Tim Cook: First major mistake was Apple Maps
The switch from Google Maps to its own mapping service was embarrassing for Apple in 2012 – and led to upheaval. The departing CEO remembers.
Tim Cook and the first version of Apple Maps: Initially much criticism.
(Image: Apple / Montage heise medien)
In the fall, Apple's decision to part ways with Google Maps as its mapping service and launch its own offering with Apple Maps will be 14 years old. For Tim Cook, who will hand over the baton to John Ternus as CEO in September, the memory of it is obviously still associated with a certain trauma. Because the service was by no means error-free at the beginning and Cook himself personally apologized publicly. This was followed by the firing of a directly responsible person and finally the departure of the once powerful iOS chief Scott Forstall.
Product not ready – but Cook reacted
Cook reported this at a town hall meeting of the iPhone group held in April. The launch of Apple Maps was “his first really big mistake” as CEO. “The product wasn't ready and we thought we were just testing a local service there.” Instead, it became apparent how dependent users were on it. For example, Apple Maps displayed familiar places incorrectly, there were various graphical errors, and navigation sometimes didn't work. All in all, the user experience was significantly worse than with Google Maps before.
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In addition to the management changes following this misstep, Apple reacted quickly: Cook ordered the problem to be solved, and Apple Maps improved year by year. The service is now on par with Google Maps, and in some areas even better, for example with the street view service LookAround. However, starting in the summer, Apple is also planning a – at least from a critic's perspective – deterioration: for the first time, Apple Maps is intended to generate revenue for the company with advertising. Users accustomed to purely editorial content might find this disturbing, as some have “fled” Google Maps precisely for this reason.
Proud of the Apple Watch
However, Cook was proud at the event when presenting the Apple Watch and especially its health features. He receives messages from users daily saying that the watch has saved their lives – thanks to the various diagnostic functions for high blood pressure or pulse, for example. He still remembers when he received the first message about it, Cook said.
Apple has always been about doing the right thing for its users. “[In the Apple Maps debacle] we apologized and told people: Go to these other apps, they are better than ours.” That was a bitter pill to swallow. “But it was the right thing for our users.” That's an example of putting them at the center of our decisions.
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