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iOS 6 |OT| New Maps? googy pls

btkadams

Member
I love the fact that nobody seems to be talking about the fact that folders can now contain 16 apps and delta app updates are available in iOS6. It's all just maps maps maps.

are you just talking about the iphone 5? you are still restricted to 12 apps per folder on 4s/etc. that's a plus for the iphone 5's bigger screen, not ios 6.
 

LCfiner

Member
I love the fact that nobody seems to be talking about the fact that folders can now contain 16 apps and delta app updates are available in iOS6. It's all just maps maps maps.

people will care when there's a delta update to actually download... and if it fixes Maps :p (I know that Maps stuff is server side)

And the 16 items per folder on the 5 is... OK, I guess but it's hardly newsworthy.
 

Tobor

Member
I used the turn by turn all weekend long. Every address I threw at it(Central VA region) gave me a correct location and route.

My Motion X Drive GPS subscription is paid up until January, so I'll keep it on the phone for now, but I don't see any reason to resubscribe.
 

jcm

Member
I used the turn by turn all weekend long. Every address I threw at it(Central VA region) gave me a correct location and route.

My Motion X Drive GPS subscription is paid up until January, so I'll keep it on the phone for now, but I don't see any reason to resubscribe.

I had a similar experience in DC. I used Siri to pull them up, and it was flawless. She was able to find Goodwill DC (which, oddly, never used to show up for me in Google's POI database), Kaiser Permanente (and she pronounced it correctly!), and the MLK library, and routed me correctly to all of them.

I know there are areas where it just plain doesn't work, but when it does work, it feels like magic. I hope Apple updates quickly, so the rest of you guys can have as good an experience with it as I have.
 

scorcho

testicles on a cold fall morning
I love the fact that nobody seems to be talking about the fact that folders can now contain 16 apps and delta app updates are available in iOS6. It's all just maps maps maps.

I mentioned this to my mom. She told me to go away.
 

hirokazu

Member
How is Forstall still around?

Because that guy's friend's Internet connection is flakey? This has happened earlier in this thread, people posting Flyover screenshots where it hasn't loaded the appropriate detail level yet and exclaiming "LOL, this is Flyover, huh?"

IMG_0086.JPG
 

Noema

Member
Not that I'm happy with the maps situation or anything, but did Apple really have a choice when it came to Maps? For such a vertically integrated company, having to depend on Goolge for such a critical component of their smartphone offering was probably a Jupiter sized pebble in their shoe.

Gruber is an Apple fanboy, no doubt, but he does paint a realistic scenario:

Apple had two possibilities regarding maps:

A) Pay up and stick with Google's 3rd party tile based maps, which lack Turn-by-turn and vectorized roads. Two key features that Android phones have had for nearly 2 years and which iOS was never, ever going to get. But they would have kept Google's mind-blowing collection of data, including transit, accuracy, detailed an polished satellite views and street view. It'll take Apple years to match that.

B) Come up with their own mapping solution, which is really fucking hard. Buy up a bunch of smaller mapping companies and partner with Tom Tom. Out of this they get Vectorized Roads and Turn-by-Turn but lose Google's Big Data.

I think that such rationalization explains Apple's decision. But I think they underestimated the massive enterprise involved in mapping a whole fucking planet.

It took Google years to get to where they are and they are Google. That's what they fucking do. Big Data is their game. Apple is a hardware company. No doubt there was a lot of hubris involved. "We're Apple. We can fix anything just by throwing money at it."

No, you can't. Just ask Microsoft.
 

Blackhead

Redarse
I love the fact that nobody seems to be talking about the fact that folders can now contain 16 apps and delta app updates are available in iOS6. It's all just maps maps maps.
16 apps in folders is as pointless a feature as I've ever seen. I only group 9 apps together so I can tell by the folder icon what's inside while scrolling by springboard. If greater import is the new ability in iOS6 to search for the folder an app is located in. But then why limit the sizes of folders? Just make the dammed things limitless so I could have one folder solely for games instead of the numerous separate folders that the new 16 limit does little to mitigate.

