Apple taking Maps 'to the next level' in iOS 12

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 76
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    ireland said:
    Rayz2016 said:
    ireland said:
    Rayz2016 said:
    OMG! 

    I saw one two days ago!  It was cruising along the Queens Road in Reading. I thought it was a fake because it had a sign on the side that said Apple Maps, and I thought all the mapping vans were plain white. Maybe it was one of the new ones they’re running themselves. 

    Anyne else in the UK seen one?
    You can search online to see them. They've been using the writing on the exterior for quite a while.
    Yep. It was them. ߘ᦬t;/div>
    It’s only a van, lol
     
    It was the Elvis of vans!
    watto_cobrafastasleepAlex1N
  • Reply 42 of 76
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member

    netmage said:
    foggyhill said:
    Google is good for POI things, that's the WHOLE BUSINESS (thank god they're actually good at their own job), but their map has not improved much in a long time and in my neighborhood there are 3 errors that have been there for 10 years. Their POI also are pretty horrible, half the businesses inside 1km are missing and a third of those that are there are the wrong ones!!! 
    And in ten years have you submitted a single correction? They make it pretty easy - it used to be really easy but they cut down on crowd sourcing edits after some spam edits.
    I've done a couple.

    The last one was my chiropractor who had moved to a new location. I was standing outside his new place sending the new location, and the receptionist came out to ask if I was okay. I said, "No problem; just telling Apple Maps that you've moved."

    She nodded and said, "Thank you. The things we have to think about these days. Yell, Facebook, Websites, and now we've got all these map things."

    Anyway, the change came through in about two weeks, so I think the mapping team was already onto it.

    watto_cobraGeorgeBMacfastasleepAlex1N
  • Reply 43 of 76
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member

    wood1208 said:
    When will that day come when I tell Siri, Direction->Source->destination->take these roads/route->Go ? Point is you know a route well traveled for you so telling Siri create custom route and Go.
    Why do you need directions for a route you already know well?

    Because it also gives you information on traffic conditions. Vital in Reading, where the traffic can suddenly clog up after the police have been chasing a kid on a scooter. Not so useful in London, which is always clogged up.
    watto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 44 of 76
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member

    HeliBum said:
    And yet, they STILL haven't implemented the ability to set vias in navigation, something that Garmin has been able to do with their GPS units for many years.

    Yes, that would be handy for sightseeing and stuff. Sometimes the routes are quick but ugly. I usually just say go to this place, then go to the other place.
    edited June 2018 watto_cobrafastasleepAlex1N
  • Reply 45 of 76
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member


    command_f said:
    I do, however, remain sceptical that Apple will be able to match Google maps's search content and relevance without its own search engine. 
    Just wait for the WWDC where Tim announces Apple Search as One More Thing™: "Now witness the power of this fully-armed and operational search engine!"

    And then as a final test, Darth Cue will fly the fully armed and operation saucer headquarters within firing range of Samsung Mobile's head office …
    watto_cobrafastasleepAlex1N
  • Reply 46 of 76
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member

    entropys said:
    That said, the roll out of new features is so glacial, and so geographically limited I would have to think while Apple seems to have been mainly focussed on really fixing the backend, to the extent it hasn’t really pushed the getting out and about and getting the actual accurate data to populate Maps. Look at this discussion, the new features are for Northern California only. To be a good mapping tool, It needs to do both, a powerful backend and world wide, accurate data.

    You have to start somewhere, and why not in their back yard? That doesn't mean they're not planning on rapid growth after things have proven to work:

    Cue: 

    "We’ve got a dedicated team — we started this four years ago — across a variety of fields from ML, to map design, to you name it. There’s thousands of people working on this all around the globe from here in the Bay Area, to Seattle, Austin, New York. We have people in other countries, in cities like Berlin, Paris, Singapore, Beijing, Malmö, Hyderabad."

    "This team’s dispersed around the globe. It’s important to have that when you’re trying to create and do this. We’re trying to look at how people use our devices all around the world. Our focus is to build these maps for people on the go."


    Four years?

    So they've managed to keep something a secret. 

