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Apple Planning Transit Routing in iOS 9 Maps, Advances on Indoor Mapping Project

Thursday May 21, 2015 8:39 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
ios_8_maps_transitApple is planning to add a new Transit view to Maps in iOS 9 that features bus, subway, and train routing and directions, according to 9to5Mac. The much-rumored Apple Maps feature would bring native transit routing back to the iPhone for the first time since Apple ditched Google as the default mapping provider on iOS. The report also claims that Apple has made advancements on its indoor mapping project.
"Sources said last year that the transit functionality for Maps includes larger icons for users to more quickly spot airports, subway stations, and train stations within the Maps app. In addition to the main functionality, there is also a trip planning feature for transit, and a new Transit view alongside the existing Standard, Hybrid, and Satellite/Flyover views."
Transit features in Apple Maps were originally expected to launch alongside iOS 8 last year, but were delayed due to personnel issues and data inconsistencies within Apple. The company has reportedly "refined the data, added new cities, and developed a new push notifications system" since that time, however, and the feature is now ready to be unveiled at the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

Apple has been actively expanding its in-house routing team over the past few years through multiple job openings. In late April, for example, the company put out a job listing for a "Maps Software Engineer" part of the Routing team, as reflected by at least one Apple employee's LinkedIn profile. "As a member of the Routing team, you will work on one of the most anticipated features of Apple Maps," the job description reads.

Transit Routing Engineer
Apple has also been making progress on its indoor mapping project, which will enable iOS users to navigate major buildings, offices and landmarks. The company has been using autonomous robots with iBeacon sensors to collect indoor mapping data, starting at its offices in Cupertino, although the feature may not go live this year. The indoor mapping project is in conjunction with Apple's van-based street mapping data collection.

Tag: Apple Maps Guide
[ 98 comments ]


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icanhazapple
57 months ago
hiring fail

how can you work at Apple and be dumb enough to post in your LinkedIn profile that you are working on unannounced features for a product.
Rating: 21 Votes
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luckydcxx
57 months ago

Don't be racist.

The comment had nothing to do with race.
Rating: 16 Votes
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2457282
57 months ago
I have liked the map app since the start regardless of the naysayers.

I look forward to the on-going improvements and continued deep integration with the rest of the iphone and now watch.
Rating: 11 Votes
Avatar
leftynaut
57 months ago

how can you work at Apple and be dumb enough to post in your LinkedIn profile that you are working on unannounced features for a product.


To be fair, she just directly quoted from the job posting, which was posted for the public at one time. Just like the article mentions... :rolleyes:

In late April, for example, the company put out a job listing for a "Maps Software Engineer" part of the Routing team. "As a member of the Routing team, you will work on one of the most anticipated features of Apple Maps," the job description reads.

Rating: 10 Votes
Avatar
Paddle1
57 months ago

how can you work at Apple and be dumb enough to post in your LinkedIn profile that you are working on unannounced features for a product.


Did you read the article? All she did was quote the job listing.
Rating: 9 Votes
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CausticSoda
57 months ago

Don't be racist.


Oh, grow up!
Rating: 9 Votes
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nagromme
57 months ago

For most users these upgrades make little difference. When an app initially launches with such spectacular failure, it gets written off for good. The users of this site may give it a second chance, but that doesn't represent the outcome for the vast majority.

No matter what Apple does, they'll always be playing catch-up to Google. It's time they cut their losses and focused their already thin resources elsewhere.


The vast majority of people aren't tech forum-goers. They kept on using Apple Maps and are barely aware of each tempest in a teapot. Yes, there's some awareness of the various "blog scandals," but not like we'd expect here in our echo chamber.

As for Apple cutting their losses... do you mean sell a phone with no maps? Because it wasn't Apple's choice to stop using Google Maps. It was a mutual decision, and perfectly reasonable for both parties. Google wanted access to iPhone user's private data, and they wanted to cross-promote Google services within Maps. It makes sense for them to want those things. And it makes sense for Apple to say No.
Rating: 7 Votes
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6836838
57 months ago
I hope her results are better than her English.
Rating: 6 Votes
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TMRJIJ
57 months ago

Don't be racist.


What? How was that comment racist?
Rating: 6 Votes
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redmac
57 months ago

For most users these upgrades make little difference. When an app initially launches with such spectacular failure, it gets written off for good. The users of this site may give it a second chance, but that doesn't represent the outcome for the vast majority.

No matter what Apple does, they'll always be playing catch-up to Google. It's time they cut their losses and focused their already thin resources elsewhere.


I guess you would prefer your personal information to be handed to Google.
Rating: 6 Votes

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