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iOS 7 and Maps still sucks
- Thread starter VulchR
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Don't complain about mistakes in it unless you're reporting them and offering corrections. In my rural area, Apple Maps is more accurate than Google for road stuff which I find odd because of Street View. I've reported to google for at least a year. Nothing.
Apple DOES have some issues with businesses. Much of that stems from bad information on Yelp. So again, click to report a problem in Maps to fix that. If you're really wanting to see improvement, sigh into Yelp and make corrections there as well.
Directing this to those that complain and never try to help improve the issues, not the folks that do report problems. I've found the vast majority of the "business" info that is wrong in my area is bad Yelp! info. Yelp never seems to correct things even when I give them news articles about businesses closing or opening.
Apple DOES have some issues with businesses. Much of that stems from bad information on Yelp. So again, click to report a problem in Maps to fix that. If you're really wanting to see improvement, sigh into Yelp and make corrections there as well.
Directing this to those that complain and never try to help improve the issues, not the folks that do report problems. I've found the vast majority of the "business" info that is wrong in my area is bad Yelp! info. Yelp never seems to correct things even when I give them news articles about businesses closing or opening.
Traffic data is completely off for maps in urban/suburban areas compared to Google maps. Plus, a few businesses are for some reason constantly pushed into a residential zone that doesn't even match the street name that is officially and physically listed on. I've even submitted the error and correct location twice to Apple to no avail. Oh well. so much for customers/end users trying to help out I guess...
Except the street I live on is not in their map database. Folks cannot use iPhone to get directions to my house.
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Then they need to get it from the same place Google gets it from.
I have repeatedly reported errors since Maps came out. Only one was corrected - the village of Leuchers was no longer labeled as being in the North Sea. The rest have been ignored. I do agree about Yelp! being awful - Apple would do better to get rid of them and use some other provider of information or heaven forbid actually hire some employees to do the work.
Since I do not drive, I haven't paid for car-based GPS. I have paid for navigation on my mobile phone. An error of a few blocks means little when one is driving, but it can be rather more of an issue when one is walking (and potentially carrying groceries etc.). It's not as though there are not local cartography sources that are accurate where I am am (the UK Ordnance Survey comes to mind, as do the maps of the Royal Mail). The simple truth is that a cash-rich company like Apple should be able to afford reasonable maps within developed countries. This is not rocket science, and as you see from the admittedly potentially biased poll above, I am not the only one that feels this way.
I fail to understand why you seem to think that iOS 6 Maps would be any better. My point was that in spite of a major software update, no improvements were made to Maps where I am when Apple developed the upgrade from iOS6 to iOS7. They haven't corrected errors that were brought to their attention more than a year ago (and several times since then). There are lots of people out of work. Apple has lots of cash. You'd think Apple would be smart enough to connect the two to improve Maps outside the US. Even OpenStreetMap is better than Apple's Maps where I am.
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Unbelievably Awful... STILL
The developers and testers ought to be tied to a steering wheel and attempt to use the maps app overseas. If the potential for accidents wasn't real, and it is, it would be comical. 2 years in a row I've tried to use this app in Europe and I would NOT recommend it's use. Here's just a casual list of some of the anomalies I've noticed.
1) How about the pronunciation of foreign names? Nimes!, Marseille? Orange, Gstaad? Use the recognized pronunciation!
2) When was the European data base last updated? It's awful. Road circles not in the data base? Circles that have the incorrect number of exits? This is awful and dangerous to depend upon. How was this checked?
3) Its routes in Italy frequently refuse to employ tunnels in Italy. Try driving from Naples to Sorrento using maps. Don't follow the road sign directions, try using maps.
4) It took me down a cow path near Arles.
5) In Stresa, Italy it took me down an alley so narrow that both side mirrors simultaneously scraped the opposite buildings at the same time.
6) In Salon de Provence it told me to take numerous turns where no road existed (in downtown no less).
It isn't just undependable and unreliable, relying upon it can be dangerous.
Signed, a life long Apple bigot (and shareholder).
The developers and testers ought to be tied to a steering wheel and attempt to use the maps app overseas. If the potential for accidents wasn't real, and it is, it would be comical. 2 years in a row I've tried to use this app in Europe and I would NOT recommend it's use. Here's just a casual list of some of the anomalies I've noticed.
1) How about the pronunciation of foreign names? Nimes!, Marseille? Orange, Gstaad? Use the recognized pronunciation!
2) When was the European data base last updated? It's awful. Road circles not in the data base? Circles that have the incorrect number of exits? This is awful and dangerous to depend upon. How was this checked?
3) Its routes in Italy frequently refuse to employ tunnels in Italy. Try driving from Naples to Sorrento using maps. Don't follow the road sign directions, try using maps.
4) It took me down a cow path near Arles.
