Yesterday we heard from TechCrunch “that there are rumours flying around that Apple is sniffing around Waze with a view to a possible acquisition.” Everyone is looking for Apple to take action in some fashion to correct the Maps fiasco, so in some ways there was some plausibility to the idea of purchasing a company who has experienced success with their iOS map app. MG Siegler, also of TechCrunch, says there is no deal happening “at least not now or anytime soon“.
He suggests that while Butcher also had multiple sources, his story was quantified as a ‘rumour’. Siegler’s information comes from multiple sources and he’s made it clear that today’s update is not of the rumor variety. This deal is not happening.
A deal for Waze would not have magically solved Apple’s Maps problems. The current app already utilizes data from Waze, TomTom and a host of others. The Maps app allows for community editing, a big feature on Waze, but the ‘Report a problem’ link to suggest improvements is not very prominent. This issue with Maps is less about the app itself and more about providing accurate data within the app. Once Apple is able to resolve those issues, they will have to do extensive work to repair the perception of Maps. This is a tougher task with customers having viable options like the new Google Maps application.
Source: TechCrunch
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