[...] One of the first things we tested out was the new Maps application. Apple is replacing all the mapping data with their own in-house data instead of relying on third parties.
This scares me.
Apple Maps is finally getting to the point where I usually prefer it over Google Maps. I still run into the odd glitch, like it telling me to turn left at an intersection that prohibits left turns, or telling me to go the wrong way down a one-way street, but those issues are becoming less frequent. Mostly it works pretty well with an easy-to-follow interface.
I haven't forgotten what it was like in the early days, though. Apple deciding to do maps in-house rather than relying on a third party didn't go well at first. That makes me wonder if this foray into trying to reduce dependence on outside sources will have a similar outcome. I hope not, but once bitten etc.
[...] One of the first things we tested out was the new Maps application. Apple is replacing all the mapping data with their own in-house data instead of relying on third parties.
This scares me.
Apple Maps is finally getting to the point where I usually prefer it over Google Maps. I still run into the odd glitch, like it telling me to turn left at an intersection that prohibits left turns, or telling me to go the wrong way down a one-way street, but those issues are becoming less frequent. Mostly it works pretty well with an easy-to-follow interface.
I haven't forgotten what it was like in the early days, though. Apple deciding to do maps in-house rather than relying on a third party didn't go well at first. That makes me wonder if this foray into trying to reduce dependence on outside sources will have a similar outcome. I hope not, but once bitten etc.
I've run in to similar issues with Google Maps. I've been taking my chances with Apple Maps, as the mishaps are about the same, and I know Apple isn't selling my location data for profit.
Apple Maps has never been in-house. It's always been based on TomTom. With Apple having more control, they can offer more, and keep it updated more frequently. As it is now, they have to rely on TomTom to push map updates.
redgeminipa said: [...] With Apple having more control, they can offer more, and keep it updated more frequently.
Can they? Serious question. It's not a trivial task to undertake. Is Apple capable of building out the infrastructure for mapping in a way that is an improvement over systems developed over a couple decades by companies dedicated to that single task? Maybe it is, I honestly don't know. It just seems like the odds lean heavily towards Maps taking a step backwards as Apple learns the lessons other location providers long ago incorporated into their systems.
For Apple to do this there must be advantages of which I'm not aware. Hopefully that means it will result in improvement and my concern will be shown to have been unnecessary. Another possibility is Apple taking the same approach it did with Final Cut Pro and Pages -- paring down features and making the new product less sophisticated and capable (Final Cut is now full-featured again but it took years, and Pages still lacks some key features it used to offer).
So I use Sirius to listen to stations like CNN while driving, only to be annoyed every 5 minutes with 3 minutes of the worst radio commercials with people screaming their 800 number 5 times (like we have a hearing problem) and just plain useless commercials for obscure nobody companies I'd never call in the first place! Since I'm paying for Sirius, why do I have commercials at all?
There are commercials because you are listening to a simulcast of the television broadcast. Since the tv broadcast has commercials, so does the Sirius broadcast.
As for Sirius, I don't see why they couldn't make an app, but I found Sirius dreadfully overpriced and dumped it as soon as the 6 month trial period was over.
I pay $8.99 a month. I think that is hardly ‘dreadfully overpriced.’
I do, considering it’s streaming-only (like radio) with no on-demand abilities, playlists, etc. And when I got that price it excluded mobile apps and web clients, was in-car only. They insisted on +$5 if I wanted app and web access. You have all access to all clients for that price?
But considering Apple Music is a buck more for all access, on-demand, playlists, local storage, etc, it was hard to justifiy Sirius. And since we’re on a family plan AM is even cheaper.
As for Sirius, I don't see why they couldn't make an app, but I found Sirius dreadfully overpriced and dumped it as soon as the 6 month trial period was over.
I pay $8.99 a month. I think that is hardly ‘dreadfully overpriced.’
That's too much. I've been renewing the 6-for-$30 "promotion" for years. With taxes and fees, that comes out to about $6 per month, but that's still too much for the limited selection and poor sound quality. The only reason I keep it is for the convenience of having background music. When I want selection and sound quality, I use Apple Music through CarPlay.
I use my Sirius solely for news. I am a news junkie. I own all of my music, and play it my car with a permanently connected (and regularly updated) 128GB iPod.