Not that I'm happy with the maps situation or anything, but did Apple really have a choice when it came to Maps? For such a vertically integrated company, having to depend on Goolge for such a critical component of their smartphone offering was probably a Jupiter sized pebble in their shoe.

Gruber is an Apple fanboy, no doubt, but he does paint a realistic scenario:

Apple had two possibilities regarding maps:

A) Pay up and stick with Google's 3rd party tile based maps, which lack Turn-by-turn and vectorized roads. Two key features that Android phones have had for nearly 2 years and which iOS was never, ever going to get.
.
Stop right there. The rumors say Goole was willing to negotiate for turn-by-turn not that it was completely off the table. apple instead rejected google's terms out of hand.
At worst, apple could have done exactly what they are doing now with transit apps—punt turn-by-turn to the alternatives in the AppStore. Everybody could have access to the tomtom navigation that they have now in the apple maps
 

buhdeh

Member
16 apps in folders is as pointless a feature as I've ever seen. I only group 9 apps together so I can tell by the folder icon what's inside while scrolling by springboard. If greater import is the new ability in iOS6 to search for the folder an app is located in. But then why limit the sizes of folders? Just make the dammed things limitless so I could have one folder solely for games instead of the numerous separate folders that the new 16 limit does little to mitigate.

Seeing people excited over the fact that you can now store 4 extra apps in a folder makes me sad :(
 

Blackhead

Redarse
Seeing people excited over the fact that you can now store 4 extra apps in a folder makes me sad :(
I don't even bother anymore organizing apps. I just dump them together and has like 8 separate folders named either productivity or utility (with only one or two apps, out of 9, with the applicable functionality inside.
 

Tunesmith

formerly "chigiri"
I was just pointing out two things that Apple actually improved with the update. More apps in a folder, less folders, great, moving on. Would it be even more great if the folders didn't have a limit? Sure.

Seeing people bitch about folders now containing more apps as some sort of negative is sad.
 

btkadams

Member
I was just pointing out two things that Apple actually improved with the update. More apps in a folder, less folders, great, moving on. Would it be even more great if the folders didn't have a limit? Sure.

Seeing people bitch about folders now containing more apps as some sort of negative is sad.
i don't think anyone sees the limit increase as a negative. i think it's great, although i am unable to take advantage without having an iphone 5.

it still isn't something that was brought with ios 6. the limit is related to the screen size. ipads have always let you put more than 12 apps into folders because there is more screen real estate.
 

Hari Seldon

Member
Not that I'm happy with the maps situation or anything, but did Apple really have a choice when it came to Maps? For such a vertically integrated company, having to depend on Goolge for such a critical component of their smartphone offering was probably a Jupiter sized pebble in their shoe.

Gruber is an Apple fanboy, no doubt, but he does paint a realistic scenario:

Apple had two possibilities regarding maps:

A) Pay up and stick with Google's 3rd party tile based maps, which lack Turn-by-turn and vectorized roads. Two key features that Android phones have had for nearly 2 years and which iOS was never, ever going to get. But they would have kept Google's mind-blowing collection of data, including transit, accuracy, detailed an polished satellite views and street view. It'll take Apple years to match that.

B) Come up with their own mapping solution, which is really fucking hard. Buy up a bunch of smaller mapping companies and partner with Tom Tom. Out of this they get Vectorized Roads and Turn-by-Turn but lose Google's Big Data.

I think that such rationalization explains Apple's decision. But I think they underestimated the massive enterprise involved in mapping a whole fucking planet.

It took Google years to get to where they are and they are Google. That's what they fucking do. Big Data is their game. Apple is a hardware company. No doubt there was a lot of hubris involved. "We're Apple. We can fix anything just by throwing money at it."

No, you can't. Just ask Microsoft.

