Apple tenders apology over map app errors

CEO Tim Cook says company is “extremely sorry” and asks users to use alternate map apps in the interim.

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Apple's apology comes after users flocked to social media to complain and make fun of the app's glitches [Apple]

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook says the company is “extremely sorry” for the frustration its Maps application has caused and it is doing everything it can to make it better.

He said in a letter posted online on Friday that Apple “fell short” of its commitment to make the best products for its customers.

“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,” he said.

In the meantime, Cook recommended that people use competing map applications to get around.

A link to the letter appears on the firm’s home page.

“At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customer,” Cook wrote in the latest case.

“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,” said Cook.

The Cupertino, California, company released an update to its iPhone and iPad operating system last week that replaced Google Maps with Apple’s own map application.

But users complained that the new map software offers fewer details, lacks public transit directions and misplaces landmarks, among other problems. 

Users complained that the new Maps service – based on Dutch navigation equipment and digital map maker TomTom NV’s data – contained geographical errors and gaps in information, and that it lacked features that made Google Maps so popular from public transit directions to traffic data and street-view pictures.

Unusual landmarks

Users have been flocking to social media to complain and make fun of the app’s glitches.

Examples include satellite maps that only show cloud cover, towns located in the wrong place, missing bodies of water, absent roads, incorrectly spelt place names and suggested driving directions that would take users on odd routes.

In addition some of the 3D rendered images look bizarre including a flattened Eiffel Tower, cars that appear to have melted into roads and a road that looks like it has plunged into the US’s Hoover Dam.

Apple released the iPhone 5 last week and on Monday it said it sold more than five million of them in three days. That was fewer than analysts expected, even though the number is a record for any phone.

Source: News Agencies