Developers had warned Apple about iOS maps –report

Apple Inc. had been warned of potential issues about its Maps app for iOS 6, with the warning coming from members of the developer community, a tech site reported this week.

 

CNET said developers complained about Apple's Maps since getting the first pre-release version in early June, CNET reported.

 

"I posted at least one doomsayer rant after each (developer) beta, and I wasn't alone," CNET quoted a developer with three iOS apps in the App Store as saying.

 

The developer said the "mood amongst the developers" was that the maps were "so shockingly bad" that reporting individual problems was futile.

 

"What was needed wasn't so much an interface for reporting a single point as incorrect, but for selecting an entire region and saying 'all of this -- it's wrong,'" the developer said.

 

CNET also cited threads on Apple's developer forums as saying some of the problems included mixed-up locations, clouds in satellite imagery, and maps less detailed than those of rival Google.

 

One of the developers said one Apple employee did get back and claimed the issue was "well understood," but no update came.

 

Also, some developers said the upgrade to iOS 6 broke some of the features they built within their apps. They said they were told only the imagery would be swapped out.

 

CNET also quoted some developers as saying they did not fault Apple for wanting to control its own software, but said Apple appeared to rush this one.

 

The criticisms against the Maps for iOS 6 app had prompted CEO Tim Cook to issue an apology.

 

Meanwhile, improvements have been noticed on maps of some locations, along with added 3D views, more recent satellite imagery, and fixes to search results. — TJD, GMA News