Gadgetory

the world of ios6 was a bleak in dystopian one the Statue of Liberty gone the Brooklyn Bridge obliterated entire regions have been terraformed I'm Audi Robertson with average since the first iPhone Apple has relied on Google Maps with the latest iOS update however Apple has entirely replaced Google Maps with its own in-house mapping system it's probably the biggest change in this update and although we're told Apple has been working on this tool for five years it's still nowhere near the level of quality of the app it replaces in iOS 6 we have built an entire new mapping solution from the ground up and it is beautiful as more people update their iPhones iPads and iPod touches this week users have taken to Twitter and Tumblr to showcase the most egregious failures collapse buildings walking directions that lead nowhere and satellite images completely obscured by clouds we spend an afternoon traveling in and out of Manhattan for walking and driving the app is actually pretty problem free in fact turn-by-turn driving directions are a great addition Apple uses Yelp for points of interest like restaurants or gas stations that can sometimes make the selection of icons seem a little random but it also means you can get things like pricing and reviews at least in the US what's lost in the process however is all public transportation tapping the bus icon now prompts you to open or download a local transit app instead of offering built-in directions transit apps have come a long way but they still can't offer the same integrated experience as Google Maps and you could end up downloading a new app every time you visit a new city the situation is murkier outside the US users are now seeing blank pages where they once saw buildings or detailed highway data Apple has misidentified entire towns as hospitals or misclassified and nursery as an airport to some extent you can expect these kind of glitches with any new product but Apple is facing tough competition from the ubiquitous Google map the new maps are also arguably the most front-facing feature in iOS 6 which means Apple's not going to have much else to lean on as it tries to market the new iPhone as for Google though many expected it to release a third-party version of its now egg size map service all it's done so far is remind users of its updated Android and say that its goal is to quote make Google Maps accessible for everyone there is a web version but it's no replacement for a native solution ultimately Apple created this problem for itself with iOS 6 the company wanted to wean itself off Google as much as possible that's been accomplished Google Maps in YouTube both beloved by users are now gone from iOS 6 the real question is whether these victories for apples are victories for its customers