“Every iOS release has its marquee feature, and with iOS 6 it’s unquestionably Maps,” Dan Moren reports for Macworld. “The app has gotten a in-depth makeover, perhaps the most thorough ever to be applied to one of iOS’s built-in applications.”
“The bow-to-stern overhaul starts deep under the hood, where Apple has replaced the mapping engine that in every previous version of iOS was provided by Google,” Moren reports. “In its place, Apple has rolled its own solution, supported by mapping data from GPS maker Tom Tom, OpenStreetMap, and a cast of thousands.”
Moren reports, “As you might expect, such an all-encompassing update means new features, the disappearance of old ones, and plenty of changes in the way things have been done to date.”
Much more in the full review here.
But is it snappy, and does it come with vaseline?
Ummm… subways?
Subways are there, just no longer showing line name (B, D, F, Q, etc.).
Not impressed with the ‘Maps’ in the new update. Pinpointed my house several times, right place Wrong address given when clicking the arrow on the pin and unfortunately it will not let me delete the wrong address, in fact it insists that I live in Sale which is about 3 miles away.
Good job I kept my SatNav. Not impressed Apple! I am using the 4S incidentally and live in the UK!
It’s Version 1, give it time. What new software works perfectly the first time it’s out?
Vista?
Now that was uncalled for! 😜
That only worked perfect the first time until obligatory reboot.
The thing is, I have similar issues with Google’s maps…
+111
Google Maps were just as lousy with accuracy. I suspect, Apple Maps will be par for the course and improve over time.
The map software allows for you to submit for incorrect information. Curl the map back and directly above “Print” is a faint “Report A Problem”. Could help to resolve your problem.
I’m sure they will improve this but there simply is no substitute for Street View. Until Apple replicates that, their maps will be in second place. If they are lucky. Very disappointing.
Yes dont know if this is a UK thing but I expected to be really impressed by this move but on brief use so far really disappointed on my iPad. The point by point may be good (not really tested so far) but the maps themselves have virtually no detail not even railway lines in some cases and cant find anything so far other than the those basic maps, is there anything else to it? Im going to download the Google app to make a direct comparison. And yes I am stuck with home being Winchmore Hill in Bucks rather than London and cant work out how to change it. Hopefully I am missing something here and all will be revealed with use.
I like it, it is truly amazing to use. It’s great for looking around where I live in Downtown Los Angeles. However when I move to the suburban areas it falls flat when compared with Google’s street view. Will Apple be working on improving this? Google is spending their own money to provide a comprehensive map experience, but I understand Apple is getting their maps from a 3rd party (if I remember correctly?) Who is responsible for keeping Apple’s new super maps system updated? Improved?
The good thing is I can still use both!
When they announced it they (Apple) said they were partnered with Waze, which is crowd sourced and I’ve been using for years. The way Waze incouraged people to expand the map was to put little ‘PAC-man’ pellets on roads that had not been added to the system, so you’d basically get points for exploring new roads and expanding their database. Now just the other day Waze spokesperson says Apple ended up going with tomtom- very disappointing.
encouraged – Doh!
Hee hee. I said “falls flat” about a 3D maps program and that’s exactly what happens.
You can’t expect the whole country to be rendered. Likewise the whole country hasn’t been street scanned either.
So just because you have flat houses in your part of town, it will take time to get to it.
Fortunately my house is in glorious 3D. Trees and All.
“The bow-to-stern overhaul starts deep under the hood” … I am so confused. I think I need a flyby!
Stunning? Try an Android phone with Goohle maps next to iPhone and you will see all the details missed!
Try getting a real phone and you’ll see what Google’s mole just copied….poorly and illegally, Troll.
Why is he a troll??? Just because he said Google maps was better? This sort of ridiculous name calling and incivility is such a hallmark of the current political and socioeconomic climate in this country. And it’s ruining it. And it’s particularly venomous on this board.
+10
I hate to say it, but in regards to Apple Maps this is where Steve Jobs would call it AMAZING in public and then call a meeting in secret where he would line up the people involved and ask ‘WTF is maps supposed to do’ ,gets an answer, ‘Then why the fuck does it not do that?’ and then shoot those in attendance(figuratively of course). I can only hope Mr. Cook is having a similar discussion.
I’m sure it’d nice if you live in LA. In the UK it’s utter shite. I can’t say how depressed I am. This would never have been released in the past. It’s a vast step backwards. I so wanted apple never to change. But change it has. Mediocrity returns to the norm across the board in computing Safari has crashed twice and the iBookstore once too. Excellent.
