely terrible. Is Apple too greedy to pay for decent satellite images, or too incompetent to implement them?

Trolls...please refer to this article before commenting.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/09/27/googles-ilost-motorola-ad-faked-an-address-to-lose-ios-6-maps

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Originally Posted by charlituna 


Every day one product from any company is the same way.
Then most folks would use Google and they would have to pay Google for that access.
Sell your stock and go buy Google if it upsets you that much.
I'm an Apple stock holder too. Apple product user as well. And I have no problem with this and haven't for many years. So at the least stop dropping the stock holder thing in there as if it gives you more right to an opinion or makes yours mean more. It doesn't.

Bingo.  If anything, look at the long term growth Apple can/will have, using their own maps and controlling the experience instead of giving that to Google, a competitor.

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Originally Posted by Rogifan 

Hmm....not sure what I think about this. Cook apologizing and telling users to use a competitors product is a bit embarrassing.
Once you start apologizing where does it stop? Already there's clowns out there asking when Apple is going to apologize for "scuff gate" and ear pods that don't fit their ears. This is one of the curses of being at the top (in terms of market cap and profits). Everyone and their mother wants to bring you down. And every mistake or imperfection gets blown up like crazy.
I read dozens of iPhone 5 reviews, some prior to launch and most after launch, and there was one, maybe two at most, that mentioned anything about a scuffed phone. Yet we have scuff gate and people wanting Cook to apologize for it. I'm seeing complaints that the phone is too thin and light and thus feels cheap. Yet earlier this year when the new iPad came out people bitched because it was ever so slightly thicker and heavier. Now they're bitching that the iPhone is too light. No matter what Apple does these days someone will complain about it.

I disagree, Apple also apologized for Antennae Gate....has the Antennae gotten worse or better since then??? There's certain things that you don't have to apologize for because they are business decisions and there is technically nothing "wrong" with the product, people are just complaining about it for whatever reasons they have. Example: There is nothing wrong with the iPad 3 just because it's heavier, some people just don't like it. That is not the case with Maps, there are some things that are wrong about it, and I think Tim Cook absolutely did the best thing possible by getting in front of it. I personally think that this maps thing is blown way out of proportion and like you, I believe it's because people are just looking for something to complain about when it comes to Apple. But that doesn't mean that Apple shouldn't admit when it has issues with a product, because Apple has it's own stadards to think about.

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Originally Posted by Quadra 610 

WTF are you doing, Tim?

 

 

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Originally Posted by AppleInsider 

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.
We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.
There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.
While we're improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.
Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.
Tim Cook
Apple's CEO

 

 

Blah blah blah blah, meaningless corporate jibber-jabber which denigrates your company. By giving the "problem" *even more* attention, you've made an even larger issue out of it. Those who didn't really notice or care will now *really* apply the microscope. The issue was already resolving itself and Cook turns into a pu**y.

 

I hope this is the last time I get to read such idiocy from Apple's CEO. 

@Quadra 610 What is it that has you so upset?  Your comments, here, are usually well reasoned and constructive... what is so different about this issue.

IMO, Tim watched the situation unfold, then decided that action was necessary -- after waiting an appropriate amount of time.  It was certainly not a knee-jerk reaction!  I think Tim's letter apologizes for the inconvenience -- but not for the decision to re-invent maps.  There are implementation problems and these are being addressed at all levels from CEO on down!

What would you do differently?

It's like I said last week, just use something else if Apple maps is not up to par yet for your location.

It's pretty obvious why Apple had to ditch Google maps, because of the voice navigation issue.

As far as I'm concerned, this whole thing is now a non-issue. Apple maps has a far better engine than Google maps ever had on iOS, and Apple maps will only improve over time. 

I'd love to see some Android companies apologizing to their customers for a whole number of issues, including malware/viruses, piss poor hardware, phones that never get updates, phones that get late updates, apologizing for lag, apologizing for butt ugly designs, and apologizing for the fragmented hell known as the Android eco-system.

If somebody is still whining about Apple maps and you are the kind of unreasonable person that refuses to listen to logic, then make a stand, dump Apple, go buy something else, and take your whining with you. 

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Originally Posted by Waverunnr 

Let's look at the facts: Apple had a year left on their contract with Google. Therefore, they were under no time pressure to get Maps out the door by iOS6. Yet despite Maps not being ready, they deployed it anyway, causing a huge customer backlash which led to the CEO publishing an apology. I'm not the only person that believes Apple did this to get Google out of its OS...

