The latest iPhone operating system is missing a key feature: Embedded Google maps. Instead, phones using iOS 6 will be treated to Apple's own mapping system, and that's a very mixed bag, analysts tell the New York Times of the software update released yesterday. Sure, it looks nice; it zooms and pans faster and offers 3D overhead views of major cities. Plus, users can ask Siri for directions and get detailed, spoken guidance. But Apple's brand new system needs some serious tweaking.
Notes an entrepreneur blogger: Apple has "used their platform dominance to privilege their own app over a competitor’s offering, even though it’s a worse experience for users." For example, the app couldn't find "Heine Brothers" coffee shop when a user searched for "Heine Bros." Nor was it able to identify Bloomberg's headquarters in New York. There's no public transportation information, and sometimes the app comes up with the wrong city in searches. "It takes a long time and effort to figure out how to do this right," says a Google rep. But with millions of potential users, Apple is likely to give the app a serious upgrade within a year or two, an expert notes. (More Apple stories.)
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