Speaking of Microsoft, why didn't they simply partner with Microsoft and throw Bing maps on there? Would have been a big win for MS since they are trying to push Bing to get on all of the iOS devices, and probably much cheaper than trying to build their own mapping thing from scratch.
 

btkadams

Member
Speaking of Microsoft, why didn't they simply partner with Microsoft and throw Bing maps on there? Would have been a big win for MS since they are trying to push Bing to get on all of the iOS devices, and probably much cheaper than trying to build their own mapping thing from scratch.

i don't see why they would partner with microsoft. microsoft is apple's direct competitor, just like google.
 

jcm

Member
Speaking of Microsoft, why didn't they simply partner with Microsoft and throw Bing maps on there? Would have been a big win for MS since they are trying to push Bing to get on all of the iOS devices, and probably much cheaper than trying to build their own mapping thing from scratch.

Apple has two competitors in the smart phone space. I'm pretty sure they don't want to depend on either one of them to supply one of the most important features.
 
Not that I'm happy with the maps situation or anything, but did Apple really have a choice when it came to Maps? For such a vertically integrated company, having to depend on Goolge for such a critical component of their smartphone offering was probably a Jupiter sized pebble in their shoe.

Gruber is an Apple fanboy, no doubt, but he does paint a realistic scenario:

Apple had two possibilities regarding maps:

A) Pay up and stick with Google's 3rd party tile based maps, which lack Turn-by-turn and vectorized roads. Two key features that Android phones have had for nearly 2 years and which iOS was never, ever going to get. But they would have kept Google's mind-blowing collection of data, including transit, accuracy, detailed an polished satellite views and street view. It'll take Apple years to match that.

B) Come up with their own mapping solution, which is really fucking hard. Buy up a bunch of smaller mapping companies and partner with Tom Tom. Out of this they get Vectorized Roads and Turn-by-Turn but lose Google's Big Data.

I think that such rationalization explains Apple's decision. But I think they underestimated the massive enterprise involved in mapping a whole fucking planet.

It took Google years to get to where they are and they are Google. That's what they fucking do. Big Data is their game. Apple is a hardware company. No doubt there was a lot of hubris involved. "We're Apple. We can fix anything just by throwing money at it."

No, you can't. Just ask Microsoft.

This is the fallacy going around. Google was open to doing turn by turn. Apple didn't want to do anything with Google's terms. By all accounts we could have a great Maps app with Google data but Apple couldn't get past their ego. That's the real heart of the situation.
 

Particle Physicist

between a quark and a baryon
This is the fallacy going around. Google was open to doing turn by turn. Apple didn't want to do anything with Google's terms. By all accounts we could have a great Maps app with Google data but Apple couldn't get past their ego. That's the real heart of the situation.

Doesn't this info all stem from one article? How reliable is the information about the talks between apple and google?
 

jcm

Member
This is the fallacy going around. Google was open to doing turn by turn. Apple didn't want to do anything with Google's terms. By all accounts we could have a great Maps app with Google data but Apple couldn't get past their ego. That's the real heart of the situation.

You must be a pretty high level executive with either Apple or Google to know what happened during their negotiations. Which one do you work for?
 

Tobor

Member
This is the fallacy going around. Google was open to doing turn by turn. Apple didn't want to do anything with Google's terms. By all accounts we could have a great Maps app with Google data but Apple couldn't get past their ego. That's the real heart of the situation.


Right, because we know exactly what the terms would have been.
 

KtSlime

Member
Right, because we know exactly what the terms would have been.
Pfft, it doesn't matter everyone already knows that regardless of their terms Apple should just agree to them, cause if they don't they are just being selfish and vindictive. Am I doing this right?
 
Right, because we know exactly what the terms would have been.

So what terms would have been unacceptable to you the end user?

Pfft, it doesn't matter everyone already knows that regardless of their terms Apple should just agree to them, cause if they don't they are just being selfish and vindictive. Am I doing this right?

Because we don't have any signs or clues that Apple is trying to distance themselves from Google right?
 

Tobor

Member
So what terms would have been unacceptable to you the end user?

Impossible to answer, as I don't know what the terms might have been.

