Fresh off of an apology from CEO Tim Cook, Apple today created a special section in the App Store to highlight maps from third-party developers. The move comes after a nonstop barrage of criticism about Apple’s new maps app.
The category appeared this morning on the front page of the App Store as one of the featured, curated categories. Inside are links to download options such as AT&T Navigator, Bing (maps are inside the search app), Garmin USA, and Mapquest.
In his statement posted on Apple’s website, Cook said users could consider the alternatives while Apple worked to improve its own mapping application.
“While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app,” he said.
“Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.”
This week has also seen considerable discussion about when and if Google Maps would be coming to iOS. There have been mixed reports, though it would be unlikely for Google to completely abandon one of the larger mobile platforms.
