Update: Apple confirmed the acquisition.
Apple, which has already acquired a variety of companies to help its Maps team, appears to have recently purchased San Francisco-based GPS company Coherent Navigation. The company was founded in 2008 by a pair of engineers from Stanford and Cornell. While Apple and Coherent Navigation have yet to confirm the acquisition, several pieces of evidence support the idea.
Coherent Navigation CEO Paul Lego and cofounders William Bencze and Brett Ledvina all recently updated their LinkedIn profiles to show that they have taken a role at Apple, MacRumors noticed. Lego says that he is now a member of the Apple Maps team, while Ledvina and Bencze note that they are in location engineering positions.
Coherent Navigation’s website was taken offline recently, as well. the name servers for the company’s domain were also recently changed to point at Apple’s, further supporting the belief that the company was acquired.
At this point neither Coherent or Apple have commented on what the new hires are working on at the company. While independent, the company was known for its High Integrity GPS system, which combined signals from mid-earth orbit GPS satellites with low-earth satellites to offer improved precision and accuracy.
Apple has made a number of acquisitions to bolster its Maps offering since ditching Google Maps in 2012. Apple has acquired companies such as Topsy Labs Inc. and Spotsetter. Apple has also been rumored as a potential buyer for Nokia’s struggling HERE Maps division.
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Apple Maps took me across town for no reason. Google Maps told me my destination was in the middle of the interstate. I started using Here and it has worked well so far. I want to like Apple Maps so maybe this will help.
You should try Google Waze. It will take you to your destination via the most insane route, all while peppering you with incessant advertisements.
If these guys specialise in the enhanced GPS used by some systems that could be good for apple users.
Incorporating EGNOS/DGPS type corrections to the GPS in apple devices could be really cool.
(Ground station measures difference between what GPS says is it’s location and what it’s accurate location really is, then broadcasts out the correction for your device to correct it’s own location based on the slightly inaccurate GPS signal)
10cm or better accuracy in location opens up all sorts of additional functionality.
This sounds like a bit of a miracle to me but it would seem to need new ground infrastructure as well. Apple’s maps here in Canada are pretty horrendous for lots of reasons but GPS accuracy is definitely one of them. Ever since their debut, Apple Maps places me about a block and a half from my front door when I stand outside my house.
Yes it does need ground infrastructure. For some systems (WAAS in the US and EGNOS in the EU) it also needs a satellite.
But then again apple is pretty rich and this could be pretty good unique selling point. Also potential advertising uses – it would know exactly what shop you were outside – and this could generate income.
These WAAS/EGNOS/DGPS systems are all real and already available for professional users like airlines and surveyors. Sounds like apple is looking at putting something similar in future phones. It will be interesting to see what they can practically get into a phone and still have it work a reasonable amount of the time under real world conditions – such as amongst high buildings.
I don’t get why apple has so much money but don’t actually acquire more great maps company to improve its Apple maps. Here is a great company in map solution besides Google maps
Or even hire people to correct their data. Absolutely the very WORST data in my home town. Literally nothing is accurate and it’s been years now without a single change. Years.
Everyone in town (Vancouver) talks about it, and sends in corrections, but absolutely NOTHING has changed since the first day.
Google Maps had streets running through rows of houses in our neighborhood. It took them five years to fix it. Apple Maps was correct when it debuted.
Geolocating this accurate sounds useful for all sorts of apps. I personally would love to be able to map a site for a topographical model without the expensive equipment currently required.
Am I the only one who thinks it’s time to retire Apple Maps? Good try, but there’s clearly not the effort or talent necessary for a premium mapping experience worthy of Apple customers.
Nah, I think Apple should just spend a sh*tload of money to fix it. I have no idea why they haven’t done it so far. They have all the money in the world. They should have their own cars out there driving around and creating Street View for Apple Maps. I just don’t get Apple these days. Steve Jobs would have fired so many of those morons who are running the place today.
I don’t think they should back out of Apple Maps because the tech revolution is still in its early phase. It will take over EVERYTHING. So in 10, 20 or 50 years time they could definitely use their own mapping service. I have no idea what the world will look in the next few decades, but I’m sure maps will play a big part of it all. So it would make much more sense to have their own mapping service just so they could have more freedom over how it works and so on.
Another issue with Apple maps is the fact that it’s not on iCloud. Sadly I don’t have the funds to purchase a MacBook – I live in a rather poor European country. So even though I have some portable devices, I am still stuck using a PC. And that means all I can use is Google Maps. Now, I have hundreds of locations and places saved on my Google Maps – good restaurants, friends addresses, etc. But they are not on my Apple Maps map. So whenever I am using my iPhone, I almost want to open a Google Maps app, so I could see all my saved locations. I would save them on Apple Maps too, but… it’s just too annoying. I can’t use Apple Maps on iCloud and it sucks!
Tuvatech, there is a way to work with Maps that can make what you want and it is supported by iCloud.
Open Contacts and create a new contact and enter the full address of it. With Contacts on you screen, tap on the desired address you want to go.
Maps will open and with a red pin marking the location, from it there is a label with an address or the location name, and a car icon with a estimate of time to get there from here you are.
Tap on the car icon and Maps will show a shortest route in dark blue and alternative routes in light blue. Tap Start on the bottom and follow a route showed.
Remember that Maps doesn’t store address, Contacts does, and you use the two to have a better map experience.
You can add address direct in Contacts using the drop pin function. Click or tap on a location in Maps, a pin will drop, tap on the “i” and a dialog box will show the address. Tap on the box/arrow icon and you will see Add to Contacts.
It is that easy. All contacts are synced by iCloud to your devices, so you very little effort accomplice that.
I don’t you Google products at all, not even the Search engine. I don’t have any idea if they provide a way for you to export your locations. I hope they do, because Apple does.
I hope it helps you.