People keep saying "this is their way of more data". Can someone explain exactly how this data is acquired? If I enter an address, and it gives me the wrong location, how does it know that it was wrong? How does it get better data?
If one query matches multiple results, you can observe which result users tap and sort that one to the top. Or, if the user types in a query, gets no results, then types in a similar query and selects a result, you know that the first is likely to have been a misspelling/alternate spelling. If lots of users type in a query and don't get results, then that query can be flagged for further investigation. And so on.
All of this in addition to users reporting erroneous results.
And just entering the address/location queries (whether they succeed or not, and whether the user's own satisfaction is implicit or explicit) gives Apple bulk who-queries-what-from-where data that can be manually reviewed or automated-tested in followup processes.
For example, they know how dense their geo-data is; where does the volume of queries most exceed the existing density of data? Which queries actually result in someone following instructions to their terminus, and then not requerying again for a while?
Also: while Apple doesn't have a toolbar reporting every query and click into Google Maps -- as with the Google-Bing search results dustup of February 2011 -- they could be using their own automated process to trickle queries into Google Maps APIs and highlight major discrepancies with their own answers, for engineer/data-entry attention.
I'm not in this domain, but they do have the location of millions of phones as they move around during the time the Maps app is open. This could solve problems like adjustment of roadway locations, finding one-way streets, identifying highly-used locations. If people take a different route than the one recommended, this is also a clue.
The location information would also provide a focus-of-attention mechanism (concentrate manual effort along oft-driven routes).
I'm not familiar enough with their privacy rules to understand what portion of this data was already available to Apple versus stuff that is only available on the server side.
And what even smaller percentage of people go through the trouble of reporting an error event if they do see the curl? It feels weird to pay for a service, and then have to actively work to make it better.. (by paying, I mean buying an ios device..).
Then I understand the release and iterate strategy, and I'm sure it applies in many situations. But when you are Apple and have painfully built a reputation of releasing only great products, you may want to think more than twice before crippling your star product, even if it's just a little.
As these threads have demonstrated, I think a segment of the population is actually highly interested in accurate maps.
Weird as it sounds (not being sarcastic), I think people will actually report problems, especially in their own neighborhoods or places where they travel and know well.
The problem for Apple is, they'll get a bug report something like:
Your maps is rubbish, I couldn't find the park, where is streetview too!
They will then have to have someone look at that data, try to find the area, a park nearby, compare with whatever licensed satellite data they have, and try to redraw that section, or they have to request new data from tomtom, wait a year, and hope it is fixed. That is a huge task, and not one I'm confident Apple will ever manage to pull off. The satellite data they have put into the app is appalling so if they try to use that as a reference...
And that's for the 0.5% of people who bother to report a problem - the rest will just lower their opinion of Apple and look at other solutions next time they're shopping for a device.
There's a button in the app to report inaccurate data on all POIs. If something is wrong, use it.
They would do well to make that more prominent especially in the short-term to better handle their growing pains here, but it is a quite solvable problem. Unfortunately for Apple, Google has invested nearly a decade and who knows how much money into Maps (they were straight-up paying cash for business listings at one point, and may still do so) - so the standard with which they're competing is extremely high.
