I have to admit that although these are just 100% unconfirmed rumors at the moment, I was happy to hear this news: according to recent updates on LinkedIn, Apple could be hiring engineers from Here, the GPS software that is now called Here WeGo and that until years ago was owned by Nokia. I am partly happy with this news because I was already a satisfied user of Nokia Maps and Here WeGo is the GPS software with offline maps that I use today.
It was Bussiness Insider who reported that Apple had hired six engineers from Here in the last months / years. The signings seem to be in Berlin, a city where Apple has nothing beyond being the area where the Apple Car rumors began to circulate. From Germany are also some of the companies that bought Here Maps from Nokia, as they are Audi and BMW.
Apple hires engineers from Here to improve their maps in Europe?
The six engineers Apple has hired from Here are:
- Khang tran - Senior software engineer. He was hired by Apple as a software engineer this month.
- Konstantin Sinitsyn - Senior software engineer. He has been part of the Cupertino squad since November.
- Manfred reich - Leader of content and regional maps of Eastern Europe. He joined Apple in July 2015 and is already working on Apple Maps.
- gilbert schultz - Program director who joined Apple in April. He's already working on the Apple Maps team.
- torsten krenz - Director who worked at Here for more than 30 months. He has also been working on Apple Maps since he was signed in August 2014.
- Andrey Arsentyev - Product manager. He joined Apple in May 2015 and also works on their Maps team.
Personally, as I have said on occasion, I think Apple maps are good, very good. In fact, Apple partnered with TomTom so that it was. The main problem that we find with Apple Maps is a search system that would fight to find sand in the desert. Once we have found our destination, the maps behave decently, at least as long as I have used them.
On the other hand, it is also no secret that Apple, like practically any other company, focuses its first efforts where they have their headquarters, so their Maps are better in the United States than in any other country in the world. It remains to be seen if these signings from Here manage to improve the Apple Maps in Europe and, why not? search system that has caused us the odd headache.