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

 

I can quote sources, too.  John Gruber, www.daringfireball.com.  I encourage you to read his breakdown, it's brilliant.  He goes into the reasons Apple chose to deploy maps in iOS 6.  

Doesn't change the facts, which NONE OF US ACTUALLY KNOW.  We have bits and pieces.  It's pretty easy to play armchair CEO, as someone put it earlier.  

Bottom line, for me, it's C'YA to google.  

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Originally Posted by Waverunnr 

Apologists: Their point still stands. Maps is still a mess. You know it. I know it. And the CEO of Apple knows it.

 

And the point is, Google Maps STILL has some issues and is not perfect and the "iLost" mockvertisement was a fraud.

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Originally Posted by zippy2shoes 

 

So you are calling him out for saying something that is true?  If you think there are not "Apple fanboys" on here then you are being lumped into that group because you are closing your eyes/mind to the obvious truth.  Android, WP, BB and iOS all have their supporters and then they have their rabid fans.  When you ignore the extremists and don't call them out on the stuff they do, you run the risk of them being the public support of your favourite product and no one wants that.  Idiots about in all parts of life and it's up to others to call them out on it.

Using the phrase "Apple fanboys" here is like walking into a gay bar and calling the other patrons "fags". It's hate speech that doesn't add anything to the discussion, and is the sign of a demented mind venting over its own frustrations in life.

That you pretend these "Apple fanboys" are "extremists", acting like they are some sort of Taliban, and pretending there's some sort of moral equivalency there, tells me you've got some issues yourself.

Here's the bottom line. Apple makes great products. Some of us like that. Some people apparently are bothered by it. Some of us expect that when Apple isn't 100% perfect, they know it and intend to fix the problems as soon as they can, even when the extent of them are overblown. Some people like to label the appreciation of general excellence in this case a "cult", while they hypocritically "worship at other alters," usually because they have some sort of irrational dislike of Apple or have got the idea in their heads that anything with the label "open" attached to it has to be the best.

Some of us are tired of listening to the tirades of trolls, shills, astroturfers and haters. So, stop pretending that anyone who defends Apple is the Taliban, and stop using language that makes that equivalence. Some of us just happen to think they have the best products, threaten our privacy less than the alternatives, and would like to see them succeed as long as they maintain their commitment to general excellence.

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Originally Posted by jragosta 


Posting your message once would have been enough. :-/
The problem is that you are incapable of seeing the big picture. There's much more involved than you're letting on. Let's do the typical pros and cons comparison:
Pros of changing
- Apple to add turn by turn
- Apple to add flyover (which is comparable to streetview for many purposes)
- Save money in Google license fees (maybe - they might be obligated to pay, anyway)
- Avoid giving Google more control over Apple's customers
- Avoid privacy issues involved in letting Google have its way
Cons
- Some number of people are inconvenienced in that they have to use maps.google.com. That's a relatively minor (and, presumably, temporary) inconvenience.
Apple gained a great deal by changing. And the loss has never been quantified. Sure, there are a lot of people with loud mouths complaining, but Google's ad, at least, has been shown to be very disingenuous - at best. No one has yet established any statistical evidence that Apple's Maps is significantly worse than Google's.

This.

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Originally Posted by Waverunnr 

Gruber is the KING of Apple Apologists. Hell, he may even be a part of Apple's PR dept he's so bad. He's an arrogant prick who doesn't allow commenting on his site because too many people would embarrass him by calling him out on his BS.

 

Never mind.  I can see you're not reasonable enough to debate.  Enjoy your new Android phone.

I prefer the Apple Map experience and the audible turn-by-turn could be a game changer. Street view? On my home computer it's a nice thing, while DRIVING? Notsomuch. Sp for a mobile app it'd rather be able to hear directions rather than have something  that requires I stop looking at the road to utilize....

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Originally Posted by antkm1 

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Originally Posted by MacRulez 

Good point.  What did Steve say about maps?

 

 

 

That is a fantastic video!

This needs to be re-posted to everyone until the cows come home because I think even Cook needs a refresher.

Did you miss the word "partner"?

Google has demonstrated that it is not a viable "partner" for Apple's future mapping needs!

Maybe they were once "good partnerships", but things change!   Like maps, "partnership agreements" need to be updated to reflect current conditions.  

Apple could not get what they wanted from Google, so they changed "partners".

Originally Posted by icoco3 
Trolls...please refer to this article before commenting.

 

http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/09/27/googles-ilost-motorola-ad-faked-an-address-to-lose-ios-6-maps

Won't do any good; they're refuting that, too.

Originally Posted by Vaelian 
Here's your proof. Can you contest it?

