While Apple Maps made debut in 2012, it hugely falls behind in terms of accurate navigation, and the company has been working on rebuilding its mapping technology from the ground up to ensure more detailed information.
Apple has set out to collect data by itself, which instead of relying on third-party mapping providers, is doing this by using first-party data gathered by iPhone users with a privacy-first methodology and own fleet of cars packed with sensors and cameras.
And come next week, when iOS 12 beta will roll out, people in the San Francisco Bay Area will begin to experience more detailed information and more accurate navigation with Apple Maps.
The Maps revamp is the biggest since debut and comes at a time when location data is piloting future innovations such as self-driving cars, even as the company had sort help from additional data providers to fill the gaps in location, base map, point-of-interest and business data.
The revamped Maps will launch in San Francisco and the Bay Area with the next iOS 12 beta and will cover Northern California by fall, while the updated maps will eventually get to all iOS devices, and will feature more detailed ground cover, foliage, pools, pedestrian pathways and more.
Apple is targeting the entire US with the update, though the company didn't say how much time that's left to cover the entire country, nor if the planned upgrade will eventually be available internationally.
The first release of the homegrown mapping program arrived with iOS 6 mobile software and the iPhone 5 in September 2012, albeit Apple Maps failed to sway iOS users to its side as they immediately began to complain of everything from navigation to searching for location.
Perhaps, the company will be able to get things right this time, as it already understand the importance to own all of the data that goes into mapping, and to control it from a quality as well as a privacy perspective.
No comments