Engineers’ work on cycling and public transit have transformed the app – but rural directions remain a sticking point

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.

  • upstream@beehaw.org
    1·
    1 year ago

    I’ve used TomTom on iPhone since 2010. Improvement is huge.

    I do suspect your complaint is more likely to be directed towards the hardware and touch interface of your infotainment than the software, but a satnav with outdated maps is not worth much IMO.

    If you’re looking for something for free I can also recommend Here. Also great for when you are traveling where roaming is expensive as it allows offline search and routing.

    • daq@lemmy.sdf.org
      1·
      1 year ago

      I’ve been spoiled by free roaming with T-mobile so I just use Google maps everywhere. It also let’s you download areas where you expect to travel in case there’s no reception.

        • daq@lemmy.sdf.org
          1·
          1 year ago

          Not sure what you mean by plan routes but you can definitely find destinations in downloaded maps and navigate to them offline.

            • daq@lemmy.sdf.org
              2·
              1 year ago

              Interesting. I guess I’ve only ever used driving directions offline.

              In their defense, Google does clearly say this on their website:

              Tip: Transit, bicycling, or walking directions are unavailable offline. In your offline driving directions, you can’t get traffic info, alternate routes, or lane guidance.