Maps

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...

How to get turn by turn directions on Pebble watch

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

I was very reluctant to get a Pebble but I have to admit that finally purchasing one a couple months or so ago is probably the best decision I've made in a while. If you listen to Let's Talk iOS or Let's Talk Jailbreak, then you probably already know that I am now a complete Pebble convert. Well, that is at least until Apple comes up with its own wearable, because as it is, the Pebble is extremely limited with what you can do.

Getting directions on your Pebble for example is something that I was anticipating before buying the smartwatch, but as it turned out, the alternatives that are available in the App Store are so bad, that I couldn't believe someone hadn't figured out how to get turn by turn directions on the Pebble the right way. Then I had a breakthrough...

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...

Google Maps now lets you choose multiple modes of transit

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 28, 2014

Google has been dutifully adding new features to its native Maps application for the iPhone and iPad. Just earlier this month, we saw Google Maps gain a new feature allowing users to get notified when a faster route becomes available when heading towards a destination in the navigation mode.

Today's minor update, now live in the App Store, includes the obligatory bug fixes and another new feature: an improved route planning with multiple modes of transit.

Although it seems like a minor addition, the feature is quite handy when planning your route because you are no longer limited to defining a route based on either walking, driving or biking and can instead choose multiple modes of transit...

Waze gains Calendar support and event navigation

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2014

An update to Waze's free mapping, traffic and navigation app for the iPhone and iPad is about to land on the App Store later today, bringing integration with your iOS Calendar, the company wrote Thursday in a blog post.

More importantly, this Waze refresh allows you to navigate to Calendar events with just one tap, making it easy to access location-based events stored in the iOS Calendar, right within the app.

Waze for iPhone is available free of charge in the App Store. This particular update is expected to launch in the App Store later today...

Google Maps app updated with new ‘faster route’ feature

Cody Lee ∙ February 3, 2014

Despite being kicked off iOS in the fall of 2012, Google Maps has managed to maintain a high profile on Apple's platform. Released as a standalone app that same year, Google's Maps app offers a solid alternative to the stock application.

And it gets even better today. Google posted an updated for its iOS Maps app this morning that adds a new 'faster route' feature. Now, when you're heading towards a destination, you'll get notified when a faster route becomes available...

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...

Nokia pulls Here Maps because iOS 7 changes ‘harm user experience’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Nokia's long-standing mapping service rebranded as Here got announced in November 2012, with the native iPhone and iPad application arriving soon after with maps for around 200 countries, voice-guided walking navigation, public transportation directions and offline capability.

It was a nice little app that Nokia hoped would effectively fill the void in the App Store at the height of the iOS Mapsgate controversy.

Then, Google released its revamped standalone Maps for iPhone and spoiled the party for Nokia as its offering quickly tanked in App Store rankings. On Thursday, the embattled Finnish company has removed the Here application from the App Store, with a company spokesperson firing a potshot at Apple's iOS 7 in a written statement...

Apple believed to have acquired mapping firm BroadMap, note-taking app Catch

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

During Apple's latest earnings call, Tim Cook noted that the company made 15 'strategic acquisitions' during its fiscal 2013. But out of those 15 purchases, we've only heard about 9 or 10 of them, begging the question: who else did Apple buy this year?

Mark Gurman over at 9to5Mac has a pretty good theory about at least two of them. Citing sources inside Apple, as well as evidence from LinkedIn and other sites, Gurman is reporting that Apple also acquired mapping firm BroadMap and Catch this year...