Of the two speculated terms, I have no interest in entangling myself further with Google's services, so I agree with Apple on that point.
 

bionic77

Member
I randomly see the GPS icon in use when I am checking the time on my phone from time to time. According to location services the only two services that have used GPS in the past 24 hours are camera and siri. I have not used either in a long while.

Any idea what could be using GPS? Is it find my iphone?
 

Blackhead

Redarse
Right, because we know exactly what the terms would have been.

Pfft, it doesn't matter everyone already knows that regardless of their terms Apple should just agree to them, cause if they don't they are just being selfish and vindictive. Am I doing this right?

Obviously we don't have access to the contracts but we have some clues:
TheVerge said:
The Wall Street Journal reported in June that Google also wanted more prominent branding and the ability to add features like Latitude, and executives at the search giant were unhappy with Apple's renewal terms. But the existing deal between the two companies was still valid and didn't have any additional requirements, according to our sources — Apple decided to simply end it and ship the new maps with turn-by-turn.

*shrug*
 

KtSlime

Member
So what terms would have been unacceptable to you the end user?



Because we don't have any signs or clues that Apple is trying to distance themselves from Google right?

Can you blame them? Sorry, if I was Google, I'd make sure to offer Apple unreasonable terms, let all of Apple's customers get mad at Apple when they land face first trying to map the whole planet, and waltz in as the savior, with better maps and a banner of openness, shouting to anyone who will listen about how Apple is unreasonable. That's just business savviness.

If Google's terms were fair, and Apple is just doing this to piss off their own customers and lose millions of potential dollars, you might have a point. But I don't think Cook is that kind of businessman, in fact nothing that he has done has demonstrated this kind of behavior. The terms were probably very one-sided, but I'm not going to pretend I know them simply because of a few rumor websites who like to stir shit for ad revenue - and who don't care about what is true or false as long as it gets pages visits.
 

Blackhead

Redarse
Can you blame them? Sorry, if I was Google, I'd make sure to offer Apple unreasonable terms, let all of Apple's customers get mad at Apple when they land face first trying to map the whole planet, and waltz in as the savior, with better maps and a banner of openness, shouting to anyone who will listen about how Apple is unreasonable. That's just business savviness.

If Google's terms were fair, and Apple is just doing this to piss off their own customers and lose millions of potential dollars, you might have a point. But I don't think Cook is that kind of businessman, in fact nothing that he has done has demonstrated this kind of behavior. The terms were probably very one-sided, but I'm not going to pretend I know them simply because of a few rumor websites who like to stir shit for ad revenue - and who don't care about what is true or false as long as it gets pages visits.

Apple had been buying maps companies for years. To pretend that Apple still wouldn't want to boot GMaps even if Google's terms had fair, or the best possible, is a bit ridiculous. They wanted Apple Maps as the flagship feature for iOS6, everybody else be dammed, that much should be obvious.
 

buhdeh

Member
Can you blame them? Sorry, if I was Google, I'd make sure to offer Apple unreasonable terms, let all of Apple's customers get mad at Apple when they land face first trying to map the whole planet, and waltz in as the savior, with better maps and a banner of openness, shouting to anyone who will listen about how Apple is unreasonable. That's just business savviness.

Except this is real life and no company intentionally loses money to look like a hero to Internet nerds.
 
This is the fallacy going around. Google was open to doing turn by turn. Apple didn't want to do anything with Google's terms. By all accounts we could have a great Maps app with Google data but Apple couldn't get past their ego. That's the real heart of the situation.

There is another fallacy going around that it was Apple's ego that got in the way and caused them to switch the maps. Lets put that one behind us now as well, as it wasn't ego but business. Apple simply couldn't continue to let Google dictate terms of how maps worked on iOS. Really, when it boils down to it, that's where it was at. I'm not sure why two competitors diverging from one another is so difficult to understand.
 

Tobor

Member
What service would you be forced to use?

I don't know. if it's a single one, I'm glad the deal was scrapped. Look at the verge article. Add features(plural) like Google Latitude. You really think it was going to be the one service added?

