Apple's iOS 6 Maps Failure

The new Apple Maps app has been so poorly received, this photo appears in the app store--the company itself is offering you alternative sources for maps.

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pple is known for being on the cutting edge of technology, so when the iOS 6 update was made available a couple of weeks ago, users all over naturally updated their phones, only to find the new, highly-hyped Apple Maps feature to be a complete disaster. Considering Google has made available a standalone maps browser that you can use instead of Apple's maps, it's safe to say that the gaffe did not go unnoticed. So how did it even make it to the release? And are there ways around using those glitchy maps?

Merely days after the Apple Maps release, there was already a mocking Tumblr created, titled The Amazing iOS6 Maps, with user-submitted screenshots of the botched maps. Uneven roads, missing information, and misplaced bodies of water were just a few things gone wrong with the new app. Tom Tom, the company that provided the data and maps to Apple, claims that the problem lies with Apple, and stands by their data.

The photo on the left is from Nokia Maps and depicts the Brooklyn Bridge. The photo on the right is Apple's attempt at the same viewpoint.

It's surprising that a company built on innovation released such a bug-laden feature, but hopefully they'll be issuing a fix sooner rather than later.

As for avoiding using the pathetically-drawn maps, you have the option of downloading a Google Maps app to revert back to what you're used to. It's unfortunately not quite the same as the old Google Maps app, but anything is better than Apple Maps, right?

To do this, go to maps.google.com, and there will be a prompt that asks you if you'd like to install the web app onto your phone, a process that involves simply tapping a key and pressing the "add to home screen option."

Another option is to download the app OpenMaps. It's a free app that allows you to get maps and directions, as well as mark places on a map.

Though there are alternatives, we can't help but be surprised and disappointed that the new Apple maps are so terrible—when an entire blog is dedicated to how bad something is, you know it's really, really bad.