Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Major Backlash Looms For Apple's New Maps App

Posted by Unknown on from the the-all-embracing-googleplex dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Michael DeGusta writes that Apple's new Maps app is the very first item on their list of major new features in iOS 6, but for many iPhone and iPad users around the world Apple's new maps are going to be a major disappointment as the Transit function will be lost in 51 countries, the Traffic function will be lost in 24 countries, and the Street View function will be lost in 41 countries. 'In total, 63 countries with a combined population of 4.5 billion people will be without one or more of these features they previously had in iOS,' writes DeGusta. 'Apple is risking upsetting 65% of the world's population, seemingly without much greater purpose than speeding the removal of their rival Google from iOS. Few consumers care about such battles though, nor should they have to.' The biggest losers will be Brazil, India, Taiwan, and Thailand (population: 1.5 billion) which overnight will go from being countries with every maps feature (transit, traffic, and street view) to countries with none of those features, nor any of the new features, flyover and turn-by-turn directions. Apple's maps are clearly behind in some key areas, but they will presumably continue to improve over time. Google has committed to making their maps available everywhere, so it seems likely Google will release their own iOS maps app soon, as they did with YouTube, which has similarly been removed from iOS 6." But what percentage of people who actually buy iPhones lost these features?

2 of 466 comments (clear)

  1. Re:And they'll still buy the next iPhone by macs4all · · Score: 5, Informative

    they will be able to still get google maps on the iphone as well...?

    Want to use Google Maps on iOS 6? Here's how hard it is:

    1. Launch Safari (or the iOS browser of your choice)

    2. In the Address Bar, type maps.google.com

    3. There is no Step 3.

    BTW, what launches is actually more useful than the Google Maps "App", IMHO. Oh, and speaking of which, their "App" is also available.

    So, in the long run, nothing is changing, and, if anything, iOS customers will have more choices, not less.

  2. Re:So much for "It Just Works" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Unless you, you know, hit settings, then tick the 'allow apps from unknown sources' option.
    Or install things from amazons store.
    Or the 3 dozen other app stores that you can run on android.
    But aside from that, yeah. Walled garden. Totally the same.