Photo: MacRumors forums
If you’re an Apple user living outside the United States, you probably know there are services that the company offers which are only available in its own domestic market.
Apple focusing on American users isn’t something surprising, though, as the Cupertino-based tech giant has been doing the same thing for over a decade now.
But when it comes to navigation apps, this strategy sometimes leads to unusual errors that should be corrected as soon as possible.
The speed limits shown by Apple Maps are totally off way too often, and this happens not only in non-U.S. regions but also in Apple’s home market as well. While I originally believed this was just an isolated issue, I’m seeing more and more people complaining of incorrect speed limits displayed by Apple’s Google Maps competitor, obviously impacting the navigation experience in a substantial manner.
It goes without saying that drivers should always pay attention to the speed limits on the side of the road, but given Apple Maps was supposed to be an all-in-one navigation solution, the wrong information actually does more harm than good.
In theory, reporting the issue to Apple would have it fixed, but obviously, this can’t happen overnight, especially as there are seemingly quite a lot of wrong speed limits that would have to be resolved.
On the other hand, it’s not uncommon for a navigation app to get the speed limits wrong. Given the vast network of roads such software covers, it’s pretty difficult, even for a company the size of Google or Apple, to keep the data it offers to drivers 100 percent accurate all the time.
Sure, it doesn’t make sense for Apple Maps to indicate the speed limit wrong on an interstate where no speed limit changes happened in the last few years, so if the company really wants to build a fully featured Google Maps competitor, offering accurate data is a good point to start.
But when it comes to navigation apps, this strategy sometimes leads to unusual errors that should be corrected as soon as possible.
The speed limits shown by Apple Maps are totally off way too often, and this happens not only in non-U.S. regions but also in Apple’s home market as well. While I originally believed this was just an isolated issue, I’m seeing more and more people complaining of incorrect speed limits displayed by Apple’s Google Maps competitor, obviously impacting the navigation experience in a substantial manner.
It goes without saying that drivers should always pay attention to the speed limits on the side of the road, but given Apple Maps was supposed to be an all-in-one navigation solution, the wrong information actually does more harm than good.
In theory, reporting the issue to Apple would have it fixed, but obviously, this can’t happen overnight, especially as there are seemingly quite a lot of wrong speed limits that would have to be resolved.
On the other hand, it’s not uncommon for a navigation app to get the speed limits wrong. Given the vast network of roads such software covers, it’s pretty difficult, even for a company the size of Google or Apple, to keep the data it offers to drivers 100 percent accurate all the time.
Sure, it doesn’t make sense for Apple Maps to indicate the speed limit wrong on an interstate where no speed limit changes happened in the last few years, so if the company really wants to build a fully featured Google Maps competitor, offering accurate data is a good point to start.
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