'Gracious' and 'bold': web reacts to Tim Cook's iOS 6 maps apology

'Gracious' and 'bold': web reacts to Tim Cook's iOS 6 maps apology

The failings of Apple Maps have been a popular topic on social media since the launch of the iPhone 5 on Friday, September 21. A survey by Twitter analysis firm Crimson Hexagon published on Mashable found that out of a randomly selected 50,000 tweets mentioning the app, 22 percent expressed hatred of Maps and 30 percent were making jokes about the app.

However Tim Cook's open letter could win over the heart of Twitter-using iPhone 5 owners. Immediately after the publication of the letter, "Apple CEO Tim Cook" became a worldwide trending topic, jumping to seventh place in Twitter's top ten worldwide trends list by 2pm GMT: the majority of tweets in the topic expressed admiration at Cook's willingness to apologize and recognize the problem.  

Twitter user, and managing editor of The Verge, Nilay Patel, for example, tweeted "Tim Cook's Maps apology is very gracious, but how much did it have to hurt to recommend Bing and MapQuest?"; CEO and co-founder of entertainment company Vidfair Brandon Keating Sr. tweeted "Respect to Apple CEO Tim Cook for his public apology." Designer and developer Max Shelley also showed his admiration for Cook's move, tweeting "Tim Cook's letter goes further than I thought it would. Directly referencing & suggesting competitors must hurt"; CTO at app developers Dynamic 5 David Oliver was of a similar opinion, tweeting "He even points to his competitors [...] Tim Cook's letter on maps seems really really bold to me."

Users of Google's social network Google+, normally known for their fondness of Android and open source software, are also reacting positively to Tim Cook's apology. Tech writer and G+ user Rey Bango posted, "Wow, I have such newfound respect Tim Cook for apologizing for Maps and having the balls to suggest alternatives. That takes a lot of guts" and links to an article on the matter; and editor of Androidcentral.com Phil Nickinson says, "The right thing to do. Shame it had to be done at all."

However there are a certain number of users on both Twitter and Google+ who are questioning whether the situation, and the need to apologize, would have occurred at all if Apple's former CEO Steve Jobs, who passed away last year, had remained in charge of the company.

The full letter from Tim Cook to Apple's customers can be read at: http://goo.gl/wKzs7