In the latest version of Apple’s (AAPL) mobile operating system, the company has replaced Google Maps with its own service. Initial previews of the feature were critical and most agreed that Apple had a long way to go if it was looking to dethrone Google (GOOG). Business Insider spoke with Waze CEO Noam Bardin about the iPhone’s new turn-by-turn directions, and the executive offered little praise. Waze, along with TomTom and some other companies, provides traffic information for the new mapping service, although Bardin’s comments suggest that Apple is relying predominantly on TomTom.
“Apple went out and partnered with the weakest player,” he said. “They’re now coming out with the lowest, weakest data set and they’re competing against Google, which has the highest data set. What’s going to happen with the Apple maps, is that you’re literally not going to find things. When you do find them, they might be in the wrong place or position geographically. And if you do have it, the route to it may not be the optimal route.”
Bardin revealed that a large number of mobile app developers have reached out to Waze and wish to integrate the company’s maps directly into their apps instead of Apple’s service.
“They’re saying many things that used to work on Google don’t work on Apple,” he said. “Going forward now, we’re going to see this around maps, it’s the question of how fast Apple can work with their partners to update the data and how good the user experience will be.”
UPDATE: Waze CEO Noam Bardin reached out to BGR to clarify his earlier statements. In no way does Mr. Bardin believe Apple’s maps will get you lost nor are they terrible, however the CEO reaffirmed his claim that Apple selected a weak data set when compared to Google.
