Apple’s troubles with its recently launched iOS Maps seem to show no signs of ending any time soon. Back in September, the company had introduced the latest and perhaps the most controversial version of iOS yet – and along with it iOS Maps. This was as a replacement for the ever popular Google Maps that adorned iDevices until now.
Thanks to the newness of the product, iOS Maps had more than its share of bugs and was widely criticized to be inferior to Google’s offering which incidentally is no longer available for iOS users. Apple had to issue an apology following the backlash it received following the release of iOS Maps and they promised that they are working on improving it. iOS 6 Maps has also resulted in the departure of a few senior Apple executives. Things calmed down for a couple of months – until now.
Down under in Australia, Apple’s iOS Maps seem to have run in to trouble after a group of motorists who trusted the route shown in the Maps application were stranded somewhere deep inside the Murray-Sunset National Park in Victoria, Australia. If that wasn’t enough, the Australian Police have issued an advisory asking people to avoid using iOS 6 Maps for the time being. According to reports, these commuters were stranded in the middle of nowhere with even the closes water supply source being as far as 70 kms away – at their original intended destination – Mildura.
The decision of the police to issue an advisory has come because of the high summer temperatures seen in Australia. With temperatures expected to touch 46 degrees Celsius during this time of the year, anyone stuck in the Australian wilderness could be facing a “life threatening” issue and the police doesn’t seem to want anyone to take any such risks.
Preliminary reports from the Victorian Police say that the motorist were stranded without food and water for over 24 hours and had to walk long distances in order to get cellular network coverage.