Apple's Maps has been the subject of a significant amount of criticism since its launch with iOS 6. Apple had replaced Google Maps data with their own map data which had comparably worse coverage, especially in international markets. There had been enough outcry that Apple CEO Tim Cook posted an open letter apologizing for Apple Maps. There had been hopes that the Apple Maps application would be improved with iOS 8 but internal politics were said to have delayed those plans.
Still, Apple does seem to making efforts to improve their mapping data. In April, they started deploying notifications to let users know when problems had been fixed.
Meanwhile, some users have recently noticed a significant improvement in POI (points of interest) data in their local Apple Maps. A discussion thread in MacRumors forums reports one user's experience. heyyoudvd writes:
Over the past month, I've noticed a TON of changes. POI markers are being moved to their correct locations, names and information for POIs are being corrected, and tons of places are being added that simply weren't there before. I don't know if it's merely coincidence, but A LOT of these changes are the exact ones that I've been reporting to Apple.
And I've noticed this happening on a weekly cycle. It seems like every Friday, a whole bunch of new changes are implemented in my neighborhood. All week, nothing happens, but then when I check on Friday/Saturday, I see that many of the suggestions that I had made during the week were suddenly implemented into the map, and its POIs suddenly look a whole lot better.
The same user also posted to Reddit, where several others have confirmed the same improvements in data and quick turnaround time with corrections.
Apple has made number of mapping-related company acquisitions in the past year, including Broadmap, Hopstop, Locationary, and Embark, and it's likely those acquisitions will be bundled into a future Maps update.
