Apple has confirmed recent reports that it plans to open an expansive new development office in India, revealing that the facility will serve its Maps team as well as "ambitious efforts locally."
"We are looking forward to opening a new development office in Hyderabad that will be home to over 150 Apple employees supporting maps development," Apple said in a statement issued to the India Times. "The office will also have space for many contractors who will support our ambitious efforts locally."
Apple is reportedly still awaiting government approval to operate in the APIIC IT/ITES Special Economic Zone, after which the company will formally sign a memorandum of understanding.
A $25 million investment will net Apple 250,000 square feet at the WaveRock campus. It's not yet clear whether the company will take space from the existing building or work with landlord Tishman Speyer for a custom solution in the campus's second phase, though the latter seems more likely.
The Hyderabad facility will be Apple's first major technical center in India, joining at least seven other sites outside the U.S. The company is also known to operate research and development facilities in the UK, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Israel.
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The Maps team still requires a significant bolstering. I've had corrections fixed quickly sometimes (Cue says 2.5 million in total) and other times not fixed at all with no explanation. Yes you need to look where you are driving but recently in Cork an Apple Map direction tried to drive me into a ditch on the motorway. 2 months later still not fixed. I reported it twice and even included screenshots. My only conclusion is a lack of employees. Every other conclusion is too worrying to consider. This bolstering of the Maps team should have been more agressive and happened within a few months of Forstall's firing. With a car on the horizon we need a far more aggressive Maps push from Apple. He's gone 3.5 years now!!
I sent in a message to Apple about an important new street that connects two other major roads in my city. That was three months ago. Still nothing. I also sent it in to Google and they even called to thank me for helping and it was fixed in a week.