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My how has Apple changed since the departure of Steve Jobs. Remember antennagate with the iPhone 4? It took Apple weeks to even acknowledge a problem and then when they did acknowledge, they took longer to come up with a fix and never openly admitted they made a mistake. Fast forward today and not only has Apple accepted that iOS Maps is crappy within a week of its release but they are also issuing an official apology for sucking it up.
The following is an official letter by Apple’s CEO Tim Cook:
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
Translation: we sucked it up and, despite millions of people using iOS Maps, it still sucks — so use the competition instead.
To help users find alternative map apps, Apple has even featured a bunch of alternative map apps on Apple App Store:
As if that isn’t enough, Apple really wants people to know it is taking steps to fix its mistake… by providing users with directions on how to use Google Maps or Nokia Maps on iOS 6:
Accepting their mistake, issuing an apology, and directing customers to use rival services… all in one week? Maybe Apple has changed.