    The TechCrunch article is well worth a read, especially the author's speculation as to why the mapping vans seem to be carrying far more equipment than they need for simple route mapping.

    watto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 47 of 76
    swat671swat671 Posts: 150member
    Shouldn't of Apple done this like 6 years ago when Apple Maps first launched? And Apple's mapping vans have been going around for 3 years. Shouldn't they have been using their own first party mapping data since 2015? I'm shocked they're going so slow.
  • Reply 48 of 76
    Soli said:
    I hope we get a street-level view at some point. I don't use Google Maps but I do miss that feature.
    Yep, Street View is reason enough for me to stick to Google Maps. It's so much more practical and useful than flyover or any other attempt.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 49 of 76
    wood1208 said:
    It will be nirvana for GPS Map App users when you can create custom direction map on desktop/phone/tablet and send it to phone EXACTLY like created to use on phone. Currently, you can send source/destination to phone but not whole custom direction. Also, Google map app doesn't give shortest distance selection. Selection should be shortest,fastest,no-toll,etc.
    Why would you want shortest if it's not the fastest? 
  • Reply 50 of 76
    foggyhill said:
    greg uvan said:
    I don't like Google Maps because of privacy issues. I mostly only use Apple Maps. But then, I visited a small city in Quebec, and Apple Maps basically pretended like it didn't exist. The satellite imagery was super blurry, and all in black and white. There were very few points of interest marked. 

    I bit the bullet and installed Google Maps, because I needed to find a place to eat breakfast with my kids. It blew my mind apart, to see how far ahead Google is than Apple. Considering the absolute poverty of Apple's data in this city, Google had street view of every street in the town. AND, it had 3D models of many major landmarks, such as the main cathedral. 

    I love Apple, and I am super glad to hear that they're still putting their shoulder behind the grindstone and are committed to improving Maps, because compared to Google, they have a very long way to go. Maybe that's not true in big cities like San Fran or New York, but in smaller places it is very much the case.
    Yet, I live in Montreal (in the province of Quebec and have Google maps on my phone and find it pretty much a dud. So, not even sure what you're talking about.

    Google is good for POI things, that's the WHOLE BUSINESS (thank god they're actually good at their own job), but their map has not improved much in a long time and in my neighborhood there are 3 errors that have been there for 10 years. Their POI also are pretty horrible, half the businesses inside 1km are missing and a third of those that are there are the wrong ones!!!

    Seems they're more interested in downtowns or cool neighborhoods than in places outside it  (though I'm sure if I go around downtown Montreal, a huge amount of businesses will be missing there too).
    I go to Montreal all the time among other Quebec cities and Google Maps is far superior to Apple Maps there. The only thing Apple Maps does better in Montreal is transit.
  • Reply 51 of 76
    waltgwaltg Posts: 90member
    It’s about time, I stopped using maps altogether because it’s so bad. We travel a lot, I use google maps, the routing feature, while far from perfect it is WAY ahead of Apple maps.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 52 of 76
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    ....
    ... a dashboard-mounted iPad, where the actual map capture software runs.





    For me, this is the ideal Apple Car Play solution....  Why should I buy a separate display device?  All the car needs is an amplifier and good speaker system -- possibly a noise cancelling microphone array.  I suspect, with a few minor tweeks it would work a lot better than anything Toyota would impose on me and be cheaper to boot (as well as keep up with tech advances).
    watto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 53 of 76
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    For me, sticking to existing technology, Apple Maps are fine and don't need to be tinkered with.   But I see technology changing that radically.  For instance:

    I am waiting for the merger of augmented reality with maps where, with the addition of a dash mounted camera (a good one), the app overlays directions right on top of what you are seeing out your windshield instead of a stupid stick man type display.  This could be invaluable at complicated interchanges where you approach a number of closely packed options where you have to choose which one to take.

    And further, it could be combined with ai to predict when to shift the display from a basic directional map to a detailed WYSIWYG display  (How's that for digging up an old acronym? Woz knows what it means but the kids will have to look it up!).  It could also spawn predictive maps where it knows that it it's 7:00am on a Monday and you're headed east, you're probably going to work -- and it pre-orders your Starbuck's for you.
  • Reply 54 of 76
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,350member
    JonInAtl said:
    Without fail, when someone announces something is being "taken to the next level", it's ultimately disappointing.
    Far better to under promise and over deliver.
    Because without fail, there's always so many who infer their own, usually unreasonable, expectations will be met. These people are ultimately incapable of appreciating nuance and how much it took to get there. They will always assume a task it much easier than they know.
    Alex1N
  • Reply 55 of 76
    mrrmrr Posts: 69member
    I use Apple Maps most of the time and am happy with it especially because of turn notifications to Apple Watch.

    I use City Mapper for all my bus/train transit needs.

    I use Google Maps only for bike routes and Street View (one of the best inventions ever).