5) In Stresa, Italy it took me down an alley so narrow that both side mirrors simultaneously scraped the opposite buildings at the same time.
6) In Salon de Provence it told me to take numerous turns where no road existed (in downtown no less).
It isn't just undependable and unreliable, relying upon it can be dangerous.
Signed, a life long Apple bigot (and shareholder).
i forgot, you can't download google maps from from the app store... 
stop complaining and use a different app if you aren't finding maps to suit your needs.
It amazes me the amount of people who will complain that they don't like the calendar app, or maps doesn't work for them, or the weather app doesn't provide enough information......
rather than whine about it, go to the app store, and download one of the many alternatives, I'm sure you will find one to suit your needs.
stop complaining and use a different app if you aren't finding maps to suit your needs.
It amazes me the amount of people who will complain that they don't like the calendar app, or maps doesn't work for them, or the weather app doesn't provide enough information......
rather than whine about it, go to the app store, and download one of the many alternatives, I'm sure you will find one to suit your needs.
Finding addresses in NYC is very bad. I don't know if this got worse, but I just noticed it. I cannot search for the following address in New York: 433 E46th St
"no results found"
apparently, I need to enter: 433 E 46th St
Spot the difference? Very bad, Apple. And I use Apple Maps 100%
The same thing happens in Queens. Addresses are of the form 65-43 blah ave. You cannot find it if you type 6543 blah ave, Queens, NY.
POIs are one thing, but the search for addresses should be much better, fast.
"no results found"
apparently, I need to enter: 433 E 46th St
Spot the difference? Very bad, Apple. And I use Apple Maps 100%
The same thing happens in Queens. Addresses are of the form 65-43 blah ave. You cannot find it if you type 6543 blah ave, Queens, NY.
POIs are one thing, but the search for addresses should be much better, fast.
With all due respect, you CANNOT rely on these devices - NONE of them - to get you to your destination safely. You need to exercise your caution and skill as a driver. You're blaming the sat nav for taking you down a narrow road where both mirrors scraped on buildings, but you as the driver should have found a more appropriate route.
No sat nav will ever be 100% perfect because it's impossible to keep up with all of the roads worldwide when they're constantly changing. For this reason I like TomTom's "Mapshare corrections" feature where local users can share corrections.
It's for that reason you should also always keep an eye on road signs - as your sat nav WILL get it wrong sometimes no matter which one you're using.
That said, I recognise and agree that Apple Maps has a very high rate of errors when compared with others and it is desperately in need of a MAJOR update.
what would make you think that you can enter 433 E46th St???
Any logical search engine would assume that to mean "E46" Street, not East 46th Street. I don't type "EArapahoe Ave" to search for Arapahoe Ave. I don't type WBroadway to search for Broadway, so I still am confused why you think that apple should know to separate an arbitrary letter you add to the beginning of your street names in its search. when you look for something on google do you type "How to make AMovie"?? NO, you type "how to make a movie" Do you search for "HowOld Is the EiffelTower"? NO, you separate your individual words, why should a map search be any different?
I can understand that apple maps are not perfect, but your decision to merge two separate words into one is not a problem with maps, it's a problem with your ability to use a search engine.
My former classmate is living in a town according to Apple maps which does not exist since the early 1950s... Two towns were merged and they got a new name.
Everyone has their opinion, but I do find it difficult for anyone who has used Google Maps to think that ios7 Maps is anything but garbage. Maybe they should just copy Google maps as it would fit in to many of the new features that Apple has yet again taken from Android. But must admit...I am glad they did as I like the changes.
Google Maps have still tried making me turn right at no-right turns for many years. Also think you can go up an on-ramp against traffic to get on to the highway a block away.
In short, no map is perfect. And for me Apple Maps have been far more accurate for my part of the world.
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In short, no map is perfect. And for me Apple Maps have been far more accurate for my part of the world.
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This I agree with. Address parsing should be much smarter. To the point where you should be able to copy and paste an entire iMessage saying "My address is blah blah" and it should just work.
What I can not fathom is why Apple has not learned the lesson that Google did, crowd source. There are thousands are idiots like me who will spend a week fixing everything in my town, or mapping out my college campus. I WANT to do that, I want to make the maps better, just GIVE me the tools.
I have submitted HUNDREDS of error reports. Not a single one has been fixed. If you want people to help fix things, actually fix the things they tell you are broken. Google responds to your "report a problem" and then emails you when the problem is fixed. Knowing that your problem was not only heard, but fixed leads to more willingness to submit those reports. I have all but given up on submitting error reports because frankly, it's not worth it anymore. I will just use Google Maps.
I have given Apple the benefit of the doubt this past year but unless you live in NYC, Maps is a joke. I have seen zero improvements here, or anywhere in Kansas.
