Business

Man behind awful Apple Maps app ousted: report

The man behind Apple Maps, the most maligned part of Apple’s wildly successful iPhone 5, has gotten the boot.

Apple executive Richard Williams, who was the leader of the team responsible for the horribly flawed map app got kicked to the curb by Senior Vice President Eddy Cue, according to Bloomberg News.

Apple Maps launched at the same time as the iPhone 5 and was supposed to replace the Google-powered mapping app that helped Apple’s smartphone become a cult sensation.

However, the new app was widely panned by users who complained that routes frequently caused them to get lost while landmark searches often came up empty. Additionally, the new app did not include public transportation directions.

The app was so bad that CEO Tim Cook took the unusual step of writing an open apology to users in which he promised to improve the app.

“With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment,” Cook said in the apology. “We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.”

The ouster of Williams comes hot on the heals of the axing of Apple’s mobile-software chief Scott Forstall, who departed the company in October as part of a major management shakeup at the tech titan.