Dunno which you listen to but I found the NPR stations on Sirius to have excessive compression resulting in notably poor audio. The iOS apps of the same content was better so that was another ding against Sirius.
Sirius has been supported by CarPlay forever - I use it all the time. The great thing about it is that you can stream at 3 different bitrates, all far superior to the highly compressed stream that a satellite connection provides. You have to have the streaming option as part of your subscription, but that's it - you can stream today, on iOS 11, and the sound quality is fantastic.
This is good to know. I will go check their site right now. But it still doesn’t solve the problem of the other apps I mentioned.
Add: I called Sirius. They will provide the service for CarPlay for an additional $5/mo. Ridiculous, and not worth it. I’ll stick with Audi’s MMI for now (which allows me use it for the $8.99 I pay), and therefore, continue to not use CarPlay. This is exactly the frustration I have with Apple vis-a-vis CarPlay, as I mentioned before: they really couldn’t be bothered to come up with a solution for their customers by negotiating some type of deal with a podunk little entertainment company, yet one that is available in most new cars that are sold!?
You’re blaming Apple for Sirius’ pricing model? That doesn’t make any sense. You should be blaming Sirius for trying to rip you off and stop giving them money. That’s what I did, telling them exactly why. Who knows maybe one day they’ll listen to their customers.
[...] One of the first things we tested out was the new Maps application. Apple is replacing all the mapping data with their own in-house data instead of relying on third parties.
This scares me.
Apple Maps is finally getting to the point where I usually prefer it over Google Maps. I still run into the odd glitch, like it telling me to turn left at an intersection that prohibits left turns, or telling me to go the wrong way down a one-way street, but those issues are becoming less frequent. Mostly it works pretty well with an easy-to-follow interface.
I haven't forgotten what it was like in the early days, though. Apple deciding to do maps in-house rather than relying on a third party didn't go well at first. That makes me wonder if this foray into trying to reduce dependence on outside sources will have a similar outcome. I hope not, but once bitten etc.
I've run in to similar issues with Google Maps. I've been taking my chances with Apple Maps, as the mishaps are about the same, and I know Apple isn't selling my location data for profit.
Apple Maps has never been in-house. It's always been based on TomTom. With Apple having more control, they can offer more, and keep it updated more frequently. As it is now, they have to rely on TomTom to push map updates.
Apple isn't selling your location data for profit any more than Google is. BUT...
As I understand things it was only two months ago that Apple and Google started enforcing a rule against 3rd parties doing so without your explicit consent, prompted by the new EU privacy regulations, with Apple doing one better than the Play Store and now beginning to remove existing App Store apps that appear to be in violation until such time as the developer brings them into compliance.
[...] One of the first things we tested out was the new Maps application. Apple is replacing all the mapping data with their own in-house data instead of relying on third parties.
This scares me.
Apple Maps is finally getting to the point where I usually prefer it over Google Maps. I still run into the odd glitch, like it telling me to turn left at an intersection that prohibits left turns, or telling me to go the wrong way down a one-way street, but those issues are becoming less frequent. Mostly it works pretty well with an easy-to-follow interface.
I haven't forgotten what it was like in the early days, though. Apple deciding to do maps in-house rather than relying on a third party didn't go well at first. That makes me wonder if this foray into trying to reduce dependence on outside sources will have a similar outcome. I hope not, but once bitten etc.
Apple Maps has never been in-house. It's always been based on TomTom. With Apple having more control, they can offer more, and keep it updated more frequently. As it is now, they have to rely on TomTom to push map updates.
...and OpenStreetMaps, as well as a couple of odds and ends for locations not served by either one.
Sirius has been supported by CarPlay forever - I use it all the time. The great thing about it is that you can stream at 3 different bitrates, all far superior to the highly compressed stream that a satellite connection provides. You have to have the streaming option as part of your subscription, but that's it - you can stream today, on iOS 11, and the sound quality is fantastic.
This is good to know. I will go check their site right now. But it still doesn’t solve the problem of the other apps I mentioned.
Add: I called Sirius. They will provide the service for CarPlay for an additional $5/mo. Ridiculous, and not worth it. I’ll stick with Audi’s MMI for now (which allows me use it for the $8.99 I pay), and therefore, continue to not use CarPlay. This is exactly the frustration I have with Apple vis-a-vis CarPlay, as I mentioned before: they really couldn’t be bothered to come up with a solution for their customers by negotiating some type of deal with a podunk little entertainment company, yet one that is available in most new cars that are sold!?
