The great nation down under has not been taking very kindly to Apple, with the Australian police labelling the Apple Maps found in iOS 6 as a genuine threat to public safety. The cops have not only called the new Maps app a hazard, but also strongly recommended the Aussies to ditch their iPhones for a device that can actually map accurately.
The Victoria Police Department in Australia issued the strong statement after several travelers who put their faith in the turn-by-turn navigation instructions were directed to the middle of nowhere instead of their intended destination. Many motorists have reported that instead of being guided to their destinations, Apple Maps had directed them to middle of Murray-Sunset National Park, an area that’s far from civilization.
Being taken into a national forest isn’t so bad, being in the middle of nature and all, but Murray Sunset National Park is known for its harsh weather conditions. Temperatures reach north of 46 Celsius, and the park has no drinkable water reserves. The closest point of interest is about 70 kilometers from the park, making getting stranded here not so ideal.
We have known for quite some time now that the Apple Maps have only been a half-baked product that was rushed into iOS 6 in order to uproot Google. The fiasco was so great that parodies have cropped up all over the internet about how “Apple is fixing the Earth to reflect what’s in the Map app.” The strong public out-cry over the failed product got Apple CEO Tim Cook to issue an official public apology, soon after which, Scott Forestall, the man in charge of iOS releases was asked to leave the company.
Apple Maps really is ineffective and all you need to do is do a local search to figure that out. We have found them to be utterly useless in New Delhi, India, where it failed to recognize any popular place, or even deliver directions between two pins on a relatively simple path. If you’re stuck on iOS 6, we strongly recommend getting yourself a copy of Nokia Here maps, which we found in our review to be almost as good and accurate as Google Maps. You can read our review here.
Also read,
Google Maps app for iOS 6 in final testing stages: Report
Google updates its Search for iOS app with voice search
Apple fires Scott Forstall over Maps debacle