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Apple hints at Maps data-collection project taking place in New York

Apple-Maps-NYC

Apple has for a long time hired engineers around the globe to contribute to making its Maps experience better. While positions for its team outside Cupertino usually consist of Maps Quality Analysts and Ground Truth managers that submit region specific corrections for Maps, a new job listing on Apple’s website hints at a “data-collection project” planned for New York.

The location of the position is listed as a Austin, Texas, but Apple says the job requires 75% travel and is a full-time role based in New York.

We don’t learn much else about the project from the job listing, but it’s the first to hit Apple’s site mentioning the data-collection project and specifically hiring for a Maps team based in New York. The position is for an Assistant Project Lead on the Maps team that will “lead a team of contractors in a data-collection project.” Apple’s people in New York and job listings for the location mostly consist of HR, marketing, and sales roles, and up until today nothing specifically for the Maps team.

What data exactly is Apple collecting through its new data-collection project is anyone’s guess, but it does have a handful of new mapping features headed for upcoming iOS releases that come to mind. Perhaps mostly notable is the transit directions that were planned for iOS 8 but not ready to show on stage at WWDC. 

Apple has other new features coming to Maps in iOS 8 as well, including indoor mapping features, Flyover city tours, and Vector maps and Navigation for China. Apple also of course currently gets a lot of its Maps data from other sources like TomTom and relies on third-parties for points of interest like business listings. We’ll have to investigate more to find out what Apple is up to, but iconic New York City would certainly be a good place to start if Apple has plans to step up its own data collection for Maps.

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Comments

  1. Taste_of_Apple - 10 years ago

    Maps has come a long way and is bound to get better. I’ve rarely had a major issue, though it’s by no means perfect.

  2. Alex (@Metascover) - 10 years ago

    Please bring back street view.

    • Mr. Grey (@mister_grey) - 10 years ago

      Plus a million. If you walk or bike, street view in essential and even if they eventually fix the data on Apple maps, it still won’t be shit without street view.

  3. fredhstein - 10 years ago

    Yup, Indoor mapping and mass transit. Almost all developers live in the burbs, but most of the of world live in big cities – even (or especially) in developing nations.

  4. Mr. Grey (@mister_grey) - 10 years ago

    There are many RUMOURS of Apple improving it’s maps and there are many STORIES published each year like this one that hint at improvements to come, but in the TWO YEARS it’s been out there hasn’t been a single improvement of any kind. Not one.

    They haven’t corrected ANY flaws in the data or added ANY new data to the maps in my area in all that time. It doesn’t even give walking directions in my town, let alone mark bike routes. But hey, that’s okay, because at least 80-90% of all the businesses are missing anyway, so where could it possibly route you to?

    • sammy90483 - 10 years ago

      If you use the report a problem button in maps for any point of interest in your hometown, you will usually get a text message notification within one week from Apple letting you know that they fixed the issue.

      • herb02135go - 10 years ago

        If they are fixing things they are taking their sweet time.

        It was Maps problems that motivated me to ditch the iphone and switch to Samsung.

      • Dbolander - 8 years ago

        Not likely, you probably have never used an iPhone. If so, you could have actually downloaded Google Maps on iOS.

  5. Can Apple (or anyone else) possibly come up with anything better than Street View?

  6. danbridgland - 10 years ago

    C3 the Swedish 3D mapping company Apple acquired in 2011 had a working 3D Streetview demonstrator, perhaps Apple are finally leveraging that technology, and what better place to do so that the canyons of streets flanked by giant buildings of Manhattan?

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.