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A decade after a disastrous launch, is Apple Maps finally good? (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

45 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Archived version: https://archive.ph/hguLn

Excerpt (and context):

Apple Maps’ offering might surprise people who remember its disastrous launch in 2012, which the Guardian described as the company’s “first significant failure in years”. Users were more than furious – they were lost, sometimes dangerously so. In Australia, police had to rescue tourists from the huge Murray-Sunset national park, after Maps placed the city of Mildura in the wrong place by more than 40 miles. Some of the motorists located by police had been stranded for 24 hours without food or water. In Ireland, ministers had to complain directly to Apple after a cafe and gardens called “Airfield” was designated by the service as an actual airport.

But mostly the map was just glitchy and unhelpful, its directions always a little off kilter. Users revolted and Apple made a rare retreat, allowing Google Maps to be used as the default on many iPhone apps and apologizing for the product.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I switched over to Apple Maps from Google Maps around 5 years ago. Still go back for certain kinds of details, but in general Apple’s offering works better for navigation for me.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

Same. AM has been terrific for a long time now. And I’d say for directions and mapping, AM is essentially the same as GM. Where AM really shines is the quality, speed and responsiveness, especially when it comes to features like street view. The quality is insane compared to GM.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Same here. I find myself going to Google Maps if I want to search for something and Apple Maps to navigate to whatever because actually searching for destinations in Apple Maps is usually buggered.