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Tim Cook Publishes Open Letter on Maps for iOS 6

Friday September 28, 2012 6:00 am PDT by Eric Slivka
Apple CEO Tim Cook has published an open letter to customers on the company's website addressing the criticism over the new Apple-powered Maps app in iOS 6. In the letter, Cook apologizes for not meeting expectations and mentions a number of alternative mapping solutions customers may wish to use while Apple is refining its Maps.
To our customers,

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.

There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.

While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.

Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO
AppShopper also lists a list of both free and paid alternatives to Apple Maps.

Tag: Tim Cook
[ 1188 comments ]


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bbplayer5
90 months ago
Lets be real. Maps is "ok" now, but give it about 6 months and its going to be all you use. I personally use it a lot and have never had an issue with it.
Rating: 177 Votes
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Tiger8
90 months ago
Yikes! You know things are bad when Tim Cook is recommending BING!
Rating: 149 Votes
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blakespot
90 months ago
No need to apologize to me, Tim.

I've said it on twitter and I'll say it again: I have had better experience with Apple's new Maps app on iOS 6 / iPhone 5 in the last week than any other time using a GPS prior.

I am new to turn-by-turn directions, late to the party - yes, but I put it to good use in Maps on iOS 6, driving through DC and into MD and it felt like magic. Truly.

Maps on iOS 6 is one of my favorite new features.

That's my experience.



bp
Rating: 135 Votes
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yg17
90 months ago
Cliffs notes: Our maps suck, use a competitor's product.
Rating: 132 Votes
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Mjmar
90 months ago
Maps aren't even that bad, they're actually quite good in most cases. People need to calm down.
Rating: 95 Votes
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AdeFowler
90 months ago
So he didn’t realise that Maps weren’t up to Apple’s high standards before releasing them?
Rating: 84 Votes
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charlieegan3
90 months ago
Very impressed that they suggest/name competitors/alternatives. Good honesty there.
Rating: 66 Votes
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Compile 'em all
90 months ago
Great first step, to acknowledge a problem. Although I'm 100% sure they knew about this already.
Rating: 58 Votes
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gpat
90 months ago

Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world.


Are you sure, Tim?
Rating: 55 Votes
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MonkeySee....
90 months ago
Wow. Wasn't expecting so many idiotic replies in this thread. Looks like the human race is in the decline.
Rating: 46 Votes

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