ABSTRACT
When Apple launched the iOS 6 version of their operating system for the iPhone to correspond with the launch of the iPhone 5 in September 2012, the feature that brought the most attention was the removal of Google Maps, which was replaced by Apple’s new in-house Maps app. Initially, Google Maps was not only removed from the system but was also unavailable for downloading by users who preferred it to Apple Maps. Within hours of the launch of iOS 6, the firestorm of complaints began to spread across the Internet. Within 48 hours, users had posted 245 screen captures from their iPhones to the Tumblr page, The Amazing iOS 6 Maps, showing absurd glitches and misdirections from the Apple Maps app. These posts included a wide range of errors from geographical distortions in the Apple Maps 3D perspective to driving directions that took people across oceans and airport runways. Apple was also criticized for not including directions for users of public transportation, a move commented on by the @iOS-6Maps satire Twitter account: “Look, we left out transit directions because only losers take public transport. All iPhone owners drive BMWs, everyone knows that.” 1 Most critiques that echoed throughout the web in the days and months that followed the release of Apple Maps resonated with Anil Dash’s argument in his article, “Who Benefits from iOS6’s Crappy Maps?” in which he wrote, “Apple made this maps change despite its shortcomings because they put their own priorities for corporate strategy ahead of user experience.” 2
