“Apple has been continuously improving its Maps app and data since the service was launched in iOS 6, but for city dwellers one core weakness remains: a lack of public transit directions,” Andrew Cunningham reports for Ars Technica.
“Apple Maps will suggest third-party transit apps for use on particular systems, but doing it that way requires hopping between apps with inconsistent designs and features just to find out where you’re going,” Cunningham reports. “A pair of Apple job listings spotted by MacRumors indicates that the company is working to improve this situation.”
Cunningham reports, “The Maps Public Transit Engineering Manager and Maps Public Transit C++ Software Engineer job listings mention ‘the next generation of Maps services’ and call Public Transit ‘one of the most anticipated features of Apple Maps.'”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
I really hope they fix the horrible iOS 7 interface before they fix Maps. Maps isn’t broken by a long shot but iOS 7 is really truly borked. It has the worst UI of any mobile device by a long shot including Android and Windows 8. iOS 7 borrows so many features from Android that it has become a second class Android, losing its distinctiveness in a sea of boring flat icons.
Windows 8 on a Dell looks attractive by comparison.
Oh good Lord, just get over yourself. If you’re so unhappy with iOS 7, sell your damn iPhone and buy a fscking Android.
I, for one, am thrilled with iOS 7, with the glaring exception of the Music application….the “Artist” view is now completely broken and unusable. If I wanted to see a full list of songs, I’d select “Songs” view, not “Artists.”
Browsing through a list of several hundred Dream Theater songs that I own (from 20 or so releases), trying to find the line item that is their latest release is more than a bit maddening.
Gee, it isn’t that way for me. I go to Artists and I see a list of artists. I tap an artist and I see all of their songs, grouped by album with the album artwork, sorted by year of release.
What version of iOS 7 are you running?
iPhone 4, iOS 7.0.3
Yeah, no. It’s a list of artists.
iOS has the most cohesive and intuitive UI of all touch based mobile operating systems and always has. iOS 7 makes it even better.
I’m pretty sure by UI you mean “the look” which most uneducated and ignorant people think user interface means.
However the user interface actually refers to how users interact with the device and the elements and methods that make up and define that interaction.
While I may agree that the color palate is a bit too bright, and some of the icons are a bit too simplistic, none of that makes the user interface unusable and needing to be “fixed”.
Despite my criticisms I agree with that, the new design isn’t overall to my taste but has become a minor irritant that will get better over time while the rest is fundamentally a better OS.
How about multi-destination trips, with route optimization and complete on-board map data sets, at least on the Mac version, then route export to iDevices? And maybe user entered points of interest? Maybe USB GPS device integration. Make the Mac version awesome, not just how to send your friends directions to the coffee shop, with flyover. Eyecandy is for entertainment, Maps should be for going places.
London, ON Canada has an excellent transit app (LTC) with routes and time overlaid on Maps. Brilliant. Bus arrival times (at the stop you select) update every few minutes to reflect traffic delays. It is a 3rd party app that uses the London Transportation Commission (LTC) GPS data tracking their buses.
Has anyone sent corrections to errors in maps and gotten them fixed?
I have sent several times but the errors remain 😖
I sent a report telling them that a petrol station was about two miles from where they said it was. In response , they removed the petrol station altogether… :-/
I for one think that the existing way Maps uses third-party transit apps is an excellent idea and way better than anything Apple could provide on its own. What they should be sorting out is the Maps greatest weaknesses; the grossly inaccurate POI’s, the at times awkward destination listings, and the often poor quality satellite photos. This is a poor show by Apple, these problems have not been tackled or resolved since Sept 2012, thirteen months ago and counting. The saving grace is that the core map and sat-nav capability is as good and in some ways better than Google’s offering.
Maps has been out over a year and Apple is just now advertising to hire two engineers that would add transit data? This omission was criticized at the Maps rollout. I can’t believe Apple is just now getting around to starting this. I sure hope the project is well under way..,
How about restoring street view as well?
A waste of time – they lost this battle to Google over a year ago. The fact that they keep throwing good money after bad is worrisome.
There is not need for this.
I would not trust it. If I need info I use the App from the company that is driving that route. At least here in Sweden. But I guess this news is for the US only. As always.