The iApology – Apple CEO Tim Cook Says Sorry for the iMaps Fiasco

The iOS 6 maps upgrade got into controversy with the number of flaws reported by its users. Personally, I don’t hate the new maps that much! (I have an iPhone 4S where 3D maps in UK work quite well – however, I have only used the new maps with the intention of playing around!).

I feel it is a major upgrade over the earlier stock maps app, although there are quite a lot of discrepancies as compared to the earlier Google Maps.

Acknowledging the faults in the new not-so-accurate Maps, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook issued an apology in an open letter to the public on Apple’s website. And, I am delighted by Apple’s move!

Well, it takes a lot of courage for a company as big as Apple to feel “extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused” and publish below for the public pointing to competitive alternatives.

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

Here is the full version of the letter.

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

What do  you think about this open letter from Tim Cook. Do you think Apple will be able to keep up with its promise? Do drop in your comments below…