After a lot of criticism since its recent release, Apple’s CEO has finally issued a statement addressing the controversy of Apple Maps. Tim Cook himself addressed the issue in a letter and apologized for the poor quality of the Maps app in iOS 6.
In the letter, Cook admits that Apple “fell short” on their commitment to “make world-class products” for their customers. He explains that Google Maps was the first version of Maps on iOS but that Apple wanted to provide an even better Maps that included features like turn-by-turn navigation and voice integration, which some have speculated Google was unwilling to add these features to its app causing Apple and Google to part ways.
Cook also offers alternative mapping services while Apple works at improving its Maps. He suggests downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze or by using Google or Nokia through their web apps.
Here’s Tim Cook’s letter in full:
To our customers,
At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.
We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.
There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.
While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.
Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.
Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO
Source: Apple via TechCrunch
Image Credit: BGR