Show me where the letter says anything about Maps being released early.

I personally think it was a mistake by Tim Cook to "apologize" like this. I think the smart thing to do would be to have handled this like the so called "antennagate" situation. Call a press conference. Point out that Google Maps has innumerable mistakes. Point out how the Google iLost ad was a lie. Take the media to task for not accurately reporting the facts. Acknowledge the issues that do exist. Explain how they will be fixed, how Google Maps was previously fixed, and continues to be fixed with the same process. Explain why it was necessary to dump Google maps now.

The apology just feeds the media and astroturfing frenzy, as we see in this thread. Getting the media together and knocking their heads together for being idiots and dupes of Google PR is much more effective.

It's clear that Google is behind this. We see the same thing with every iPhone release. They pick one feature they think they can get traction with, and, immediately, on release, they hit the ground running with their story. Like the so called "antennagate", the Maps issues in many cases don't exist or aren't any worse than Google's mistakes, and those that are will be quickly fixed and no one will be complaining about this in 6 months.

Tim needs to learn to be a bit more aggressive in his responses.

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Originally Posted by lilgto64 

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Originally Posted by Vaelian 


Your analogy is flawed, Google Maps didn't replace anything.

 

Sure it did - standalone GPS units - paper maps - dead reckoning - stoping to ask the gas station attendant for directions. 

 

Don't forget swearing and yelling at your wife in the passenger seat!

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Originally Posted by Tallest Skil 

 

Won't do any good; they're refuting that, too.

I wouldn't say "refuting", more like defending the fraud that Google perpetrated as ok.

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Originally Posted by charlituna 


With the restrictions on user data usage I could see Google never releasing an app. And yes Apple might reject it, if it violates any of the rules for apps, like private API use.

I agree Google may not release the app, but if they do it will be approved eventually.  Too many other competing map apps out there that Apple allows.  Google would argue Apple is singling them out.  I am fairly sure Apple has to hold its nose while approving apps regularly.

You gotta love these moronic trolls who aren't even Apple users, and they join an Apple forum to complain about a feature that they will never, ever use. And then they have the nerve to call Apple users on an Apple forum for fanboys?

Somebody should virtually beat the living shit out of these psychopaths, in my humble opinion.

I don't even see why some people bother to respond to them, as they are not here for any discussion. They have their talking points, their script to follow, and no amount of facts or logic will ever penetrate through their thick skulls.

From now on, I will not engage Fandroids and obvious Apple haters in any rational discussion, I will aggressively attack, while destroying and eliminating them. They're like cockroaches, and nobody wants a cockroach infestation. What do you do with cockroaches? You kill them and get rid of them.

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Originally Posted by iSheldon 

Why coulddn't Tim understand we have legs and wheels not wings.
We need a Streetview long before a fly over view.

Riiiiight...Street View while driving your car.

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Originally Posted by gwmac 

Will using maps really help improve it? I am a little skeptical of that. So far I have only used it a few times and it steered me correctly. But hypothetically if it was clearly taking me to the wrong address I would just switch to Mapquest or Waze to get where I needed to go. I can't imagine remembering later to go back to Apple maps and report an error. Furthermore, I would be in a car at the time very likely or busy and wouldn't be able to report it at the time it happened. Do any of you really think user reported errors will really help improve it dramatically or quickly? I think people are far too lazy, forgetful, or busy to really report many errors without some sort of incentive like app store credit for example. For every 10 errors reported for example you get $1 of store credit to buy an app. Now that might actually work although there would need to be a verification process for malicious reports. 

 

Here is another suggestion for Apple. Since they use Yelp which has a far smaller database than Google, there needs to be a simple and easy way to add waypoints to Maps from your phone or computer. Tying that in also with adding reviews to the business would also be beneficial. Waypoints like restaurants, gas stations, stores, etc.. are probably almost as important as directions on a Map app especially in an unfamiliar city so they can't ignore that defect either.

As to the "improve it by using it"...  Assume that Apple logs all searches and responses!  You are using TBT, and suddenly stop [using it] in the middle on a series of instructions -- to switch to another solution.  This is a sudden, unexpected action!  Apple has logged all this and anticipates your next action.  The fact that there is none, is a big flag that something may be wrong.  Computer analysis can easily isolate these "situations", and they can be reconstructed by someone by taking a "virtual" trip and/or a "real" trip to reconstruct the problem...  not as good as the user reporting what actually happened, but much better than nothing!

Likewise, a series of of unexpected searches -- unsuccessful results returned to refined search terms (like the iLost fiasco) form a pattern that can be detected and analyzed.