AppleInsider Staff
A number of postings to the Apple's job site reveals the company is looking to bolster its newly-released Maps app, which has been almost universally panned since iOS 6 launched on Wednesday.
Over the course of the past week, Apple has posted multiple listings for software engineers who will handle development, real-time rendering and overall upgrades to the fledgling mapping service, among others.
According to one job description, Apple's iOS Maps team is "responsible for MapKit, the iOS framework that displays maps which is used by countless applications on the App Store."
Apple is seeking to fill positions for developing 3D flyover models, including "mesh generation of terrain" and "road rendering" in a C++ environment. Another engineer is being sought to work on both the client and server to develop "advanced dynamic label layout of road labels, points of interest and other labels on the map."
Three Map Display team listings points to work on real-time rendering techniques, creating "new and innovative" features and general systems maintenance. Another Map Display team engineer is needed to find and fix what Apple calls "performance bottlenecks" by creating specialized testing tools.
Apple's Maps app is the company's first foray into the mapping service business, having previously implemented Google's finely tuned Google Maps in its iDevices since the first iPhone was launched in 2007. In reviewing the new iPhone 5, critics naturally turned to comparing the two services, and while iOS Maps did garner some acclaim, most found the lack of features and usual Apple polish troubling.
The company responded to complaints on Thursday, saying, "We launched this new map service knowing it is a major initiative and that we are just getting started with it." Apple noted that Maps is a cloud-based service and said, "the more people use it, the better it will get."
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
187 Comments
GREAT NEWS ! But why did they wait for the OS to come out? Didn't they realize it was bad by themselves? Is this a sign that they are too close-minded? The picture used as an example here shows what is actually the smallest problem with maps, and this kind of artifact actually doesn't bother me at all (I don't care if I don't see under a bridge on a highway). IMO flyover is almost perfect, the next versions will load faster and be more detailed, so I'm not worried by that. The biggest problem are just the basic maps and the search engine.
I noticed that Yahoo had an article on the new iPhone 5 and iOS 6 and its maps app. I noticed in that Yahoo article that a person posted the battery charge was significantly less on their iPhone since they upgraded to iOS6 from 5.1.1 on their iPhone 4s. I noticed that very same problem on my iPhone 4s. My battery used to last two days. Now it runs low in 8 hours on the same usage habits. The map app seems to run allot slower and doesn't load as well as the old one in iOS 5.1.1. Didn't Apple foresee this? Really didn't they test this out without major issues arising. In Steve JObs day he would probably go to the department that was responsible and cuss them out or fire them all.
I noticed that Yahoo had an article on the new iPhone 5 and iOS 6 and its maps app. I noticed in that Yahoo article that a person posted the battery charge was significantly less on their iPhone since they upgraded to iOS6 from 5.1.1 on their iPhone 4s. I noticed that very same problem on my iPhone 4s. My battery used to last two days. Now it runs low in 8 hours on the same usage habits.
The map app seems to run allot slower and doesn't load as well as the old one in iOS 5.1.1. Didn't Apple foresee this? Really didn't they test this out without major issues arising.
In Steve JObs day he would probably go to the department that was responsible and cuss them out or fire them all.
I generally don't like it when people try to imagine what SJ would say to this or that, but I think that he wouldn't be happy with the state maps has been released.
If you're experiencing what you think is decreased battery life, several factors could be at play. For one, some of the newer features, such as 3D maps and turn-by-turn directions, use considerably more battery life. So do features that require your device to be aware of your GPS location at all times. If you'd like to conserve battery life on you iPhone or iPad, you can try things like turning off Location Services for specific apps from the Settings, under Privacy and then Location Services. Even turning down your brightness slightly produces a marked improvement in battery life.
Who signed off this crappy piece of software in the first place ? From the universal bashing (even Mossberg !) this app was not RTM or even near RTM. Beta for the US maybe but 1st iteration of the rest of the world... I am so glad I did not update my iPad2 yet, which I will only do once Google Maps is out as a stand-alone app. But some senior VP heads should roll at Apple for this