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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?

12 of 466 comments (clear)

  1. And they'll still buy the next iPhone by danomac · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Most of their customers will grumble about it, and guess what? They'll still buy the next iPhone. Apple's marketing really helps them here.

    1. Re:And they'll still buy the next iPhone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah, right. Because I have so many lag issues on my iPhone 4 I must need a faster processor. Right right right.

      A better processor only matters when you have problems with the existing one. I've never heard anyone complain about this. It amazes me that Slashdotters still don't understand the concept of Good Enough engineering. But keep draining your big batteries on processors that are over powered for what you do with them. A great feature, to be sure.

      Did you hear me? 18% thinner. EIGHTEEN. PERCENT. THINNER. That's like, take your old phone, and slice it so that you only kept 82% of it, and bam there is your new phone! Do you have any idea how hard we had to work to make that possible? Like its some sort of crash diet, poof you lose 27 pounds, and you are now 18% thinner? No! It was hard! We had to make new little metal ringy things, and we had to come up with thinner glass, and we had to smash the battery until it was more like a liItOhNum battery. And you are ungrateful! You are probably not one of our customers anyway.

      Sincerely,
      Jonathan Ives

    2. 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.

    3. Re:And they'll still buy the next iPhone by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They don't just have marketing. They also have products that suck marginally less than their competitors. They also make different bad UI decisions, so once you're used to one usability disaster, moving to the competitor's usability disaster is even harder.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  2. Voluntary upsetment by drunkle+j · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Umm, doesn't this only affect those who voluntarily upgrade to iOS6 or the iPhone5? It surely is annoying, but at least they're not pulling a sony (e.g. upgrade-to-iOS6-or-you-can't-use-apps kind of update).

  3. Too early for these features. by PeanutButterBreath · · Score: 5, Funny

    I applaud Apple for once again holding the line on features that are simply not ready for prime time. Better to have nothing at all than something that is not invented by Apple.

  4. Re:The biggest losers will be Brazil, India, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    5% of India is still what, 50 million people? That's a fair bit of money.

  5. Long term? Short-term backlash better for Apple... by Jerslan · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ... than being dependent on their biggest competitor.

    If they had waited until they had *all* the features in *all* countries to roll it out it could mean several more years of Google Maps, which had a severely limited API on the iPhone. The new maps app may be limited, but it's also far more extensible. IIRC they added the ability for an app to register as a data-source for transit or bike paths or walking directions. That's something you couldn't do with the old API. This allows cities and/or transit companies to make their own apps that can account for train/bus schedule a lot more reliably. Maps have turned out to be a critical feature of Mobile OS's. Why wouldn't Apple want to have more direct control over what the Maps in their OS can and can't do?

  6. Maps app? by Hatta · · Score: 5, Funny

    Only a sap would grapple with apple's map app. It's a trap.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  7. Re:Like any of them poor countries can afford Appl by OffaMyLawn · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I am currently an iPhone user, but never bought into the whole "Apple can do no wrong" aspect of things. It was a functional device that allowed me to do what I wanted with it.

    But I'm not going to buy an iPhone 5 when my upgrade comes around in November. I was honestly considering a Lumia, but not if all I'm going to be given the option of (being on Verizon) some lower end model. If they do pick up the 920, then I may seriously consider giving it a purchase.

    Otherwise, I'll end up with an S3. I'm not married to any particular type of phone (had the original Moto Droid, with no real complaints) but I do tend to dislike when companies do things that just don't seem to make sense from a consumer standpoint. I am aware they don't want Google anything on their phones anymore, for obvious reasons, but I don't like anything done at the cost of experience. Being petty and spiteful really does not serve others well.

  8. Re:Like any of them poor countries can afford Appl by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    BULLSHIT!

    There is NOTHING forcing you to upgrade to iOS6 other than getting access to the new features in iOS6.

    You can still connect to iTunes, iCloud, etc.

    For fuck's sake, I know we fucking hate all things Apple, but can we stop spreading bullshit?

  9. 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.