iOS 6 has been available for just over 24 hours and while most of the update’s features have received rave reviews, there is one feature that has already given Apple a virtual black eye, its new Maps app. Due to their growing rivalry with Google, Apple decided with iOS 6, that they would remove Google services, such as YouTube and Maps, they even removed the word “Google” from the browser’s search bar, simply replacing it with the word, “search.”
The in-house Maps app by Apple is their freshman offering and it’s going up against a seasoned veteran in Google’s own Map service. Some of the growing pains have prompted some pretty harsh comments, we’ve even experienced some of them. While it does work for the most part and does look nice, the app has a lot of problems, like missing streets, wrong locations and some funky graphics when using flyover. While some may have expected Apple to remain mum on the subject, they’ve actually decided to issue a statement on the matter.
“Customers around the world are upgrading to iOS 6 with over 200 new features including Apple Maps, our first map service,” spokeswoman Trudy Muller told AllThingsD. “We are excited to offer this service with innovative new features like Flyover and Siri integration, and free turn by turn navigation. We launched this new map service knowing that it is a major initiative and we are just getting started with it. We are continuously improving it, and as Maps is a cloud-based solution, the more people use it, the better it will get. We’re also working with developers to integrate some of the amazing transit apps in the App Store into iOS Maps. We appreciate all of the customer feedback and are working hard to make the customer experience even better.”
John Paczkowski, of AllThingsD, who wrote the post covering Apple’s response says that sources have told them, that the team assigned to the app is under lockdown right now working to fix it. How fast will we see a fix is anyone’s guess, it’s just a shame that after all the handwork that went into creating the iPhone 5 could be tarnished by an undercooked Maps app. Hopefully, at least until Apple corrects its wrongs, Google will give iOS users dedicated Google Maps app, assuming Apple were to allow it in there app store.