Odd. I’m looking at London, England on my iPad now and it’s a stunning view of the city. I’m currently on a street called South Carriage Dr. Looking at a tall very, very blue building. Doing a 360 around it.
I think I must be using it wrong. The satellite view for Nottingham is black and white and far grainer than the past Google version. There is no option for the 3D relief view that was demoed on the Keynote. Plus, even when zoomed out the images look lower resolution.
What model phone are you using?
iPhone 4S+ is the only thing getting 3D maps.
If you have a iPhone 4, it’s all going to be flat.
“Odd. I’m looking at London, England” as a tourist in another country.
Missing roads, POI data that is eight years out of date (e.g. shops and restaurants), public transport information missing, the whole thing is a terrible mess — outside USA, might not be quite so bad there.
Agreed. I’m in The Netherlands, and the mapping is a thorough disappointment (using a 4S). The imagery is very grainy and low-res. Updating map tiles (even on 120 Mb/s wifi) is slow. Basic vector map data is fine, but that’s about it. 3D view is non-existent, although admittedly that would always look flat here in Holland…
Stunning indeed. Apple Maps denies the very existence of Berlin, Germany. Even Siri doesn’t know it anymore. Well done, Apple.
Looking at Berlin now. It seems to be there. Maybe your phone is Berlin-less?
Look for any POI in Berlin , then look at the adress and you will understand.
Can you send attachments with mail now or is Apple still fixated on Facebook & Twitter?
The Twitter and Facebook fixation does do my head in a bit – mainly because there’s no option for their logos *not* to appear if you don’t use them. Seems a little too much like product placement, which isn’t Apple’s style.
I ate a hot dog for lunch today #hot dog.
Google Maps who?…buh bye and good riddance!
Google maps usually sends me to the wrong location. Fortunately they have a touch button to call the palce and ask where they really are. But I shouldn’t have to do that.
Stunning for a few who live in select major cities. A disappointment for others.
For me, iOS 6 Maps is a step backward. I live in a small city in Japan.
1) In Google Maps, my 2009-built house was visible. Now, the lot is empty, and a demolished building next to my house still stands. The maps are at least 3.5 years old.
2) Numerous convenience stores are not visible. A few more have not been updated with the new franchise name.
3) The place where I work no longer appears on the building.
4) A nearby department store is mistranslated as a shop.
Just a few personal examples over a few square kilometers.
Google maps has my car pulling into the driveway where I haven’t lived in nearly 5 years. Their maps aren’t always current either. Google has been data mining for yeara so they definitely have a head start. I’m not so concerned about v1.0 as how quickly they’ll improve it.
Hi. Thanks for the reply.
For people living in Japan, updated maps are vital as we don’t have street names. The car navigation systems here are incredibly detailed, and expensive. I was hoping to avoid buying one and use my iPhone 5 or iPad 3 instead. I wonder why Apple couldn’t perfect Maps before releasing it?
I just put two iPads side-by-side (one had iOS 5 and the other had iOS 6), and compared Maps. I checked around my city here in Japan and around San Francisco. Google Maps was clearly better. In my city, with Google the roads were the correct width, reflecting their four-lane status, while the Apple Maps roads were about the same width no matter how major. It was hard to navigate.
Apple are notoriously cheap bastards. If they can pinch a couple of pennies in terms of saving mapping costs, they will. They’re hoping that maps data will be crowd sourced which is the equivalent of walking into McDonalds and hoping for a gourmet meal.
Pretty much the only player in the computing industry that doesn’t make their products out of cheap garbage, and they’re “notoriously cheap bastards”?
Uh…
My house, outside Barcelona, was built in 2010 and is there
Doesn’t show me the correct locations for my place of work. (Google maps didn’t either until I summited an updated ticket).
Used the satellite view to look at my town and house and all I see are clouds.
Overall I like the vector maps, quick and more snappy. However, I need a way to fixed address and wish it had some better imagery on the satellite view.
Maps totally crap here in Melbourne Australia. I’m on a train but the app has me on various roads upto a few kilometers away. It’s slow in updates, only updating my position (inaccurately) when I press the compass. I don’t dare use this app for actual directions, I’ll be miles past a turn before the app realizes it!
Tried map for firstbtime this afternoon on my 4S. Not a long test but enough that I was impressed. I left my home in Cupertino to an address in the hills east of San Jose. Just 24 miles of urban driving. It gave me the option three routes. I picked the one that looked the most complex. Turned on start and the voice came on my car radio through bluetooth. I also had on my nav system built in to my 2012 Acura MDX. I left the route on about a dozen times. The iPhone very quickly recalculated, much faster the Acura system did. I can only imagine how fast it will be with LTE friday. We are looking at new houses searching Zillow. I was really surprised to see Zillow is already using the Apple Map data. If it is good enough for Zillo it is good enough for me. My sister lives in Utah, they built their house 7 years ago. It is on Apple Maps and Zillow now. Still a vacant area on Google Maps.
