India gets long-awaited turn-by-turn directions for Apple Maps

Posted:
in iPhone
Long a staple in places like the U.S. and Canada, turn-by-turn directions for Apple Maps have finally come to the world's second-biggest country, India.

Apple Maps navigation in India


The option gives iPhone and Apple Watch owners a built-in way of navigating India's sometimes complicated road system. It remains to be seen how well Maps copes, as there are still periodic complaints about accuracy and guidance elsewhere.

Apple has simultaneously added the ability to hail Uber and Ola rides in-app, which previously required switching out.

Third-party navigation apps have of course been available in India for some time, but only Apple Maps has deep Siri and Watch integration. People can for instance ask their iPhone to "navigate home," then get custom alerts and haptic feedback on their Watch.

It's not clear why support has lagged in India. Turn-by-turn guidance has been available in places like China and Germany for some time, and even in small markets like Andorra, Gibraltar, and Vatican City.

Apple is a marginal player in the Indian smartphone market though, controlling just 1 percent. iPhones are typically priced well beyond the means of the average shopper, to the point that Apple is still selling the iPhone SE and 6s there as a solution. Part of the problem is import costs, which could be solved if Foxconn and Wistron establish a solid footprint.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    This is excellent news . Hopefully it comes to Afganistan,Pakistan ,Sri Lanka ,Bangladesh soon.
    AppleExposed
  • Reply 2 of 12
    GRibeiroGRibeiro Posts: 4unconfirmed, member
    Waiting for the feature in Brazil as well 😴
    AppleExposed
  • Reply 3 of 12
    tbornottbornot Posts: 116member
    So, India has huge tariffs to protect local industry?  How interesting.
    AppleExposedlostkiwi
  • Reply 4 of 12
    Apple indeed has a small share of the India market, but it is important to be accurate.  Apple has never released sales numbers, so although the 1% figure is reported as a fact, it is in fact just an estimate from another analyst, and doesn't capture reselling of refurb phones which almost always is missed in articles discussing iPhone sales.  The iPhone retains its value far beyond other smart phones, and there are many tens of millions of the iPhone 6-10 that go to people in less developed countries and elsewhere each year.  A more relevant statistic for this mapping article is the estimated number of iPhone users in India.  Surveys, with all their limitations, showed about a year ago that there were over 10 million iPhone users in India.
    racerhomie3
  • Reply 5 of 12
    JWSCJWSC Posts: 1,203member
    Well, this should be a massive boon to all twelve iPhone users in India.
  • Reply 6 of 12
    JWSC said:
    Well, this should be a massive boon to all twelve iPhone users in India.
    Seriously? Maybe you don’t know but a lot of the apps & content you use are probably made in India!
  • Reply 7 of 12
    JWSC said:
    Well, this should be a massive boon to all twelve iPhone users in India.
    Lol iPhone user base in India is 10 Million +.
    People know how to avoid tariffs, by buying  from unauthorized resellers,refurbished or used.The gray market in India 🇮🇳 is huge.
  • Reply 8 of 12
    tbornot said:
    So, India has huge tariffs to protect local industry?  How interesting.
    Don’t worry Indians are smart. They learned long ago to avoid tariffs, by buying abroad or from unauthorized resellers . Plus refurbished & used iPhones are plentiful inside markets  of India.
    edited January 2019
  • Reply 9 of 12
    Notsofast said:
    Apple indeed has a small share of the India market, but it is important to be accurate.  Apple has never released sales numbers, so although the 1% figure is reported as a fact, it is in fact just an estimate from another analyst, and doesn't capture reselling of refurb phones which almost always is missed in articles discussing iPhone sales.  The iPhone retains its value far beyond other smart phones, and there are many tens of millions of the iPhone 6-10 that go to people in less developed countries and elsewhere each year.  A more relevant statistic for this mapping article is the estimated number of iPhone users in India.  Surveys, with all their limitations, showed about a year ago that there were over 10 million iPhone users in India.
    Exactly, same is the case in Bangladesh & Pakistan. 
  • Reply 10 of 12
    JWSCJWSC Posts: 1,203member
    JWSC said:
    Well, this should be a massive boon to all twelve iPhone users in India.
    Seriously? Maybe you don’t know but a lot of the apps & content you use are probably made in India!
    I’m well aware that India has a large number of computer scientists.  I saw many at my university back in the ‘80s.  My comment was more about Apple’s lack of overall penetration in the Indian market.  Do I have to put a sarcasm tag on everything?
  • Reply 11 of 12

    I am really very excited about this. I'll be testing this out the whole of next week to see if it copes. This has 2 really great positives for me:

    1. I can now add geo-fenced Reminders.

    2. I can stop using Google Maps.


    I don't think I'll stop using Google Maps till I'm certain that Apple Maps works for my usual locations. But this is a start, and I'm really stoked!

  • Reply 12 of 12

    I am really very excited about this. I'll be testing this out the whole of next week to see if it copes. This has 2 really great positives for me:

    1. I can now add geo-fenced Reminders.

    2. I can stop using Google Maps.


    I don't think I'll stop using Google Maps till I'm certain that Apple Maps works for my usual locations. But this is a start, and I'm really stoked!

    Could you message me on AI & input your experience?
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