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However, one particular difference became evident within days as not-so-happy iPhone 5 owners began reporting surprising problems with the newly created Apple Maps, which was rolled out with the iPhone 5 as a competitor to the industry-leading Google mapping program. The specifics of the Apple Maps issues, which include incomplete and inaccurate road and route data, and even typos in place names, speak of an unready product rushed into service. Clearly not what we’d expect from history’s most successful tech company.
But Apple’s real problem is still developing: their gaffe has turned their newest product into a late-night punchline. (Example: A guy with an iPhone 5 walks into a bar. Or a church. Maybe it was the Pacific Ocean.)
Apple CEO Tim Cook has issued an apology, and fixes are reportedly being expedited. Given the still-strong sales of the iPhone 5, and Apple’s resiliently loyal fanbase, it’s likely the company won’t suffer too much for their mistake.
But that shouldn’t excuse them for the worst kind of PR disaster: the self-inflicted kind. This one began with the widely panned decision, made back in the summer, to ditch Google Maps — reportedly in retaliation for Google’s entering the mobile-hardware arena. The inside story remains to be written, but it sure seems like Apple’s habit of cutthroat competition resulted in the too-soon release of an inferior product, all at their customers’ expense.
The bottom line is that Apple’s reputation, like every company’s, is their most important nontangible asset. No company can afford to risk it needlessly. Apple will undoubtedly survive the iPhone 5 maps fiasco. But how well will they fare the next time hubris lays them low?
Do they really want to find out?
The C4:
- The iPhone 5 was released on September 21, 2012. Like most Apple releases, this one was treated as one of the most momentous tech happenings of the year.
- The story quickly shifted, though, as users reported problems with the on-board Apple Maps program, which seemed to make it as useful for navigation as a demagnetized compass. Even though sales of the device are strong, the launch has turned into a PR fiasco, necessitating software fixes and a CEO apology.
- It never should have happened. The whole sorry episode seems to be the result of Pyrrhic competition between Apple and Google, and of the unacceptable practice of rushing unready products to market.
- In the long run, despite a hit to their reputation, Apple probably won’t suffer inordinately for their mistake. But reputation is finite. One hopes Apple has learned something from this, lest their reputation comes to be defined by it.
