Apple Maps

[1] At launch, it drew criticism from users and reviewers for incorrect directions, sparse data about public transportation, and various other bugs and errors.

[29] At that time, the new iPhone 5S included a new motion coprocessor, the M7, which can identify whether a user is walking or driving in order to adjust the navigation mode.

[31] In June of the following year, Apple acquired the company Spotsetter, a social search engine that gave personalized recommendations for places to visit.

In the spring, Apple also acquired Coherent Navigation, that provides precise location data through High Integrity GPS, and the startup company Mapsense later that year.

Apple Maps was renewed in the new version of the operating system and received several new features, including "Nearby" which had previously been exclusive to iOS.

[45] Four months later, Apple CEO Tim Cook inaugurated a new office in partnership with IT company RMSI, Noida, at the WaveRock campus in Hyderabad, India.

Grassy areas also show more detail; for example, strips of grass and vegetation between roads, outlines of holes on golf courses, baseball/football fields within parks, etc.

[55][56] By the end of January 2020, Apple completed the rollout of their new maps detail in the United States and the District of Columbia; several U.S. territories were also added in April 2020.

As of launch, cycling directions were only available in the cities of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Beijing, but Apple intends to add more over time.

[60] In October, Apple updated the United Kingdom and Ireland to include their new maps detail, Look Around, and cycling directions.

[64] During WWDC 2021, Apple had announced a brand new "city experience" for select areas that would include real-world road widths, vegetation, turn lanes, realistic building models and colors, among other things.

Apple published its new map data in Italy, San Marino, Vatican City and Andorra on September 10, 2021, while also adding real-time transit for Rome, Milan, and Turin on the 26th.

[66] On March 4, 2022, Apple began testing its new map data in Germany and Singapore, with the final version launching on April 21, 2022.

As for the Detailed City Experience, Apple had announced that Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, Seattle, Sydney and Melbourne would be getting it later in the year.

On November 2, 2022, Apple began testing its new map data in Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Switzerland, with the final version launching on December 15, 2022, alongside Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Palestinian Territories.

[73] On January 23, 2023, Apple began testing its new map data in Austria, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, with the latter three being released on March 2, 2023.

[87] Apple renewed their agreement with TomTom in 2015, though later decided to gradually switch to OpenStreetMap and remove all of TomTom-contributed map data except for live traffic information.

[39] Additionally, the mapping service includes public transit schedules and shows the locations of the entries and exits of the subway and train stations.

[102][103] With the release of iOS 14, various countries in Europe received congestion zone alerts in the Maps app to reduce harmful emissions in the area.

In addition, the turn-by-turn navigation takes delays into account when calculating the estimated time of arrival and will occasionally choose a detour in case of traffic.

Look Around allows the user to view 360°street-level imagery, with smooth transitions as the scene is navigated to provide precision in city environment.

[115] Apple Maps received considerable criticism after its launch on September 19, 2012, due to wrong and inaccurate information about places and points of interests.

The police department stated that the error was potentially life-threatening, as national park temperatures could rise to 114 °F (46 °C) and those traveling would be without water supplies.

[8] Sources told technology news website The Verge that he had been fired for refusing to sign Tim Cook's letter of apology.

[125] According to business magazine Bloomberg Businessweek, Richard Williamson, the person responsible for the mapping team at Apple, left the following month.

Cees van Dok, TomTom's head of user experience design, in April 2013 told technology news website TechRadar that Apple was the problem.

Powered by some jaw-dropping 3D graphics and enjoying an aggressive multi-platform strategy, Apple is finally set to redefine our geospatial expectations – and take Google down a few notches.

The redesigned Maps introduced significant improvements, including more comprehensive views of roads and buildings, enhanced pedestrian data, more precise addresses, and detailed land cover.

The redesign received praise for its visual improvements and functionality, with critics noting that it addressed many of the app’s initial shortcomings and brought the experience closer to competing services like Google Maps.

"[131] Macworld wrote "Apple Maps has vastly improved since it was first launched and now we conclude the turn-by-turn navigation is a lot better than Google's offering.

Apple Maps was announced along with iOS 6 , OS X Mountain Lion , and iCloud during the 2012 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
An Apple Maps Subaru Impreza data and image collection vehicle in Kent, England in April 2023
Apple Maps giving directions from San Francisco to Los Angeles , as shown on an iPad running iOS 9
Map showing Apple Maps' Native Ratings and Photos feature's availability worldwide as of the update in February 2024 [ 110 ]
A graph showing the percentage of American smartphone users who used Apple Maps (blue) and Google Maps (orange) between July 2013 and February 2016 (estimated by comScore )