Apple Still Looking for Help on Improving iOS Maps App

Apple Still Looking for Help on Improving iOS Maps App

Apple’s recent job postings indicate that the company is still working to expand its team to address issues around its in-house Mapping system in use in its iOS 6 operating system.

iOS6_Maps

AppleInsider:

Monday and Tuesday saw no fewer than seven map-related job listings posted to Apple’s corporate site. The listings call for software engineers to be tasked with improving Apple’s much-maligned mapping solution. One listing in particular calls for a computer-vision expert, who will take on improving Flyover, Apple’s 3D terrain visualization feature.

The recent job postings indicate that Apple is working hard to bring its mapping system up to par with Google’s offering. Apple dropped Google Maps in iOS 6. Apple has recently posted listings for ten software engineers to work on iOS Maps. Nine would be assigned assorted programming duties, with the tenth working on navigation.

Since Apple’s iOS Maps debuted in September of 2012 with the introduction of iOS 6, it has been both praised and condemned. While users appreciated the new features such as turn-by-turn navigation, its inaccurate map location data and faulty rendering of 3D flyover data drew criticism from users.

Apple responded to complaints almost immediately, with a personal apology from Apple CEO Tim Cook, followed by firings of responsible parties, and then the assembling of a seemingly ever-growing team to tackle the issue.