Apple Maps set for crowdsourcing boost, job posting reveals


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Apple Maps

Apple Maps




Apple is hoping to infuse its iOS and OS X Maps app with more data from the community of users, judging by a job posting detailed on Thursday.


The company is looking for a Community Client Manager to enable it to make improvements to the service via crowdsourced information.


According to the posting the successful candidate will also work towards integrating further aspects of Siri and Passbook into the Maps experience.


“The Maps team is looking for a talented and passionate software engineer to help develop the next generation of community services. Join us in building and extending the Maps application to allow Apple to crowdsource improvements to the Maps experience,” the job summary reads.


In the Description section the firm adds: “As an engineer working on Maps Community, your primary responsibility will be high-level UI development and architecture of the “Report a Problem” feature of the Maps application, and you will work closely with designers and engineers across the company to add new features and build the very best crowd-sourcing experience. You’ll also be working on the frameworks and plugins that enable Maps to integrate deeply and seamlessly with parts of the system such as Siri and Passbook, to extend and enhance the feedback experience.”


Currently user feedback is limited to the opportunity to report a problem, while it also collates information from the iOS Frequent Locations feature should the user permit it.


This apparent new drive could see Apple integrate some useful features akin to those Google Maps has benefitted from since the integration of its Waze acquisition. That could mean an influx of crowdsourced data on traffic, speed traps and petrol prices within Apple Maps.


Apple was believed to be in the market for Waze before Google paid over a billion dollars for the Israeli startup, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the company was now working on its own like-minded initiative.


Read more: Apple iOS 8 review


Via: 9to5Mac