A Reasonable Take On Apple’s Maps Problem

Mike Dobson of TeleMapics has published a balanced, reasonable, and informative article on the various technical issues that Apple is facing with the new Maps on iOS 6.

The issue plaguing Apple Maps is not mathematics or algorithms, it is data quality and there can be little doubt about the types of errors that are plaguing the system. What is happening to Apple is that their users are measuring data quality. Users look for familiar places they know on maps and use these as methods of orienting themselves, as well as for testing the goodness of maps. They compare maps with reality to determine their location. They query local businesses to provide local services. When these actions fail, the map has failed and this is the source of Apple’s most significant problems. Apple’s maps are incomplete, illogical, positionally erroneous, out of date, and suffer from thematic inaccuracies.

Alongside his sarcasm-free explanation of many aspects of building a mapping solution, Mike offers some suggestions that are worth considering as well.

It’s a recommended read, which I suggest checking out here.

Apple: “The More People Use Maps, The Better It Will Get”

In a statement sent to AllThingsD, Apple said they are working hard to improve the customer experience with the new Maps of iOS 6. In particular, the company notes that “it’ll get better” with time and usage.

We launched this new map service knowing it is a major initiative and that we are just getting started with it. Maps is a cloud-based solution and the more people use it, the better it will get. We appreciate all of the customer feedback and are working hard to make the customer experience even better.

In my review of iOS 6 yesterday, I dedicated a section to Maps, comparing its features to those of iOS 5’s Google Maps product in Italy. Following yesterday’s launch, people have increasingly noticed that Maps, unlike Google Maps, is lacking in several areas like business listings, satellite views, Flyover accuracy, and more. Screenshots of Maps discrepancies with reality and plain-wrong data are all over the web.

In our Reading List in the sidebar (on the right), we’ve collected some of the best Maps-related articles from around the web.

There’s no denying that Maps will get better with time and usage. But unlike Siri, which Apple also said will get better with time, people have become dependent upon accurate maps for their livelihood. If I really had to nitpick, though, I, too, am curious to know how actually Apple plans to improve Maps without allowing customers to actively suggest other options.

Personally, I wonder how users who had (and will have) real-life issues like this would react to Apple’s statement.

On The Benefit Of iOS 6 Maps

Anil Dash, writing about his experiences with Apple’s Maps on iOS 6:

Here in Manhattan, where I live, basic search by building names is profoundly degraded in Apple’s maps search. “Bloomberg” doesn’t find the Bloomberg Tower; on Google Maps it’s the first result. Searching for its address “731 Lexington Avenue” yields that address on Lexington Avenue in Brooklyn. It’s fine to think that perhaps I wanted the address in Bed-Stuy, but even appending “NY, NY” or “Manhattan, NY” still yields the Brooklyn address. Google maps has none of these comprehension issues. I understand this is due to Apple partnering with Tom Tom, whose maps are considered to be lower in quality than other players like Nokia, but I’m not informed enough to say with certainty whether that’s the case.

In response to our iOS 6 coverage (my thoughts on iOS 6 here, Cody’s overview of Maps here) TomTom sent us the following statement:

TomTom supplies maps and related content to the majority of handheld players, including RIM, HTC, Samsung, AOL (MapQuest Mobile), Apple and, yes, Google (for the areas where they don’t make their own maps).

Our maps are used by businesses around the world, which have standards for coverage, detail, quality and safety.

When people use a map, their experience is determined by two things. Firstly, the underlying content, notably the maps. This is what TomTom is currently supplying the mobile industry with and it is what gives their maps the best foundation. Secondly, user experience is determined by adding additional features to the map application, such as visual imagery. This is typically defined and created by the handset manufacturers and third party software providers on the basis of their own vision and needs.

If I understand this correctly, TomTom is essentially implying that, because user experience is defined by “additional features” (such as Apple’s custom map tiles, I assume), then issues with the user experience are also related to the choices made by “the handset manufacturer”.

I do believe, however, that the problems mentioned by Dash (poor recognition of POIs, questionable detection of local addresses) – the same ones I mentioned in my piece – aren’t related to Apple’s “vision” and “visual imagery”. Here’s Business Insider yesterday, reporting about an interview with Waze CEO Noam Bardin (Waze is also listed in Maps’ copyright notices):

But Bardin says that Apple has taken a huge bet by partnering with TomTom, a maker of traditional GPS hardware that’s morphing into a mapping-data provider. Both TomTom and Waze are listed in Apple’s copyright notice as providers of map data. But Bardin’s observations suggest that Apple is relying predominantly on TomTom.

“Apple went out and partnered with the weakest player,” Bardin says. “They’re now coming out with the lowest, weakest data set and they’re competing against Google, which has the highest data set.

Ultimately, it simply comes down to having a good experience – no matter who puts in the data. But it’ll be interesting to see how fast Apple will manage to iterate on its new Maps.

Update: After asking whether issues with the visualization of maps were related to Apple’s imagery, TomTom provided us with an additional statement:

Yes, we did not develop the map application. Rather, we only provide the data to build a car-centric map foundation. Everything thing on top of that - routing, visualization, etc. - is determined by the supplier.