Apology can be accepted if they fast track google's map application to at least mitigate this mess. I am glad that I didn't update my iphone to ios6. The wife isn't so happy that I update her phone!
I think it's cute how Apple-customers takes for granted that Google will fix Apple's problems to make their life better instead of promoting its own platform.
I found it disturbing how willing the (vocal portion of the) apple fanbase seemed to be to say up is down and black is white if he told them to. One day PPC is much faster than x86, the next it doesn't matter. One day a phone doesn't need to run programs because everything is on the web, the next everything should be an app. Maybe it's just the ones who disagreed stayed quiet, but the overall effect was very cultish.
If Jobs were there, they wouldn't have release the phone with maps. What they should have done is put both maps and google maps on at the same time and have a switch off date for google.
You don't understand Jobs - this solution would have been a cluster and really hamstrung the new iOS maps app. Apple is not afraid to release a new version that is a downgrade - check out iMovie '08 or even FCP X.
Your suggestion sounds more like a solution that Google or Microsoft would do - they don't care so much about creating UI confusion for the customer as much as giving them choice (simpler move, as that abrogates the vendor having to make the call).
Map is OK for me. It is just only the beginning. When Google Map was launched, we didn't see all the features. The only problem with iOS6 was viewing Unicode Language in Mail App. It is really frustrating.
I can't say for sure what Jobs would have done, but you can bet that Jobs would have known about Maps' limitations on Day 1, and he would have addressed the issue right away instead of waiting for 2 weeks like Tim Cook.
Remember: Jobs used the products extensively before they were launched. If Tim had done so, he would have seen the deficiencies in Maps, instead of just relying on his underlings saying "it'll be OK".
Does anyone think they don't realize the maps are subpar? The problem is, they can't get better data without having millions of users interact with it daily. Their only option was to do the startup-y approach and launch not-perfect then keep iterating. In another year nobody (except for the extreme nerdophiles) will remember apple maps being disadequate.
>In another year nobody (except for the extreme nerdophiles) will remember apple maps being disadequate.
I think if it gets the average user lost or late even once or twice, they will remember and not trust it. It will also have given people who decided to buy an Andorid or other phone instead of the iPhone 5 justification for their mobile platform choice/change.
When i first heard Tim Cook was going to become CEO, my first assumption was that jobs chose him to lock in his legacy as a genius CEO... Sometimes, stories like this make me thing that there's a possibility thats true.
These maps have been available as part of iOS 6 betas for a long time. Apple already knew about the problem, but you can only move so fast. Maps are hard.
This letter isn't really an apology, it's a "use these other things while we update our data".
There is a "Report Problem" feature where users can enter corrections or note problems. As far as simply using the app, I'm not sure either- anyone have additional insight?
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[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 62.9 ms ] threadI can imagine a scenario in which Steve spins the maps snafu so that the customers end up apologizing to him.
"In Steve Job's Apple, the customer is always wrong."
Honestly, I think if he were still healthy and running the company, something like this would not have happened in the first place.
Your suggestion sounds more like a solution that Google or Microsoft would do - they don't care so much about creating UI confusion for the customer as much as giving them choice (simpler move, as that abrogates the vendor having to make the call).
Remember: Jobs used the products extensively before they were launched. If Tim had done so, he would have seen the deficiencies in Maps, instead of just relying on his underlings saying "it'll be OK".
I think if it gets the average user lost or late even once or twice, they will remember and not trust it. It will also have given people who decided to buy an Andorid or other phone instead of the iPhone 5 justification for their mobile platform choice/change.
These maps have been available as part of iOS 6 betas for a long time. Apple already knew about the problem, but you can only move so fast. Maps are hard.
This letter isn't really an apology, it's a "use these other things while we update our data".