Hey, maybe it was. Either way, my original point stands. We have no idea what the actual terms were.
 
There is another fallacy going around that it was Apple's ego that got in the way and caused them to switch the maps. Lets put that one behind us now as well, as it wasn't ego but business. Apple simply couldn't continue to let Google dictate terms of how maps worked on iOS. Really, when it boils down to it, that's where it was at. I'm not sure why two competitors diverging from one another is so difficult to understand.

We're kidding ourselves if we think this was strictly business. Their ego guided their business and it's one of those things that could go either way but I think their ego pushed them that way. There's no denying Apple was trying to distance themselves from Google at the expense of the end user because both of the vendetta Jobs had and they felt they wanted better control over their destiny for their business. Where there ego comes into play is where they thought they could do it and that what they had was acceptable. They took off way more than they could chew, had the surprise reaction that people were upset about this, and made the bold claim that it was the most powerful mapping service ever (which has since been removed). That's not ego at all?

Apple and Google make their businesses in different areas despite Android existing. Apple's focus is iOS and iPhone. Google's focus is search and services. Google doesn't care how they get you their service as long as they do. They don't care if it's on Android or iOS.

I don't know. if it's a single one, I'm glad the deal was scrapped. Look at the verge article. Add features(plural) like Google Latitude. You really think it was going to be the one service added?

Hey, maybe it was. Either way, my original point stands. We have no idea what the actual terms were.

Use some imagination. Look at all their services and everything that Google does. What realistically could Google have been asking for that would have been so terrible for the end user? This move was not about the end user experience. This move was political.
 

Blackhead

Redarse
There is another fallacy going around that it was Apple's ego that got in the way and caused them to switch the maps. Lets put that one behind us now as well, as it wasn't ego but business. Apple simply couldn't continue to let Google dictate terms of how maps worked on iOS. Really, when it boils down to it, that's where it was at. I'm not sure why two competitors diverging from one another is so difficult to understand.
Apple simply couldn't continue to let Google dictate terms of how maps worked on iOS.
Is that really true? Apple is at the top of the pile despite relying on Google Maps for the past 5 years. Are you suggesting that further reliance on Google Maps would have been their downfall?

Even if we accept that it was a business decision to remove Google Maps, the timing was entirely due to ego. Apple felt the maps was good enough/they were bulletproof enough to switch it now, not when their contract with Google was originally scheduled to end. That's Apple's ego not business reality

I don't know. if it's a single one, I'm glad the deal was scrapped. Look at the verge article. Add features(plural) like Google Latitude. You really think it was going to be the one service added?

Hey, maybe it was. Either way, my original point stands. We have no idea what the actual terms were.

This is stupid. Even on Android you're not forced to use latitude to use Google Maps. And you think Google would force iOS users? Is Google your boogey man or something silly?
 

KtSlime

Member
Except this is real life and no company intentionally loses money to look like a hero to Internet nerds.

Except for when Google has done just that. *cough*WebM*cough*

Attempting to call bluffs is something that is done all the time in business. You bet high when you think your opponent has bad cards, force them to fold, and keep things on your terms. Google clearly has the better mapping service and they knew it, they held all the control and according to rumors wanted more. Apple probably thought they had better cards than they do, and are riding this game out.

Apple is likely the biggest loser in all this, it will take a while before their mapping solution is trustworthy, and even longer before people decide to trust it. The gap between Android and iPhone is narrowing, especially with this chink in the armor of their software suite. So, are you saying Apple is intentionally losing money to look like villains to Internet nerds?

I think Apple should be free to run their business how they see fit (within the law), and apparently they don't like being in bed with Google as much as they had once in the past. If Apple suffers too much by not being close with Google either they will get back with Google, adapt, or perish. The market decides, it always does.

I promise you, if the iPhone is an inconvenience to me, I will switch to something that suits me better, I recommend everyone should do the same.
 

tmdorsey

Member
I randomly see the GPS icon in use when I am checking the time on my phone from time to time. According to location services the only two services that have used GPS in the past 24 hours are camera and siri. I have not used either in a long while.

