Apple recruits engineers from Berlin-based automotive mapping firm Here

Apple has poached at least six engineers from Berlin-based mapping company Here — owned by German automotive firms Audi, BMW, and Daimler — and may have a Maps team based in the city, according to a report.

Recruits from Here include a director, two product managers, two senior software engineers, and regional map and content lead for eastern Europe, Business Insider said on Wednesday. While some of the defections date back to 2015, and in one case August 2014, one of the senior software engineers — Khang Tran — made the switch just this month.

The hires have refused to comment on what they're working on, and it's uncertain if a Maps team or office exists in Berlin. On their LinkedIn profiles, though, four of the people are listed as working with the Maps division.

Germany's capital would be a natural location for a Maps office, given the city's tech industry and labor pool. It might also be a good place to connect with German automakers, both for CarPlay and if Apple decides to partner with an existing company on a future electric car.

Though the Maps hires may not be connected, in April, a report claimed that Apple had a secret Berlin car lab with 15 to 20 people from the German automotive industry. The facility is allegedly an incubator for vehicle ideas, including manufacturing partnerships and regulatory issues.

Apple's electric car project, known by the codename Titan, is currently believed to be in limbo. The company is concentrating primarily on self-driving systems rather than a car design, and is only expected to settle on building its own car or partnering with an existing manufacturer in late 2017.

7 Comments

Mikeymike 8 Years · 102 comments

About 8 years ago

They're going to need all the help they can get.
Yesterday, I couldn't get Maps to find an address on Park Ave in NYC.

kyjd75 8 Years · 2 comments

Good luck with getting help from Here. As bad as Apple Maps are (almost totally useless here in central Kentucky) Here is even worse. I own a 2014 Dodge Durango with the fancy navigation system built-in. Last map update was Oct. 15 (at cost of $149) and it only updated the maps to 4th quarter/2013. Thus I am driving around in a vehicle with a fancy looking but very out of date nav system (that also gives very odd instructions when I do attempt to use it). I find myself relying on my Garmin dedicated GPS and Google Maps for directions.

foggyhill 10 Years · 4767 comments

kyjd75 said:

Good luck with getting help from Here. As bad as Apple Maps are (almost totally useless here in central Kentucky) Here is even worse. I own a 2014 Dodge Durango with the fancy navigation system built-in. Last map update was Oct. 15 (at cost of $149) and it only updated the maps to 4th quarter/2013. Thus I am driving around in a vehicle with a fancy looking but very out of date nav system (that also gives very odd instructions when I do attempt to use it). I find myself relying on my Garmin dedicated GPS and Google Maps for directions.

Good for your then cause Google maps around here still has a road with the bad name 5 years after I told them to change them first....
Almost thinking someone is trolling and changing it back!

ireland 18 Years · 17436 comments

Building a car.

Notsofast 8 Years · 450 comments

Mikeymike said:

They're going to need all the help they can get.
Yesterday, I couldn't get Maps to find an address on Park Ave in NYC.

My friend had the same problem with Google Maps the other day, but our anecdotal examples are irrelevant. In terms of accuracy, they are equivalent, that's why Apple Maps is gets used over 5 billion, yes that's billion, times a week and is used vastly more often on iPhone than Google Maps, even though Google Maps is a free 60 second or less app download.