Apple Maps has gotten a lot better since its disastrous launch back in 2012, but it’s still not our first choice for finding directions on an iPhone. That may finally change, however, if Apple goes through with updates to its Maps app hinted at in a new job listing.
Apple is looking for a Maps Community Client Software Engineer, who’s main job would be opening up the app to the community. Moving forward, that means anyone could potentially submit their own improvements to Apple Maps through a new user interface that goes beyond the current option to “Report a Problem.” The listing also hints at plans to integrate Maps and associated features with Siri and Passbook.
That last part is particularly interesting, since cross-app communication is one area where Apple still lags pretty far behind Android. Google Maps, Google Now and Gmail are all constant talking with each other to deliver the best possible user experience, and we’d love to see the same sort of thing on Apple Maps moving forward. Hopefully this new job listing is just the start of a new dawn for Apple Maps.