Apple confirms pedestrian-level Maps data collection, initially limited to California

Apple has confirmed plans to conduct more on-foot data collection for Apple Maps, going beyond the first efforts in San Francisco.

Between Nov. 26 and Dec. 23, Apple's pedestrian recon team will be operating in the California counties of Alameda, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz, the company said on its website. So far the company hasn't announced plans beyond the state.

The first members of the team were spotted in San Francisco this October, carrying oversized backpacks with many of the same cameras and sensors found on Maps vehicles. Apple is presumably hoping to improve pedestrian and/or cycling directions, since Apple Maps often assumes people have to travel the same paths as cars.

On a broader scale the collection should be used to build out Apple's first-party mapping data. Plans to migrate to first-party maps were announced last June, and could help solve problems caused by the current dependence on a mish-mash of sources.

The iOS Maps app began its life using data from Google Maps, but Apple decided to jettison Google content with 2012's iOS 6. This led to havoc in the short term as the service was saddled with missing or inaccurate data, sometimes putting lives at risk.

18 Comments

philboogie 7669 comments · 15 Years

About 6 years ago

Rolling out features at this rate, we'll see a workable Apple Maps app....sometime next century.

mjtomlin 2690 comments · 20 Years

philboogie said:

Rolling out features at this rate, we'll see a workable Apple Maps app....sometime next century.

Yeah. What gives? Google snapped their fingers and had 100% accurate data covering the entire Earth from day one. /s

People seem to forget that Google has been “mapping” for 15 years now. At the 6 year point, Google Maps wasn’t any better than Apple’s maps is today. In fact, I remember many instances where Google Maps was WAY OFF on some sites, and that was after 10 years into it.

Apple has come a long way, and a lot faster than Google did in the same time frame. The difference between then and now, is that people expect more.

Rayz2016 6957 comments · 8 Years

mjtomlin said:

philboogie said:

Rolling out features at this rate, we'll see a workable Apple Maps app....sometime next century.

Yeah. What gives? Google snapped their fingers and had 100% accurate data covering the entire Earth from day one. /s

People seem to forget that Google has been “mapping” for 15 years now. At the 6 year point, Google Maps wasn’t any better than Apple’s maps is today. In fact, I remember many instances where Google Maps was WAY OFF on some sites, and that was after 10 years into it.

Apple has come a long way, and a lot faster than Google did in the same time frame. The difference between then and now, is that people expect more.

Have to agree. I've got car, walking and mass transit on Apple Maps where I live. I use it even if I know where I'm going so I can avoid the traffic jams.

curtis hannah 1834 comments · 12 Years

I can’t imagine this not being used in a street view equivalent feature. They may have it separate like google, or they’ll just let zoom in flyover mode go down to street level.

entropys 4302 comments · 13 Years

mjtomlin said:

philboogie said:

Rolling out features at this rate, we'll see a workable Apple Maps app....sometime next century.

Yeah. What gives? Google snapped their fingers and had 100% accurate data covering the entire Earth from day one. /s

People seem to forget that Google has been “mapping” for 15 years now. At the 6 year point, Google Maps wasn’t any better than Apple’s maps is today. In fact, I remember many instances where Google Maps was WAY OFF on some sites, and that was after 10 years into it.

Apple has come a long way, and a lot faster than Google did in the same time frame. The difference between then and now, is that people expect more.

Google was orders of magnitude more agressive globally rolling out features like street view. It all happened in most significant smartphone countries on the globe in about a year, certainly three years. Here is a time lapse coverage map (note China still absent!) The point is, Apple can’t afford to take as long to develop anything. It’s has to do it better, faster, or go home.