Apple seeking UI designer for 'secret' maps project, hints at future Web presence
A job listing appeared on Apple's careers site Friday seeking a frontend Web designer and developer for 'a new secret project' tied to the company's mapping systems and services.
The full-time position based at Apple's Cupertino, Cali., headquarters will be part of a "small team working on an advanced web platform upon which many of Apple's future services will be based" and was first spotted by MacRumors. The company is looking for applicants with a cross-disciplinary skill set in design and development with experience in HTML, CSS, Javascript, and data exchange formats like XML and JSON.
The new product may not be customer facing, given the listing's specific mention of developing a "platform." Apple has been actively expanding and improving their mapping services of late, recently acquiring transit directions startups Embark and HopStop, while bringing Maps to the desktop in OS X 10.9 Mavericks.
While mere speculation, the job posting could signal Apple's intent to expand the Maps platform beyond its own devices by creating a Web portal or service accessible through a regular browser. This could extend Maps' reach and represent an interesting opportunity for developers looking to incorporate mapping data into their websites or apps.
Apple Maps debuted to a famously poor reaction in iOS 6, despite the team's apparently impressive array of talent and technology following Apple's acquisitions of companies like Placebase and C3 Technologies. The rollout was so bad that Apple CEO Tim Cook penned a personal apology to customers, and the debacle ultimately cost then-iOS chief Scott Forstall his job.
The full-time position based at Apple's Cupertino, Cali., headquarters will be part of a "small team working on an advanced web platform upon which many of Apple's future services will be based" and was first spotted by MacRumors. The company is looking for applicants with a cross-disciplinary skill set in design and development with experience in HTML, CSS, Javascript, and data exchange formats like XML and JSON.
The new product may not be customer facing, given the listing's specific mention of developing a "platform." Apple has been actively expanding and improving their mapping services of late, recently acquiring transit directions startups Embark and HopStop, while bringing Maps to the desktop in OS X 10.9 Mavericks.
While mere speculation, the job posting could signal Apple's intent to expand the Maps platform beyond its own devices by creating a Web portal or service accessible through a regular browser. This could extend Maps' reach and represent an interesting opportunity for developers looking to incorporate mapping data into their websites or apps.
Apple Maps debuted to a famously poor reaction in iOS 6, despite the team's apparently impressive array of talent and technology following Apple's acquisitions of companies like Placebase and C3 Technologies. The rollout was so bad that Apple CEO Tim Cook penned a personal apology to customers, and the debacle ultimately cost then-iOS chief Scott Forstall his job.
Comments
Couldn't Apple just purchase Google at this point?
it would likely cost more to turn it into an ethical company than what it's worth.
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…the job posting actually made no mention of maps at all.
This makes a lot of sense. I just received a link today from Maps on an iPhone and opened it in Safari on my Mac. It was weird to be redirected to Google Maps. It seems like most of the work is already done and just a web front end needs to be slapped on.
That shouldn’t be the case come Mavericks.
You're right. My bad. Sorry AppleInsider!
That shouldn’t be the case come Mavericks.
Don't you think they need a web interface too? Everyone else in maps has one.
Mapbox, Open Street Maps, Mapquest, Yahoo, Nokia, Google, etc. Without a web solution Apple Maps seems very limited in its functionality. There are many Apple fans who use older hardware incapable of running Mavericks. Furthermore there are many Apple consumers who work on Windows in their day job who could use Apple maps in a browser and save, share and print maps while at work. Lastly, web pages could embed Apple maps and help spread the Apple mantra to the yet to be converted masses.
Don't you think they need a web interface too? Everyone else in maps has one.
I think for their web-based services that use maps they should be backended with Apple Maps, but as a standalone function there’s not much reason to have one.
Don't you think they need a web interface too? Everyone else in maps has one.
I think for their web-based services that use maps they should be backended with Apple Maps, but as a standalone function there’s not much reason to have one.
So you think the billions of Google Maps embedded in web pages is non consequential to Apple Maps long term success?
So you think the billions of Google Maps embedded in web pages is non consequential to Apple Maps long term success?
I think the hundreds of thousands of Apple Maps embedded in iOS apps and, hey, even Mac App Store applications is consequential to Apple Maps’ long-term success.
The web isn’t the solution. It’s not the way to go. Apple Maps should be the backend for Find My iPhone on iCloud.com, but is it really needed elsewhere? What is to be gained from an Apple Maps Web API that no one will ever use anyway?
Who says he isn’t already? You ought to chillax.
Done about a year ago. Man, you’ve really missed out! Obama got reelected and everything.
Unless Apple also went into search and developed their own search engine that integrated with Apple Maps...
Looking up an address, getting a business name for an address or getting directions are all types of search. So is Siri. These aren't web queries to find other websites the way a typical Google search works, but it doesn't have to be. I would like Apple to offer a better web search option if they have a better idea but Google seems like they have this down pretty well. On the Maps side there is a lot they can do better.
If it's not in Apple's best interest to make a web presence for Apple Maps (which now defaults to Google Maps), that Apple Maps on Mac OS X Mavericks+ and iOS 6+ are good enough and users on other systems shouldn't have access to it TS needs to argue why it is in Apple's best interest to have the iCloud.com web presence for many things available to Apple's OSes, including the iWork apps.
PS: Let's remember that when Google started doing maps there was the much better MSN and MapQuest, but there lead didn't last long.
The company is looking for applicants with a cross-disciplinary skill set in design and development with experience in HTML, CSS, Javascript, and data exchange formats like XML and JSON.
Knock, knock, Google. How's that whole ChromeOS thing going?