Remember the Apple Maps fiasco? The company tried to go it alone and get out from under Google’s data and the results ended up being a little more than embarassing for the company. It also happened after the death of Steve Jobs which made people wonder whether the company was going to fall apart.
Well, with $140 billion in cash and a never ending stream of continued purchases coming in through phone purchases, App Stores and iTunes, Apple needn’t have worried. Looks like a combination of acquisitions, bloodletting, and hard work have turned things around.
In September 2012, Apple Apple launched iOS 6 with Apple Maps as a default mapping replacement for Google Google Maps. When Apple Maps was introduced, it was plagued with errors so CEO Tim Cook issued an apology. Cook said that Apple Maps “fell short” and he recommended alternatives like Bing Maps, Waze and Google Maps. Fortunately, Apple is now improving Maps every day.
The Apple Maps app was missing many places of interest (POIs) and many of them were listed in the wrong location. A user on Reddit said that he used the “Report a Problem” feature for two years and none of the changes were ever implemented until now. In the last few months, it seems like Apple corrected data once per week. Now it looks like Apple is updating Maps every day at 3AM Eastern Time, according to 9to5Mac.
Personally, I have noticed an improvement in Apple Maps. One of the major highways connecting Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan near me has been shutdown due to construction for the last several months. Apple Maps said that the highway was actually open as of three weeks ago. But it was updated last week to reflect the closure.
