Why Apple Maps Sucked
The Silicon Valley giant made a hasty U-turn with iOS 6, and the journey that has followed shows us what makes Apple, well, Apple.
The most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever
The summer of 2012 is wrapping up. Obama’s up for re-election, and Gangnam Style is dominating the internet. You’re on your way to work, bogged down as usual in heavy Manhattan traffic. Suddenly, a scene of horror comes into view. The Brooklyn Bridge has collapsed — no, melted — into the East River. Entire roads have been warped, cars and their passengers flattened. Oh, the humanity!
Similarly unfathomable scenes of armageddon played out across the world. Parts of Switzerland turned black and white. Cars sunk into the asphalt in Las Vegas. A black hole appeared in place of a river in Tennessee.
Was this it — the end of the world? Had the Mayans gotten it right?
Not quite. It was September 19th. Hundreds of millions of iPhone owners had set their devices to update to iOS 6 the night before. They awoke to the brand new Apple Maps app digitally desecrating much of the globe. Doomsday hadn’t befallen Earth just yet, but the same…
