Takeaway From Apple's Cartography Fiasco
Apple has one small thing to rejoice. It has after all managed to sell 5 million units of iPhone 5 — one million more than its predecessor iPhone 4S — on its first weekend and it seems to be struggling to keep up with the demand owing to supply constraints. The figure however does not include units that are en route to ordered customers. With the initial supply exhausted, those who are eager to get their hands on a shiny new iPhone will now have to wait for some time at least till next month. But... there is one major screw up, and that is Apple Maps.
The navigation app has been branded a beta product (like its voice assistant Siri), with questions raised over its geographical errors, missing and outdated information. There's no question that Apple's ecosystem is vastly different from others like Android. It's entire approach to software is also different. Be it the iPod or iPhone or the iPad, the devices are all tastefully done and the communion between hardware and software has never looked so perfect (until the Nokia Lumia 800 came along), the two aspects blended together in an understated, minimalist package that makes them all the more appealing.
Many a times Apple has been found lagging Google's Android in terms of features like LTE, bigger display, faster processor and so on. In each of these cases, Cupertino had put user experience ahead of introducing them for the mere sake of it, incorporating such features only after a thorough vetting. But sadly, the Maps app sticks out as a sore thumb.
That's not to say that it has not made any mistakes in the past. Who can forget the Antennagate reception issue that plagued the iPhone 4 and Steve Jobs's terse "just avoid holding it in that way" reply, or the original iPhone's drastic price drop from $600 to $400 barely months after its launch leading to widespread protests.
This time, however, the problem is somewhat self-inflicted and unavoidable. Apple and Google were great chums when the original iPhone was introduced way back in 2007. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who then served on the Apple's board of directors, was instrumental in bringing a native YouTube app to iOS to compensate for the lack of Flash support.
Dynamics change and ever since Android became a success story, Apple has been trying to distance itself from the search giant (Schmidt later resigned from the board citing conflict of interests). The result shows up in iOS 6, the latest version of its mobile operating system. No longer you have YouTube and Google Maps pre-installed on the phone. While the former is still perfectly all right to access via a browser (or as a stand-alone app), the latter simply isn't.
What's more, Google has a great lead with regards to mapping technology. It was by no means accurate right from the start, but it's taken years of effort to reach where it is at present. "Google started mapping from scratch, scouring the earth with Google Street View cars, constantly refining data and integrating its core strength — search — into Maps. The result is arguably the best non-military map of the world that's ever existed," writes Michael Grothaus for TUAW.
Comparatively, Apple is new to the game and has a long way to go. What Apple has done is to acquire companies like Placebase, Poly9 and C3 Technologies and integrate data from other providers like TomTom and Yelp to power its maps. And the concoction has proved to be unreliable and messy.
Apple has already realized its failure though it's shy of publicly admitting it. The Amazing iOS 6 Maps Tumblr page is ample proof of the massive time-consuming work that's required to fix the app. According to latest reports it has begun hiring ex-Google contractual staff who were previously working on Google Maps. Still what's mind-boggling is the fact that Apple, a company known for quality, let the app escape through its hands quite easily with all these problems.
"You cannot read about the errors in Apple Maps without realising that these maps were being visually examined and used for the first time by Apple's customers and not by Apple's QC (quality control) teams. If Apple thought that the results were going to be any different than they are, I would be surprised. Of course, hubris is a powerful emotion," remarks Mike Dobson.
Rumours were abuzz last week that Google had submitted a standalone Google Maps app on iTunes App Store and that it's pending approval. While neither Apple nor Google chose to comment, Schmidt, who spoke on the sidelines of Nexus 7 tablet launch in Tokyo, dismissed the claim stating Google "hasn't done anything yet" with respect to maps for iOS 6. The wait has no doubt become longer.
At a time when navigation apps have become an absolute necessity, this rivalry between companies only ends up as a detriment to the customers. Grothaus says the reason for Apple's alienation from Google Maps is that Google was unhappy with the iPhone maker's contract renewal terms. In this respect, I feel both the companies have lost the plot.