I like the new maps app. So far US locations seem to show up well and should be easy to find. Good riddance Google.
This is the first iteration. Apple wll add features and tweaks.
The 3D view gives lots of help in seeing a location and the area around it. It will get me where I want to go.
It seems like there are a lot of problems with the new Maps. Unfortunately, Apple did not have a choice but to build its own.
http://beta.fool.com/jaans/2012/08/20/understanding-apple-vs-google-maps-deep-analysis-e/9606/
It’s not like they just started yesterday. This has been in the works for a long time.
Although Maps looks great. Quite dissappointed with the turn by turn navigation. It certainly won’t be replacing my Garmin as I’d hoped.
Three Fatal Flaws:
1. NO ETA. Fairly basic feature, unless i’m missing it, it’s not there.
2. Does not re-calculate an alternate route if you you drive off the route. Big bummer.
3. The turn by turn distance does not change as you drive. EX. Got on to the freeway and the directions said stay for 12 miles. But the twelve miles does not update. It remains at “12 miles” until you make the turn. Sigh..
On a plus side. The new maps do look beautiful.
Um…
1. ETA is indeed provided, as shown in a screenshot in the linked article.
2. It does recalculate. A poster above you tested that.
Either you are doing something seriously wrong, or you’re pulling this out of your ass.
——RM
I can assure you, not “pulling anything out of my ass”…
Perhaps these are limitations of iPhone 4, I will retest when my 5 arrives on Friday.. There was no ETA and I distinctly drove an alternate route and there was no recalculation. Point 3 remains as well.
I’ve been looking forward to ditching the Garmin so hopefully these features will be there with iP5 and iOS6.
Yes, this is a limitation of the iPhone 4
Do you think Apple should be allowed to get away with downgrading the product in order to force you to buy a new iPhone to regain it ?
They are limitations of the iPhone 4, which anyone paying attention could’ve told you.
Next time you bitch about an OS, maybe you mention the platform you’re running it on.
——RM
Firstly, asswipe, I didn’t bitch about anything.
Secondly, it says nothing about ETA and recalculating not working for iPhone 4.
thirdly, dipshit. The iP5 isn’t out yet, so the platform was either 4 or 4s.
Fourth. Fuck off you asshole.
Yes, the platform was either 4 or 4s. And there’s a difference between the two. The 4s supports features the 4 doesn’t. And anyone paying attention knew that.
But please, continue your tantrum. Normally I don’t like participating in flamewars, but you’re making this way too easy.
——RM
Bad move apple. The maps have far less detail and the satellite images are years out of date. On google maps I can zoom in and see the lot lines of subdivisions, a very useful thing for real estate apps like trulia. Now you zoom in and see a vast blank wasteland of nothing between streets.
Why would you put a piece of unfinished out of date software like this out? It just highlights how far ahead google is in mapping. I want the best experience possible. Apple does a lot of things right but maps isn’t it.
Give me my google maps back!
If I lived within a mile of Big Ben I might think the mapping app from Apple was better but first impressions of it for elsewhere in the UK is that it is a poor beta programme.
The mapping is not good and the satellite mapping resolution is frankly pants.
Also, the You Tube app is a also rubbish – Gen 1 iPhone standard not iPad resolution
Apple better make a way to suggest additions to the map quickly. Apple users will make suggestions quickly, but Apple needs a way to take them and add them to the map. From what I have seen, it needs to be a very top priority for Apple. It missed a major outdoor concert venue in Denver. Can’t search it, and it doesn’t show on the map at all Comfort Dental Amphitheater (seats 18,00 people) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfort_Dental_Amphitheatre is probably just the tip of the iceberg. I have seen too many missing major landmarks in only a few hours.
Please Apple get moving on getting your users to update these maps – quickly….
Why does nobody mention the tilt the map feature in their reviews? Take 2 fingers about an inch apart, hold them down and push up and the entire map tilts. Now that is a way to really helping guide me better than the flat view Google had before (at least on iOS). IS that hidden, or did Apple show it? It is neat though.
Stunning is truly the word.
– I was stunned to find that so many places just don’t exist anymore!
Not sure what the US experience is like, but in Australia if you live slightly outside a capital city you’re screwed. Useless for even the most basic expeditions.
Apparently Arkaroola is now in Adelaide – who knew?
What a joke.