Apple CEO Tim Cook Says Sorry For Maps App

Wow, it’s not often that you hear that boffins at Apple have made a mistake and even less often that you will hear them step up and apologize for it. But the unexpected has happened, after days of getting flak about their Maps App, Apple realized that they couldn’t bury their heads in the sand any longer and have released a public apology. 



In the days since the release of the iPhone 5 and iOS 6, Apple users everywhere have been complaining about the failings of the Map App.

It has been described as ‘geographically incompetent’ and said to have “fundamental errors in 3D mapping and directions.” It is also reported to be useless to those travelling by public transport – a huge percentage of the population.

The Maps App’s failings have also spawned numerous funny internet memes including a ‘Hitler Reacts’ and allusions to the television series ‘Lost’ which, no doubt will have caused some serious embarrassment to the top execs at Apple. What made users even angrier, is that they couldn’t use the beloved Google Maps any more either.

Cook’s apologetic letter is as follows:

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

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