Apple's step to do away with Google is a risk they knew they had to take at some point. So why wait even if users will be annoyed at a sub-par maps experience? But what Apple, and also Google, fail to grasp is the simple truth that technology is all about helping people in times of need and instead if they choose to showcase their superiority and restrict user choices, it just shows their arrogance.
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| London Underground urging iOS 6 Maps users to avail local area maps. |
Many a times Apple has been found lagging Google's Android in terms of features like LTE, bigger display, faster processor and so on. In each of these cases, Cupertino had put user experience ahead of introducing them for the mere sake of it, incorporating such features only after a thorough vetting. But sadly, the Maps app sticks out as a sore thumb.
That's not to say that it has not made any mistakes in the past. Who can forget the Antennagate reception issue that plagued the iPhone 4 and Steve Jobs's terse "just avoid holding it in that way" reply, or the original iPhone's drastic price drop from $600 to $400 barely months after its launch leading to widespread protests.
This time, however, the problem is somewhat self-inflicted and unavoidable. Apple and Google were great chums when the original iPhone was introduced way back in 2007. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who then served on the Apple's board of directors, was instrumental in bringing a native YouTube app to iOS to compensate for the lack of Flash support.
Dynamics change and ever since Android became a success story, Apple has been trying to distance itself from the search giant (Schmidt later resigned from the board citing conflict of interests). The result shows up in iOS 6, the latest version of its mobile operating system. No longer you have YouTube and Google Maps pre-installed on the phone. While the former is still perfectly all right to access via a browser (or as a stand-alone app), the latter simply isn't.
What's more, Google has a great lead with regards to mapping technology. It was by no means accurate right from the start, but it's taken years of effort to reach where it is at present. "Google started mapping from scratch, scouring the earth with Google Street View cars, constantly refining data and integrating its core strength — search — into Maps. The result is arguably the best non-military map of the world that's ever existed," writes Michael Grothaus for TUAW.
Comparatively, Apple is new to the game and has a long way to go. What Apple has done is to acquire companies like Placebase, Poly9 and C3 Technologies and integrate data from other providers like TomTom and Yelp to power its maps. And the concoction has proved to be unreliable and messy.
Apple has already realized its failure though it's shy of publicly admitting it. The Amazing iOS 6 Maps Tumblr page is ample proof of the massive time-consuming work that's required to fix the app. According to latest reports it has begun hiring ex-Google contractual staff who were previously working on Google Maps. Still what's mind-boggling is the fact that Apple, a company known for quality, let the app escape through its hands quite easily with all these problems.
"You cannot read about the errors in Apple Maps without realising that these maps were being visually examined and used for the first time by Apple's customers and not by Apple's QC (quality control) teams. If Apple thought that the results were going to be any different than they are, I would be surprised. Of course, hubris is a powerful emotion," remarks Mike Dobson.
Rumours were abuzz last week that Google had submitted a standalone Google Maps app on iTunes App Store and that it's pending approval. While neither Apple nor Google chose to comment, Schmidt, who spoke on the sidelines of Nexus 7 tablet launch in Tokyo, dismissed the claim stating Google "hasn't done anything yet" with respect to maps for iOS 6. The wait has no doubt become longer.
At a time when navigation apps have become an absolute necessity, this rivalry between companies only ends up as a detriment to the customers. Grothaus says the reason for Apple's alienation from Google Maps is that Google was unhappy with the iPhone maker's contract renewal terms. In this respect, I feel both the companies have lost the plot.
Apple's step to do away with Google is a risk they knew they had to take at some point. So why wait even if users will be annoyed at a sub-par maps experience? But what Apple, and also Google, fail to grasp is the simple truth that technology is all about helping people in times of need and instead if they choose to showcase their superiority and restrict user choices, it just shows their arrogance.
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