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Thursday, Sep 20, 2012 9:53 PM UTC

Users attack Apple’s new maps app

Apple's bid to dethrone Google Maps has proven unpopular so far

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Topics: ios 6, iphone 5, technology, iPad, Twitter, Google, iPhone, Apple, ,

Users attack Apple's new maps app

Google Maps has been trending on Twitter all day. That’s because Apple’s new iOs 6 operating system — released with the new iPhone 5 and also available as an update for the iPad — replaces the search giant’s map app with its own. Apple’s map system, which includes 3-D city views and voice navigation, was supposed to deliver an upgrade. But some hilariously bad map images and incorrect locations, some of which are compiled on this Tumblr, has resulted in a public relations mess for Apple.

As BuzzFeed reports, the unreliable maps are more than inconvenient — they can be dangerous:

My iPhone, like almost any modern smartphone, could find out from Google where the nearest hospital is, or where the nearest train or bus home could pick me up. At the very least, it could help me find what I’m looking for in an unfamiliar area where aimless wandering might be unwise. A dark, isolated street doesn’t feel so dark and isolated when you can see it from space, and know that the next train is three blocks away and leaves in five minutes.

Apple has fostered this feeling of safety for five years, and users weren’t wrong to buy into it — the instant availability of GPS location and rich, searchable maps is a truly life-changing development, and something we’ll soon forget was once impossible. To remove the app that provide both the feeling of safety and actual safety only to replace it with something that looks similar but in reality is far less able is like a trick – Apple is suggesting capabilities where there are none. It is giving iOS 6 users afalse sense of security.

Apple fans may want to stick to older models, after all.

 

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Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com. More Prachi Gupta.

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