I'm not sure if you're aware, but the launch of Apple Maps went poorly. After a rough first impression, an apology from the CEO, several years of patching holes with data partnerships and some glimmers of light with long-awaited transit directions and improvements in business, parking and place data, Apple Maps is still not where it needs to be to be considered a world-class service.
Maps needs fixing.
Apple, it turns out, is aware of this, so it's re-building the maps part of Maps.
It's doing this by using first-party data gathered by iPhones with a privacy-first methodology and its own fleet of cars packed with sensors and cameras. The new product will launch in San Francisco and the Bay Area with the next iOS 12 beta and will cover Northern California by fall.
Every version of iOS will get the updated maps eventually, and they will be more responsive to changes in roadways and construction, more visually rich depending on the specific context they're viewed in and feature more detailed ground cover, foliage, pools, pedestrian pathways and more.
This is nothing less than a full re-set of Maps and it's been four years in the making, which is when Apple began to develop its new data-gathering systems. Eventually, Apple will no longer rely on third-party data to provide the basis for its maps, which has been one of its major pitfalls from the beginning.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by LoRdTAW on Monday July 02 2018, @11:37AM (1 child)
They made this thing called paper and a compass. Maps can be printed on it and retained without flash memory or batteries. You should check that shit out.
(seriously, if you're going to hike in the middle of nowhere, DO NOT rely on technology. Learn to use a paper map and compass. Buy a separate handheld gps receiver which are ruggedized for outdoor use.)
(Score: 1) by anubi on Monday July 02 2018, @12:40PM
The GPS technology is here, and its so cheap I can take multiple receivers with me ( GPS phones ). I know about paper maps, and compasses, but I am often ignorant of my exact longitude and latitude, but GPS will tell me exactly where I am.
Yes, I do carry a magnetic compass with me as well, and an AAA road atlas. I just want to get away occasionally, to go meditate. Find a pretty place and camp for a few days...
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]