I have submitted HUNDREDS of error reports. Not a single one has been fixed. If you want people to help fix things, actually fix the things they tell you are broken. Google responds to your "report a problem" and then emails you when the problem is fixed. Knowing that your problem was not only heard, but fixed leads to more willingness to submit those reports. I have all but given up on submitting error reports because frankly, it's not worth it anymore. I will just use Google Maps.
I have given Apple the benefit of the doubt this past year but unless you live in NYC, Maps is a joke. I have seen zero improvements here, or anywhere in Kansas.
Because this is Manhattan. Half of all the addresses are "E ## St". Maps should parse that easily. Asking for perfect punctuation, spacing, even spelling is bad implementation.
Example, google this exact term (including quotes):
"E46th" street
Near where I live they have an Air Force base labelled as an airport
I reported this a few times but it still remains
I reported this a few times but it still remains
Yelp is the real problem.
I love Apple Maps over google any day, however, my BIG issue w/Maps has more to do with Yelp. Yelp is what Apple Maps uses for business/places data, and Yelp is not accurate. I use Foursquare to find places (especially, but not limited to, restaurants) when I am out of town, it is accurate, current, and the UI is friendly, easy to use and the social aspect is right there too. Yelp lacks in all of these, yet, for some very odd reason, Apple decided to buy Yelp and integrate it into Maps last year, and even more integration this year. Yelp fails, takes me to the middle of nowhere, or closed businesses, UI is clunky at best, no one uses it for social networking, it is a big fail, don't know why Apple can't see this. There has to be some inside business reason for it, but, it was a big waste of effort to integrate it more into iOS 7, very disappointing. There is nothing Yelp can do to really get my interest, I'm already happy with Foursquare, just wish it was integrated into my favorite Maps app.
Apple was rumored to be in talks with Foursquare before iOS 6 was released. Unfortunately they chose Yelp, and now we are stuck with the s it end of the stick on that deal. Apple should have, still can, done whatever Foursquare wants to buy them or license their data and integrate it into Maps. This is absolutely necessary.
I'm saying this from the perspective of someone who seriously tried to like Yelp when I got my iPhone 5 last year. ...I used it online before I had a smartphone, so, now that it was part of Apple Maps, I tried it out again, but, it is still back there, somewhere in the past, like their data.
(I know some people use Facebook for locations, but I do not trust Facebook, they are not secure, use my info. however they want.)
I love Apple Maps over google any day, however, my BIG issue w/Maps has more to do with Yelp. Yelp is what Apple Maps uses for business/places data, and Yelp is not accurate. I use Foursquare to find places (especially, but not limited to, restaurants) when I am out of town, it is accurate, current, and the UI is friendly, easy to use and the social aspect is right there too. Yelp lacks in all of these, yet, for some very odd reason, Apple decided to buy Yelp and integrate it into Maps last year, and even more integration this year. Yelp fails, takes me to the middle of nowhere, or closed businesses, UI is clunky at best, no one uses it for social networking, it is a big fail, don't know why Apple can't see this. There has to be some inside business reason for it, but, it was a big waste of effort to integrate it more into iOS 7, very disappointing. There is nothing Yelp can do to really get my interest, I'm already happy with Foursquare, just wish it was integrated into my favorite Maps app.
Apple was rumored to be in talks with Foursquare before iOS 6 was released. Unfortunately they chose Yelp, and now we are stuck with the s it end of the stick on that deal. Apple should have, still can, done whatever Foursquare wants to buy them or license their data and integrate it into Maps. This is absolutely necessary.
I'm saying this from the perspective of someone who seriously tried to like Yelp when I got my iPhone 5 last year. ...I used it online before I had a smartphone, so, now that it was part of Apple Maps, I tried it out again, but, it is still back there, somewhere in the past, like their data.
(I know some people use Facebook for locations, but I do not trust Facebook, they are not secure, use my info. however they want.)
in a message you can simply click the address, there is no need to copy the entire thing so i don't see your point. Dates or even terms like "tomorrow at 6:00" or "wednesday at 3" become clickable "links" to create calendar events.
it sure doesn't give me a map when i google those terms. I still don't see why you think that a search engine should be able to separate words for you.
How about places with a hwy called e470 for example? the address E 470 St is not the same as E470 the hwy but you want them to magically know what you are talking about because you don't want to type one extra space.
E 46th St is not the same as
E46th St
just the same as
"The dog is a loud mutt" is not the same as
"The dog is aloud mutt"
If you wanted to search for the first quote, would you leave out the space between "a" and "loud"??? NO
If you want to search for an address would you type
East 46th Street or would you search
East46th Street without a space?
I don't type "HowToMakeChickenWings" into google and expect it to figure out where it should put spaces, so why should I expect a map to do the same?
I mean, based on your logic, why even put spaces in an address at all, it should just figure out what "12255E56thST" means right?
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