Apple Talks iOS Maps Improvements, User Base

Apple had a great first quarter of 2013, but the company hasn't forgotten about the few rough spots from the year prior. One of these rough spots was the launch of Maps, which came with the roll out of iOS 6. Despite a few stumbles, Apple is looking forward, with Tim Cook saying today in the company's earnings call that Apple is constantly improving Maps, and that it won't stop until the service lives up to "our incredibly high standards."

As far as usage goes, Cook didn't get into specifics, instead only saying that Maps usage is much higher than it was before the launch of iOS 6. It would seem that more and more users are willing to give Maps a chance as we move forward, with Cook promising that more improvements to the service will come as we work our way through 2013. Google has since launched an iOS version of its own Maps service, giving Apple more of a reason to strive to continually improve its own offering. Competition, as they say, is only a good thing for consumers.

Cook also pointed to the fact that Apple has been constantly making improvements to Maps since iOS 6 launched. We heard during the call that Apple has some impressive stuff in the pipeline, so perhaps that includes more features for Maps? We'll just have to wait and find out, but at least we know that Apple will keep working on it as 2013 marches on.

Apple had a record-breaking quarter in terms of iPhone and iPad sales, thanks in large part to the new iPhone 5 and iPad mini. With those releases and the positive consumer reaction, there's even more reason for Apple to always be improving its app offerings. Stay tuned, because 2013 might just prove to be a pretty big year for Apple as far as software is concerned.