    Please Apple: ADD STREET VIEW!
    Alex1N
  • Reply 56 of 76
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,350member
    There are about four Tim Horten's within two miles of my house. Maps knows only two of them. This is not good enough.

    Good news:

    LukeCage said:
    This is very welcoming news, being able to change things on maps in real time should allow for a more dynamic app, especially when it comes to new buildings, roads, etc
    I know of people who've submitted errata to Apple and have waited months to years to see a correction. Once verified, this should speed up corrections.

    I've been a fan of Apple Maps from the very first version. Only once have I been slightly mislead but ultimately still shown the way. Yet I appreciate each update and improvement. As someone else mention, the Lane Guidance is huge, for me anyway. It keeps getting better.

    My favorite Map app has been pulled by the Devs, and I suspect that it's because being on phones has noticeably cut into their dedicated GPS business. So I'm hoping that one day Apple will do offline mapping i.e., allow me to download a state or states, and not need a cellular connection.

    In theory (because I've never had to try it) I could get destination directions in Maps while on WiFi and use that info successfully without cell service, solely relying on the iPhone's GPS.  However, I suspect that either deviating some unknown degree, or sometime prior to exceeding some unknown distance, much local data will not be updated. As I travel, some detail will be lost, but the main directions will still be viable. One day I'll have to test this.
  • Reply 57 of 76
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,350member
    welshdog said:
    You don't think this is maybe because Google pretty much perfected the concept and was 10 years ahead of Apple when Maps was released. 
    Personally, I don't care who was on first, first. That information is valuable only in winning a bar bet.

    I'm only concerned that Apple is constantly working to improve Maps, and that they're acquiring their own data, which is huge. One day I might actually need Google Maps and I'll be glad it's on my phone. Until that day arrives, it'll remain updated but unopened.
    Alex1N
  • Reply 58 of 76
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,350member
    mrr said:
    I use Apple Maps most of the time and am happy with it especially because of turn notifications to Apple Watch...

    Please Apple: ADD STREET VIEW!
    Yes, I'd really like them to add a street view. It's helpful in identifying a storefront or equivalent and saves a lot of time compared to looking for street numbers.

    Turn notifications on the Watch are awesome, especially when walking. I don't have to drag my phone out or rely on verbal instructions.
    fastasleepAlex1N
  • Reply 59 of 76
    hammeroftruthhammeroftruth Posts: 1,303member
    Does anyone else think that the firing of Scott Forstall did not help the improvement of maps or Siri? 

    Im sorry, I just think that his presence created conflict which resulted in people putting in their best efforts to show that their ideas were better. 
    Compared to now which their thinking is "good enough". 

    Cue, Federighi, Fadell, and Ive all hated him, but Steve kept him around because he knew that in order to show that your idea was better, you had to put in the effort. 

    In 4 years has maps improved to justify what they have done or are they now realizing they underestimated their timeline in competing with Google maps. 

    Remember, maps was created in haste after negotiations with Google were falling apart. 
    Google was not allowing the same features with maps on iOS compared to android. 
    Alex1NGeorgeBMac
  • Reply 60 of 76
    NotsofastNotsofast Posts: 450member
    What privacy issues are there with the iOS version of Google maps? 
    Many.  One of the central mistakes people make in analysis the threat Google poses is that they look at each piece of data in isolation.  For example, people will say "whats the harm if Google records that I went from my house to a particular office building?"  Even is you use iOS,  if you use Google Maps it's no different than using Google search or any other service.  They will take the Google Maps information and your ISP address, etc., and link it elsewhere. 

    The mistake is that Google doesn't store that data in isolation. Google takes that data and will try and link it to the "universal identifier" they have assigned to you, so unless you take certain measures to thwart Google,  using Google Maps provides them more data. That trip to that building will link to other trips to that building to the web sessions they recorded where you clicked on a web site regarding a particular medical condition and to gmail's you wrote to your family, etc., etc., to give Google keen insights into your formerly private medical information.  You can play this out a million different ways the potential threats once Google has amassed into a digital dossier the most intimate details of your life.  And, then extend that to the others who can access that data, such as law enforcement with a valid subpoena/warrant, someone who files a suit against you and has a civil subpoena, hackers who get access to it,  governments, intel agencies, etc., or just the advertisers, insurance companies, etc., who pay Google to give them indirect access to your information. 
    edited July 2018 fastasleepAlex1NGeorgeBMacpatchythepirate
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