In October 2022, New York City officials introduced a new bike lane on Schermerhorn street, which was known as one of the most dangerous and crowded streets in downtown Brooklyn. As someone who always avoided riding my bike on that street, I had no idea about the existence of the bike lane until my Apple Maps app directed me to it instead of Dean Street. By the time I came back, the lane was bustling with cyclists.
For Apple to have this information, they must receive updates from city governments, including the Adams’ administration, as well as many other city governments worldwide. How does Apple manage to obtain this data? It’s not just about cycling routes either. Apple Maps is aware of the tree placements in Central Park, bus schedules, and whether a dive bar accepts contactless payments or only cash.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice-president of services, including Maps, iCloud, Apple TV+, and Apple Music, stated, “It’s a massive effort.” He emphasized that creating a great cycling map involves careful consideration of various factors, such as avoiding heavy traffic roads and providing users with safer options. Achieving this level of quality requires significant effort and attention to detail.
Apple Maps’ progress may come as a surprise to those who remember its disastrous launch in 2012. Users were not only unhappy but often found themselves lost and in dangerous situations. Apple had to apologize for the product and let Google Maps become the default on many iPhone apps.
Since then, Apple has invested a significant amount of money and time into improving Maps. They have dispatched teams worldwide, including photographers on foot and bikes, to capture information that aerial mapping technology cannot provide. They gather data from various sources, including city officials and riders themselves. By monitoring the activity of cyclists in specific areas, they can discover newly established bike paths and update the app even before the government records them officially.
As a result, Apple Maps has become highly competitive with Waze and Google Maps, particularly in terms of cycling and public transit directions. It offers incredibly detailed instructions that can assist even the most cautious cyclists in navigating a city. Eddy Cue proudly refers to it as the best cycling map in the world.
Cycling is an essential part of combating climate change and offers benefits such as cost-effectiveness, improved health, and faster travel. However, many people are hesitant to cycle due to safety concerns. Apple Maps addresses this by providing guided directions that steer cyclists toward designated bike lanes and safer routes, even in unfamiliar cities. The app’s algorithms, which take various factors into account, continuously evolve to incorporate more information and improve the user experience.
The transformation of maps from static, aerial views to dynamic, interactive tools marked a fundamental shift in our understanding of the world. The little blue dot indicating our location on a smartphone map has made navigation significantly easier. However, our reliance on these maps has also affected our sense of direction. While the blue dot can show us our surroundings, there are still crucial details it cannot convey, such as elevation changes, the legality of certain routes, or the condition of bike lanes. This is the next frontier for map technology.