Any idea what could be using GPS? Is it find my iphone?


Only thing I can think of is maybe Weather?
 

CrunchinJelly

formerly cjelly
I randomly see the GPS icon in use when I am checking the time on my phone from time to time. According to location services the only two services that have used GPS in the past 24 hours are camera and siri. I have not used either in a long while.

Any idea what could be using GPS? Is it find my iphone?

Look in Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services (right at the bottom)
 

buhdeh

Member
Apple is likely the biggest loser in all this, it will take a while before their mapping solution is trustworthy, and even longer before people decide to trust it. The gap between Android and iPhone is narrowing, especially with this chink in the armor of their software suite. So, are you saying Apple is intentionally losing money to look like villains to Internet nerds?

Huh? I'm more than certain Apple thought its Maps were ready for primetime. I don't think there is or was any intention of losing money there, especially when they ended their contract with Google early.
 

KtSlime

Member
Huh? I'm more than certain Apple thought its Maps were ready for primetime. I don't think there is or was any intention of losing money there, especially when they ended their contract with Google early.

Maps have to be released some time, sooner is almost always better than later, and the maps will mature much more in this year out in the public than they would in a year in the lab. I do think it is odd that they didn't do it via a beta program, but probably took the gamble hoping that the faster it has users, the faster they will have the data.

Can you imagine if they didn't end their contract early? Being in this near exact position in 2014? I believe that really would have hurt them.

Fact is, no organization can accurately map the Earth without crowdsourced data, and you get that by releasing the product.
 

Blackhead

Redarse
Maps have to be released some time, sooner is almost always better than later, and the maps will mature much more in this year out in the public than they would in a year in the lab. I do think it is odd that they didn't do it via a beta program, but probably took the gamble hoping that the faster it has users, the faster they will have the data.

Can you imagine if they didn't end their contract early? Being in this near exact position in 2014? I believe that really would have hurt them.

Fact is, no organization can accurately map the Earth without crowdsourced data, and you get that by releasing the product.
That's not how Apple rolls. They usually wait until they get a feature 'right' or not include it at all. Sooner is not "almost always better" to Apple and in this case it was clearly not better.
Apple wouldn't have been in the exact same position in 2013/2014 if they had waited because they would have had more time to get their maps up to speed and, perhaps more importantly, Google would have had a native app ready to ease the transition. The consensus from researchers and journalists is that crowd data is not the key to better maps from Apple but instead experts on the ground to gather data and stitch the data from different sources correctly. Apple's sources (TomTom, OSM) deliver better results when accessed directly than through the Maps app and crowd sourcing won't fix that. Crowdsourcing won't produce satellite images in UK. etc
 

Link

The Autumn Wind
So the voice recognition button has been grayed out on my keyboard all day. I haven't done anything to disable it and Siri is working fine. So GAF, what's up with that?
 
That's not how Apple rolls. They usually wait until they get a feature 'right' or not include it at all. Sooner is not "almost always better" to Apple and in this case it was clearly not better.
Apple wouldn't have been in the exact same position in 2013/2014 if they had waited because they would have had more time to get their maps up to speed and, perhaps more importantly, Google would have had a native app ready to ease the transition. The consensus from researchers and journalists is that crowd data is not the key to better maps from Apple but instead experts on the ground to gather data and stitch the data from different sources correctly. Apple's sources (TomTom, OSM) deliver better results when accessed directly than through the Maps app and crowd sourcing won't fix that. Crowdsourcing won't produce satellite images in UK. etc

Maps has a unique problem which is that it requires actual users to do the brunt of the work and reporting. They could have released it two years later but they would be confronted with the same exact problem.

In this case, as far as the strategy to rid themselves of being dependent on Google is concerned, sooner is better than later. Of course, the ultimate argument to be had is whether Apple has a cohesive plan to create a better experience than Google maps sometime down the line, because if not, then this decision stinks of corporate politics and nothing else.
 
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