Apple's homegrown Maps app, which recently became available this past Wednesday with the release of iOS 6, has been the target of a lot of criticism. Apple has since issued a public statement concerning customer complaints.
Apple’s iPhone 5 is now on sale around the world and the customer reviews, by and large, are overwhelmingly positive. Indeed, based on pre-order numbers alone, the iPhone 5 seems well positioned to easily become Apple’s most successful iPhone model to date.
But that’s not to say that Apple is completely immune from any missteps. On the contrary, Apple’s homegrown Maps app, which became available this past Wednesday with the release of iOS 6, has been the target of a lot of criticism. Apparently creating a Mapping application in two years in an effort to rival what Google has assembled in 10 years is rather difficult and complex, and to that end, iOS users might have to endure a few growing pains.
There is no shortage of gripes about Maps in iOS 6 and a Tumblr page cataloguing all of these iOS 6 Mapping blunders has quickly emerged. As a quick example, take a look at the photo below.
You’ll note that the Burger King label is completely misplaced, not to mention the Dali-esque melting streets to the left.
Apple, to its credit, has acknowledged that there are issues to be addressed and went so far as to issue a statement to All Things D.
Customers around the world are upgrading to iOS 6 with over 200 new features including Apple Maps, our first map service,” said spokeswoman Trudy Miller. “We are excited to offer this service with innovative new features like Flyover, turn by turn navigation, and Siri integration. We launched this new map service knowing it is a major initiative and that we are just getting started with it. Maps is a cloud-based solution and the more people use it, the better it will get. We appreciate all of the customer feedback and are working hard to make the customer experience even better.
Notably, All Things D was also informed that Apple’s Maps team was put “under lockdown” to address many of the complaints users have found with the new service.
While it remains to be seen how long it takes before Apple’s Maps app to gain some footing, users in the meantime can still access Google Maps via their mobile Safari browser. Further, 9to5Mac is reporting that Google already has a standalone Maps app for iOS ready to roll out to the masses; the only thing they’re now waiting for is the green light from Apple’s app review team. The well connected Jim Darlymple, however, disputes that report.
