After 15 years, Tim Cook is leaving Apple - and this is an opportunity to show you the entrepreneurial spirit of this man:
Apple's navigation app was a complete failure - and then Apple decided to rebuild it from scratch ๐บ $AAPL ๐
In 2012 - Apple Maps was so broken that Tim Cook had to issue a public apology to iPhone users - and even recommended they use competitors' apps. ๐ฑ
The senior executive responsible for the development refused to sign the apology - within a month he was no longer there. ๐
But what Apple did next explains why today's Apple Maps looks more like a Pixar movie than a regular navigation app. ๐ฌ
Apple stopped relying on data acquisition from TomTom and decided to build its own database. ๐
The company operated hundreds of cars and planes with LiDAR systems and eight-camera arrays; a Mac Pro was installed and bolted to the floor in each van. ๐ฅถ
Employees were sent to the streets with sensor backpacks on their backs,
By the re-launch - Apple had traveled more than 7 million km - to rebuild one product from scratch. ๐
But the hardware is not the real story, the business incentives are the story.
The competing product - Google Maps is an advertising product - and according to analyst estimates, it generates more than $11 billion annually, mainly from sponsored pins and local advertising, with over 200 million businesses appearing on the map. ๐ฑ
And this creates an inherent conflict of interest:
Every screen in Google Maps needs to balance helping the user reach their destination with exposing them to a business or advertisement that generates money for Google.
But Apple Maps works differently. ๐บ
It doesn't try to generate direct revenue from the map - its role is simpler: to make the user stay within Apple's ecosystem and not switch to another phone. ๐คฉ
And this completely changes the priorities,
If the map's customer is the person holding the iPhone - Apple can invest every last pixel in trees, buildings, roads, ramps, and the small details that make the map more experiential, appealing, and clear. ๐ฅ
Google sells the map,
Apple sells the phone.
And that's why Google's navigation app can look like a cluttered billboard - while Apple's can look like a video game. ๐ฎ