AppleInsider Staff
Apple has reportedly fired the executive in charge of its widely ridiculed Maps application built in to the iOS 6 mobile operating system.
Richard Williamson, who oversaw Maps in iOS 6, was let go by Apple, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing "people familiar with the move." Williamson was reportedly fired by Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president and the new man responsible for both iOS Maps and Siri following an executive shakeup last month.
As Cue looks to improve Maps in iOS, he is said to be seeking out advice from mapping technology experts outside of Apple. In addition, Cue is also said to be encouraging its partner TomTom to "fix landmark and navigation data it shares with Apple."
"In removing Williamson, Cue wants to install a new leadership team for the group, one person said," author Adam Satariano reported. "A replacement for Williamson wasn't immediately known."
Apple has seen major changes in its ranks in recent weeks, headlined by the ouster of former iOS software chief Scott Forstall. The firing of Forstall came after he reportedly refused to sign a letter apologizing to customers for the deficiencies in the Maps application included with iOS 6.
Instead, only Cook's name was found on the apology the company issued in late September. The company also began highlighting alternative third-party mapping applications available on the iOS App Store.
In previous versions of iOS, the Maps application was driven by Google Maps. But a growing rift between Apple and Google, which makes the Android operating system which competes with Apple's iOS, is said to have prompted the iPhone maker to develop its own solution.
But when iOS 6 Maps debuted in September, the new software was met with ridicule from customers who felt it was inferior to Google's mapping solution. An official Google Maps application is said to be in development, but is not yet available to the public.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
170 Comments
Good, people need to be held accountable for their actions. If somebody is not up for the job, then get rid of them, and replace them with somebody else.
And whoever is in charge of the iOS appstore app should also be fired, because it's slow, it's laggy and when you scroll with your finger on the screen, it is jerky. That might be acceptable for an Android device, but not for any Apple device. The old app store was much better and much smoother and faster. Fire that person right away, and put somebody in charge who knows what they're doing.
Hmmm, I'm not liking all of these upper management/department-head shakeups lately. Too many in too short-of time period.
I've found the Maps app to be improving noticeably already. It now shows a lot of places around me that it knew nothing about when I first used it.
While there could be any number of reasons Apple is making the personnel moves it is, it sure looks from the outside like they feel Maps isn't all it could have been at release, nor enough is being done to improve the deficiencies quickly enough, or the direction being taken is not working. Despite the apology, this sure feels like an admission that Maps deserved all the criticism it got on release and is still getting around the world.
Good!