Monday 1 October 2012

How to Solve Apple Maps in iOS 6: Problems

iOS 6 is just a day old, but users are griping about Apple's new homegrown apps. Techbuddies tells you what's happening and how it affects you.

Welcome to Apple's maps
It's only been a day since iOS 6 went live, but the world has sounded with a Greek chorus of complaints over the new Maps app made by Apple.
In case you don't already know, iOS 6 makes a big change in your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch's mapping features. It removes the Google Maps app that you've long used and replaces it with Apple's home-baked mapping service. At first, you may not notice the change since the app's icon, and much of the interface looks almost the same. Once you try to use it, though, you'll see differences straightaway.

Maps woes in Apple iOS 6: How bad? (pictures)


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In our initial anecdotal testing for CNET's iPhone 5 and iOS 6 reviews, we noticed both good and bad points. On the upside, we welcomed the new turn-by-turn directions and the 3D flyover feature was lovely. Yet, we also found that search results weren't quite as robust and transit directions weren't an option at all.
It was a decent effort for a first pass, but now that Apple Maps are being crowd-tested by millions of new iOS 6 users around the world, problems are becoming more apparent. Put simply: there's plenty of icing, but the cake ain't finished baking. So where does that leave existing iOS users who want to upgrade to iOS 6 -- and prospective iPhone 5 buyers who will get it by default? In this FAQ, CNET will tell you everything that you need to know.

Q: What does the new Maps app add that the old Google app did not?
A: Most importantly, turn-by-turn directions. Up until now, you had to reply on third-party apps for that feature. Some are free, but the better ones could cost up to $40 or more. And as Android users will tell you, it's been a free integrated feature on their phones for years. So that's a big plus.
For iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, and the new iPad, iOS 6 also adds 3D views and a flyover feature (with the latter it's like you're zooming over a city in a low-flying airplane). Both features are more entertaining than useful, but they pack a pretty big wow factor, at least for the first few minutes (see below).
Other little touches include the capability to physically reorient the map with two fingers and see reviews of points of interest.

Q: What does the new Maps app lose compared with the old one?
A: The number one thing is Google's database. Apple Maps sources its location information from Yelp, which so far is less reliable than Google's offering. For example, in his iPhone 5 review, CNET's Scott Stein found that a search for coffee showed him only Starbucks and not a locally owned shop across the street. Also, a search for Mac repair did not turn up a business that has always showed on Google Maps. This issue should get better, but for now it's pretty bad. Losing Google's database also means you lose Street View.

Related stories


  • Turn-by-turn Field Test: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps
  • Local search Field Test: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps
  • Getting to know Maps on iOS 6
  • Apple's Maps app slammed over missing cities and other mistakes
  • Apple seeking developers to fix iOS maps
  • Five free and mostly free iPhone navigation apps
Also, you totally lose mass transit directions, which always existed on Google Maps. Though there is a button with a tiny bus icon, it shows only a list of third-party transit apps (so why include the button at all?). If you already own such an app it will appear at the top of the list, and when pressed, kick you out to that app. Otherwise, you'll be directed to the iTunes App Store to download a title. That's not really helpful for a few reasons.
First off, switching to a third-party app for transit directions takes you out of the mapping feature. That means a lot of switching back and forth between the transit instructions and the map of the surrounding area (Google Maps had it all on one screen). Also, the third-party apps don't always tell how to get to the transit stop and then on to your final destination. Again, Google Maps told you the whole story.
Granted, only people who take transit will care about this feature. But the point is that Apple has removed a useful feature that you formerly got for free. Some of the third-party options are great, and they may even be better than Google Maps, but you now have to jump through an extra hoop. And more importantly, some of those other apps will cost you.

Q: Can I go back to the old Maps app? 

  A: Sort of. At this point, a real Google Maps app like 

you used to have is not available. 

But as Matt Elliott explains here, you can point your iPhone's browser to maps.google.com and get that same mapping information, complete with business listings, directions, public transit data, and even bike routes. What you're missing is street view and use of the compass to help direct you.

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