Google map’s return to iOS heralds the irrelevance of Apple maps.
- It will have been with gritted teeth that Apple allowed Google Maps to return to iOS.
- Not only has Google brought the world’s best map application back to iOS, but it has also released an SDK (Software Development Kit) that will allow the makers of other applications have direct access to its mapping data.
- For once Apple is on the back foot.
- Its own mapping application is woefully inadequate and the outlook for it to improve in the short term is poor.
- This is because maps are a hard, long grind to get right and Apple has really only just started.
- This is a nasty situation for Apple as could not really refuse access to iOS to Google Maps.
- Refusal would have brought the ire of many users and substantially increased the risk of defections to platforms where better maps are available.
- Now that the Ferrari of maps is back, I suspect that the unhappy users of Apple maps will drop it like a ton of bricks.
- The problem is that the damage is done. Everyone thinks that Apple maps are rubbish and there will be a strong disinclination to try it again even when it has been fixed.
- This is further evidence that the days of differentiation within the user interface are coming to an end.
- Graphically rich user interfaces are something of a commodity these days and unless Microsoft really gets some traction or integration becomes important, it is likely to remain that way.
- The fact that people in Australia had to be rescued by the police after following bad directions on Apple Maps shows how important the mapping function has become.
- Hence, I can see maps becoming a factor in the user purchase decision which was probably what forced Apple’s hand but it also plays nicely for Android.
- Google now has some influence in iOS. It can make the Android version better than the iOS version and therby try and influence people to switch.
- However, I think this point is really moot. The battle that really matters will be Google Maps vs. Nokia Maps.
- This is because Apple remains in a category by itself and I don’t believe that poor maps is enough to make people give up all that they love about iOS.
- The real threat to Android, and I believe its main competitor, is Microsoft which is running with Nokia Maps.
- Nokia maps are much better than Apple maps but they are not yet in the same class as Google.
- As Microsoft gains traction, battle will be joined but for now the momentum remains with Google and Android.
Blog Comments
tatilsever
December 13, 2012 at 9:34 pm
> “It will have been with gritted teeth that Apple allowed Google Maps to return to iOS.”
Umm, is that the same gritted teeth Apple has used while allowing other maps and navigation apps for years now. Some are free, some are quite pricey. Some depends on streamed maps, some of them come pre-loaded with their own maps of whole countries or regions. These are not a bunch of kindergarten kids having a pissing match…
> “Everyone thinks that Apple maps are rubbish”
Have you ever used it yourself or are you just regurgitating some click baiting rubbish blog posts elsewhere? I found that in the few occasions they differ the driving directions were actually more practical with Apple’s TomTom supplied maps. Searching for POIs was lacking in some instances and it would probably be more so for Europe, but your characterization does not sound like a fair and balanced take.
It is not like I was never routed by Google to an office building used by an oil company while in need of a gas station or to bar prep classes while looking for some drinks. I also got told by Nokia/Navteq map data to take a wrong turn into oncoming traffic on a one way street during one my few tries recently.
> “The fact that people in Australia had to be rescued by the police after following bad directions on Apple Maps shows how important the mapping function has become.”
I suppose you missed the news about Australian police making a similar declaration in another part of Australia about, wait for it, mistakes in Google Maps:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/technology/news/article/-/15610781/police-warn-of-safety-concerns-from-google-maps/
> “Google now has some influence in iOS. It can make the Android version better than the iOS version and therby try and influence people to switch.”
That does not add up at all. First of all, Google is on the record saying that they designed the iOS version better than the Android version. Besides, if Google really wanted to use maps as a differentiation for Android, it could have withheld its app from iOS completely, making the difference between the platforms stark rather than slight. Which one sounds more effective? “Use Android, it’s got Google Maps” or “Use Android, its version of Google Maps have this one button where you need it, instead of hidden under two layers of menus”.
It sounds like Google feels that it needs to be on iOS, otherwise why bother with the app? In order to overcome user inertia to get people to download it over the default version, it needs to work hard on it. iOS had roughly half the smartphone sales in the US over the summer before iPhone 5 was released. I doubt Google can afford to leave all the high end advertising revenue that would come from all these eyeballs.
> “This is further evidence that the days of differentiation within the user interface are coming to an end.”
Even on the desktop, where companies had decades to refine their offerings, Macs are selling at higher margins with growing market share while PC sales are stagnant at best. I believe user interface is part of the equation for users switching from Windows, not just Aluminum laptop bodies, which would be easier to replicate for other PC makers. Why should users be more indifferent for UI in smartphones where the screen real estate is even more scarce?
Richard L
December 22, 2012 at 4:40 am
It will probably never happen, but Apple could by Nokia and get Navteq, which I believe provides mapping data to Microsoft’s mapping services. That would give Apple a good boost to its mapping data efforts.
windsorr
January 2, 2013 at 11:35 am
More likely is that Apple just buys Navteq. It look like it is being packaged up for sale. However, with Microsoft now dependent on Nokia maps, I suspect that it would buy Nokia and Navteq long before Apple would get a look in!,