You’re blaming Apple for Sirius’ pricing model? That doesn’t make any sense. You should be blaming Sirius for trying to rip you off and stop giving them money. That’s what I did, telling them exactly why. Who knows maybe one day they’ll listen to their customers.
Or just blame Apple.
My larger point is that, just as with Siri, Apple doesn’t appear to be terribly successful with CarPlay. At this point, I’ll stick with my interpretation of the reason why, despite the fact that it might some knickers in a bunch here.
This year, CarPlay didn't get the major overhaul we were hoping for, but there are still a few improvements that go a long way to improving the overall experience. Let's hit the road to see what's new with CarPlay in iOS 12.
iOS 12, which is set to debut this fall, is a major overhaul for iPhone and iPad. Since CarPlay is just a projection of your iPhone's display, it makes sense that we'd see at least a few notable changes.
One of the first things we tested out was the new Maps application. Apple is replacing all the mapping data with their own in-house data instead of relying on third parties. Maps is now much more detailed than it has been in the past but is limited at the moment.
This new mapping data is rolling out first in the Bay Area, before spreading to the rest of California and then the rest of the US.
For those who don't prefer Apple Maps, they can rejoice because third-party map and navigation apps can now be used with iOS 12, including popular options like Waze and Google Maps. They work seamlessly and offer unique features not found in Apple's own Maps app. Many developers have already voiced support, including some with offline mapping capabilities.
We also saw a few performance improvements this year to audio apps. They have much-improved performance, with smoother animations and significantly quicker startup times. In our testing, we saw this across the board with any audio app, even ones that have yet to be updated.
We didn't get all the updates we were hoping for, but it seems next year we may be more lucky. In the meantime, faster and more reliable audio apps plus an improved Maps app and third-party mapping applications will surely be welcomed.
CarPlay is garbage......bought the pioneer thinking it would be safer.......when connected to CarPlay I find myself using my phone more than before because it doesn’t support the apps I use .....YouTube for example.....hello it has nothing to do with watching videos but there’s a lot of music I already have stored and can’t access it through the radio 🤷🏼♂️ Don’t even use CarPlay anymore.....I could have spent the same amount of money and got a better radio without it......seems lately more and more I hate my iphone
Comments
Apple Maps is finally getting to the point where I usually prefer it over Google Maps. I still run into the odd glitch, like it telling me to turn left at an intersection that prohibits left turns, or telling me to go the wrong way down a one-way street, but those issues are becoming less frequent. Mostly it works pretty well with an easy-to-follow interface.
I haven't forgotten what it was like in the early days, though. Apple deciding to do maps in-house rather than relying on a third party didn't go well at first. That makes me wonder if this foray into trying to reduce dependence on outside sources will have a similar outcome. I hope not, but once bitten etc.
Apple Maps has never been in-house. It's always been based on TomTom. With Apple having more control, they can offer more, and keep it updated more frequently. As it is now, they have to rely on TomTom to push map updates.
For Apple to do this there must be advantages of which I'm not aware. Hopefully that means it will result in improvement and my concern will be shown to have been unnecessary. Another possibility is Apple taking the same approach it did with Final Cut Pro and Pages -- paring down features and making the new product less sophisticated and capable (Final Cut is now full-featured again but it took years, and Pages still lacks some key features it used to offer).
I guess we'll see.
But considering Apple Music is a buck more for all access, on-demand, playlists, local storage, etc, it was hard to justifiy Sirius. And since we’re on a family plan AM is even cheaper.
Dunno which you listen to but I found the NPR stations on Sirius to have excessive compression resulting in notably poor audio. The iOS apps of the same content was better so that was another ding against Sirius.
You’re blaming Apple for Sirius’ pricing model? That doesn’t make any sense. You should be blaming Sirius for trying to rip you off and stop giving them money. That’s what I did, telling them exactly why. Who knows maybe one day they’ll listen to their customers.
Or just blame Apple.
As I understand things it was only two months ago that Apple and Google started enforcing a rule against 3rd parties doing so without your explicit consent, prompted by the new EU privacy regulations, with Apple doing one better than the Play Store and now beginning to remove existing App Store apps that appear to be in violation until such time as the developer brings them into compliance.