Apple Maps

Apple hiring software engineers to help ‘overhaul’ Maps backend

Cody Lee ∙ July 2, 2014

According to a pair of new job listings, Apple is looking for folks to help with a major rewrite of its Maps app programming interface. The listings, which were posted yesterday, call for software engineers to aid the company in a major overhaul of its Maps API.

The job descriptions call for cross-functional leaders to join the Apple Maps API team, which is responsible for the "doorway" to all systems powering the Maps service. The company says it has "big plans" for the API, and is overhauling things front-to-back...

Video: hidden iOS 8 Maps feature – Flyover City Tours

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 19, 2014

There's a nicely done new Apple Maps feature hidden in iOS 8 Beta 2. Called City Tours, it's basically a set of manually programmed and scripted virtual tours of select major cities, rendered and animated in Maps' three-dimensional Flyover mode.

Apple hasn't talked about City Tours during its WWDC keynote (aside from a brief mention on one slide) and the feature couldn't be found on the official iOS 8 webpage, in WWDC session videos or inside Apple's official developer documentation...

Personnel issues and internal politics blamed for lack of iOS 8 Maps announcements at WWDC

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 9, 2014

Mark Gurman has established himself as the most reliable Apple blogger out there so we were confused seeing his sources fail him so badly in predicting announcements Apple should've made at WWDC.

For instance, he called for new hardware at WWDC, but Apple's developers conference focused - rather predictably, I should add - on software.

Gurman also said Apple would give OS X a larger presence at the five-day event whereas the company didn't discriminate between iOS 8 and Yosemite.

Most importantly, he made several claims concerning Apple taking iOS 8 Maps to the next level by adding public transit directions, a car finding feature, more points of interests, better labels and so forth. In reality, the Cupertino firm only briefly mentioned that it's updated iOS 8 Maps in China with vector graphics. So, what's going on here?

CEO of indoor positioning startup Wifarer has joined Apple ahead of iOS 8 Maps push

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

According to an exclusive TechCrunch report Thursday, Philip Stanger, the CEO and co-founder of indoor positioning startup Wifarer, has joined Apple's Maps team ahead of the anticipated push to improve the company's in-house mapping software in time for the assumed launch of iOS 8 this Fall.

He's now with the Apple Maps team in a “leadership role,” the publication has learned though the report cautions that Apple did not acquire the startup as some sources have speculated.

Wifarer, which is available as an iOS and Android app, features dynamic real-time indoor positioning to help people navigate malls, museums and other venues. Apple of course has its own micro-location indoor positioning system in the form of iBeacons.

Watchers have speculated that these micro-transmitters installed in shopping malls, retail stores, airports and elsewhere could also be used to collect data to improve Apple Maps and Stanger's hiring certainly seems to point in that direction...

Apple Maps adds 3D Flyover of Stonehenge

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple lately has been increasingly expanding coverage of the three-dimensional view of its mapping service. Just earlier this month, 3D Flyover coverage extended to include the east side of the San Francisco Bay Area, including the city of Berkeley and its University of California, the birthplace of the flavor of Unix used in OS X and iOS.

But what if you could take a 3D topographic tour of the ancient monument? Well, now you can as Flyover coverage now includes areas of Wiltshire, England, about two miles west of Amesbury and eight miles north of Salisbury where this mysterious prehistoric monument is located...

Apple Maps 3D flyover coverage expands to Berkeley and East Bay areas

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple continues to add major new areas to the 3D Flyover coverage in its mapping service available on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices running iOS 6 or later and Macs running OS X Mavericks.

In late-March, the firm expanded 3D Flyover coverage to include Australia’s Perth, Spain’s Cordoba and France’s Saint Tropez and now Apple's in-house Maps team has added three-dimensional maps for the areas of California including the city of Berkeley and the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay Area...

Apple poaches VP of Amazon A9′s Search Technology group

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple has made another high-profile hire, having poached Benoit Dupin, Vice President of Amazon A9′s Search Technology group, according to the executive's professional business profile on LinkedIn.

Benoit, who brings over fifteen years of international technology industry experience within a wide range of disciplines, has left Amazon to help Apple improve search features in its own mapping service, sources speculated on Tuesday.

He isn't the first Amazon executive to have left for 1 Infinite Loop. Back in October 2012, Apple hired away another prominent Amazon search technologist, William Stasior, who is now working with the Siri team...

3D Flyover views for Cordoba, Perth and Saint-Tropez now live in Apple Maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 24, 2014

Apple has added to its struggling Maps service cool three-dimensional Flyover views for three major new cities in Australia and Europe.

Starting today, anyone can rotate and zoom in on the architectural details and explore the topography of Australia's Perth, Spain's Cordoba and France's Saint Tropez.

The company's been dutifully expanding 3D Flyover coverage in more place around the world. Back in January, folks living in the cities of Marseille, France; Cape Town, South Africa; and Helsinki, Finland started seeing 3D Flyover maps in Apple Maps on iOS and OS X...

New in iOS 7.1: Maps navigation prompts through your car’s stereo over Bluetooth

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 11, 2014

Apple has delivered iOS 7.1 yesterday, its first major iOS update since the software's launch nearly six months ago. We've already detailed some of the noteworthy enhancements like Touch ID reliability improvements, new Siri features, CarPlay support, a bunch of bug fixes - some of which have been credited to prominent iOS hackers like the evad3rs team - and more.

According to developer Mike Piontek, Maps in iOS 7.1 includes a poorly labeled new feature called HFP Prompts which allows the app to play navigation prompts over your car’s speakers, via Bluetooth, even when the iPhone is not selected as the audio source. It's a great addition to Apple's in-car initiative because no longer do you have to fiddle with audio settings as HFP Prompts automatically does the right thing for you.

Jump past the fold for the full breakdown...

Report sheds light on public transit directions in iOS 8’s Maps and other new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 11, 2014

A new report by the reliable blogger Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac has offered new details concerning Apple's Maps service in iOS 8, the next major iteration of Apple's mobile operating system for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices, which is expected to be released later this year.

Gurman learned from sources briefed on Apple's plans that CEO Tim Cook, SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue, SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi and Maps head Patrice Gautier have been leading teams of Apple engineers since former iOS chief Scot Forstall’s departure in order to polish and enhance the service so it lives up to the “incredibly high standard” of Apple’s customers.

Here's what you should expect from Apple Maps in iOS 8...

How CarPlay predicts where you may be heading

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 3, 2014

Apple's press release and the CarPlay preview page state that the newly rebranded feature lets drivers access some iPhone functionality through their vehicle's in-car infotainment system.

Specifically, Apple mentions getting directions, making calls, sending and receiving messages and listening to music.

This is all pretty basic stuff, unless you take a closer look at how Apple brought context awareness and tapped artificial intelligence to predict where you may be heading, so you don't even need to enter in an address for a final destination...

Apple Maps 3D Flyover coverage expanded in Marseille, Cape Town and Helsinki

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 15, 2014

Apple has already boosted 3D Flyover coverage of its Maps service in the United States, France and a bunch of other key markets around the world and today the company has expanded three-dimensional Flyover views in France, South Africa and Finland.

Customers residing in the cities of Marseille (France), Cape Town (South Africa) and Helsinki (Finland) can now take advantage of 3D Flyover maps, which Apple creates by crunching data obtained by sending a fleet of planes that capture high-resolution terrain imagery at multiple angles...