AppleInsider Staff
Store managers at Apple's retail locations are said to have begun asking employees to report errors in the mapping database in iOS 6.
The voluntary initiative was revealed on Wednesday by Gary Allen of ifoAppleStore.com. The details indicate that Apple is hoping its more than 40,000 retail employees can help improve the Maps application introduced with iOS 6.
However, Allen also noted that not necessarily all Apple retail employees can afford an iPhone. He also questioned whether 40,000 employees could "really put a dent in Maps app errors."
After it debuted in iOS 6, Apple's new Maps application was met with widespread criticism from users who complained of incorrect positioning data, poor routing and Flyover rendering issues. Apple's new mapping solution is widely viewed as inferior to the product it replaced, which was powered by Google Maps.
Apple first issued a statement last month to say it was "working hard" to rectify Maps issues, while the company's Maps team was said to be "under lockdown" to fix some of the larger errors seen at launch. As criticism continued, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook issued a public apology last week in which he said his company is doing "everything we can to make Maps better."
Cook also noted that Maps will improve with use, as customers can report errors in the mapping database. He also recommended a number of potential alternative mapping applications that can be used to replace iOS 6 Maps.
Users can help to improve iOS 6 Maps by selecting an incorrect location and scrolling down to select the "Report a Problem" option. From there, the choices are "Information is incorrect," "Pin is at incorrect location," "Place does not exist," or "My Problem isn't listed." Users can also enter a correct name and address for the faulty data.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Oliver Haslam
61 Comments
Not a bad idea - at least those 400 cities or so might see some improvements. Couldn't hurt, at least. Maybe in the next iOS update, they can make it super easy for all users to improve the accuracy.
As soon as Apple said the Map team was on "lockdown" to fix the problems, I knew Cook and clan are incompetent. "Lockdown" is management-speak for management's view that their employees are miscreants, and must be chained to their desks to get work done. Oh, and that the CEO's and other management were not at fault, say, forcing employees to perform work against their advice that their was not enough support for getting the job done and the time frame demanded by management was unrealistic. Apple stock is overpriced at $400/share.
Hey! Apple. You got billions. Why don't you spend that to hire thousands of people to fix your maps instead of all those lawsuits and lawyers? Then send them out to the world, on foot, in cars, planes, whatever it takes. That's how Google maps got to where its at now. Quit being lazy and relying too much on Yelp, users to report problems, and other 3rd parties.
the apple store Canadian employees should be highlighting the Tim Hortons locations compared to the competitor Google maps... (specifically in the brampton, hwy 10 and mayfield area... what a mess that is...
…instead of all those lawsuits and lawyers?
"Innovate, don't litigate" immediately renders everything you'd have to say otherwise invalid.