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How Apple changed the way we navigate — forever
But can it beat Google Maps?
Back on September 19, 2012, Apple had replaced Google Maps with its own Apple Maps as the default navigation app in iOS. Of course, we all know what happened next— it didn’t do well. There were many issues, such as missing places, incorrect directions, and many other bugs. It was so bad that Tim Cook published a letter of apology and urged dissatisfied users to use other mapping services.
As a latecomer to the mapping platform, Apple has been trying hard to catch up with Google’s mapping technology. Sure, nothing beats Google when it comes to navigation, but Apple Maps has come a long way since its launch in 2012. Since then, the company has acquired at least 9 companies to improve Apple Maps. They even hired Google employees who worked on Google Maps.
In 2016, Apple opened a new office in Hyderabad, the capital of southern India’s Telangana state, to speed up the development of Apple Maps by hiring 4,000 staff. However, to put in perspective, in terms of the number of employees working on mapping services, Google already had 7,000 people working on Google Maps back in 2012.
So, can Apple Maps beat Google Maps? In terms of map data, I don’t think so. As mentioned, Apple was a latecomer to the mapping…
