Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

Making Maps better: Apple buys public-transit app Embark

By
apple buys public transit app embark

It’s almost a year since the troubled launch of Apple’s Maps offering, but in that time the company has been working steadily to iron out the creases, or, more accurately, fill in the crevices.

In its ongoing quest to build a better app, the Cupertino company has been acquiring a number of navigation-related software companies, the latest being Embark, which offers public transit information via a slew of iOS and Android apps. Or did. While its iOS offerings remain in the iTunes store, the Android equivalents have been pulled from Google Play.

Recommended Videos

News of the acquisition was revealed on Thursday by technology writer Jessica Lessin. Apple confirmed the deal, though declined to say how much it paid for the company.

Related

Founded two years ago, Embark offers public transit information, travel advisories, and step-by-step directions for cities such as New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago. Last year Embark NYC won the NYC Big Apps 3.0 award for Best Mobility App.

Apple looks set to utilize Embark’s technology for its own Maps app, though it’s not clear if or when it’ll kill off the company’s standalone offerings.

The buyout is the latest in a number of map-related acquisitions for Apple. In July it bought online transit-navigation company HopStop, headquartered in New York, as well as Toronto-based Locationary, which deals more with business-related location data.

Last year Apple removed Google Maps from iOS, replacing it with its own Maps app. However, as soon it was released, it was clear it wasn’t ready, with many users complaining of misplaced locations, bad directions and a lack of information. The situation was so serious for the tech company that boss Tim Cook posted a letter of apology on the Apple website. Since then it’s been steadily improving the software, helped in part by the recent hiring of so-called ‘ground truth managers’, or simply put, mapping experts.

According to an Apple Insider report earlier this month, soon-to-launch iOS 7 will give users the chance to help Apple further hone the software with an opt-in ‘Help Improve Maps’ invitation offered on setup. Google may still be some way ahead when it comes to maps and related services, but Apple, utilizing all its available resources, looks set to close the gap over the long term.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Everything Apple didn’t add to iOS 17
iOS 17 logo and renders on Apple's website.

Apple’s WWDC 2023 keynote has come and gone, and with it came one of the biggest new announcements in years: Apple Vision Pro, which is Apple’s first foray into the VR/AR headset space. Of course, we also got software updates for existing products that we already have right now, including iOS 17 for the iPhone.

Before WWDC 2023 kicked off, there were a lot of rumors and speculation revolving around iOS 17 and what we would end up seeing —with the possibility of some “highly requested features from users.” Now that it’s been announced, it’s actually not as exciting as we thought, and some of the features that did get announced weren’t leaked.

Read more
WWDC 2023: everything announced at Apple’s huge event
Promotional logo for WWDC 2023.

As regular as the tides, Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) has become a big and highly anticipated part of our calendar. As is usual, this year’s keynote announcements will include all the usual improvements for iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, and more — but this year is also different, thanks to the reveal of a brand new area for Apple, the Vision Pro headset.

The keynote was jammed full of content, as usual, and there's plenty to talk about. Here's a recap of everything Apple announced at WWDC 2023!
Vision Pro VR headset

Read more
Apple is adding a brand new app to your iPhone with iOS 17
Journal app for iOS 17.

Apple is adding a new first-party app called Journal with the introduction of iOS 17, the company announced today during WWDC 2023. Journal is, as its name simply states, a new place for iPhone users to keep track of their daily activities, log their emotional health, and jot down anything else that they want to write about.

Apple has continued to lean into its first-party health and wellness iOS apps with things like Fitness, Sleep, and Breathe, and now Journal will be joining their ranks as the company's first attempt at an app that focuses on mental well-being.

Read more