Apple chief executive apologises for faulty Maps app

By Daniel Farey-Jones, marketingmagazine.co.uk, Friday, 28 September 2012 02:56PM

Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, has issued an apology to customers for the "frustration" caused by its new Maps app and suggested they use alternatives such as Bing, Google and Nokia.

In the open letter to customers, placed on the Apple website, Cook says staff at Apple are "extremely sorry … and doing everything we can to make Maps better".

The launch of Maps, preloaded with Apple's new operating system iOS6, last week led to a torrent of criticism, after users discovered numerous errors in its cartography, including a city in the sea and the disappearance of Shakespeare's home town.

Cook's letter reads:

To our customers,

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment.

We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.

There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.

While we're improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.

Tim Cook
Apple's CEO

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This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk