MacRumors

When Apple Maps first debuted alongside iOS 6, it drew significant criticism for its inaccuracies in mapping data, errors when locating points of interest, lack of transit information and odd 3D mapping imagery. Many users opted not to upgrade to iOS 6 due to the app's flaws, and iOS 6 adoption jumped 29 percent once Google released a native Maps app for Apple's platform. Three years later, Apple tells the Associated Press that Apple Maps is now used three times more than Google Maps on iPhone.

Apple says its mapping service is now used more than three times as often as its next leading competitor on iPhones and iPads, with more than 5 billion map-related requests each week. Research firm comScore says Apple has a modest lead over Google on iPhones in the U.S., though comScore measures how many people use a service in a given month rather than how often.

While a lot of the usage gains for Apple Maps can be attributed to Apple Maps being a built-in app that's the default mapping solution for features like Siri and Mail and third-party apps like Yelp, the AP notes that many users who once spurned by Apple Maps have returned. Additionally, many new iPhone users did not experience the troubles of Apple Maps, instead using the newer, more improved version.

Although Apple now holds the lead in mapping on iOS, Google still dominates among all U.S. smartphone owners, with Google Maps having two times more users than Apple Maps. However, much of this is attributed to Apple Maps only being available on iOS while Google Maps is available on both Android and iOS.

In recent years, Apple has made numerous efforts to improve its mapping service. Apple has purchased companies like GPS firm Coherent Navigation and mapping company Placeable in addition to expanding its in-house teams and making data-sharing deals with companies like Foursquare. The Cupertino company has also beefed up Apple Maps with a fleet of mapping vehicles capturing data and introducing new features like Transit directions and, in the future, indoor mapping.

In total, Apple now gets data "from more than 3,000 sources" for business listings, traffic and more. For its new Transit features, Apple even sent out teams to map out subway entrances and signs.

After long promising to implement CarPlay support in its vehicles, Volvo recently announced that the new 2016 XC90 is the company's first CarPlay-enabled car in the United States, reports CNET.

The new vehicle is equipped with a 9-inch touchscreen in the center console, with the CarPlay interface featured on the bottom half of the screen. Volvo's Sensus Connect controls remain at the top of the screen, offering access to features like directions, media playing, temperature, and more.

A button on the steering wheel brings up Siri, allowing users to compose messages, place phone calls, and access built-in CarPlay apps.

Like most CarPlay vehicles, Volvo owners will need to connect their iPhones directly to the vehicle using the built-in Lightning connector. Volvo has said it will support wireless CarPlay features in the future, but wireless capabilities are not yet available.

Though CarPlay was first announced in 2014, it's taken many months for car manufacturers to get on board. Late 2015 and early 2016 will see more than a dozen car makers releasing their first vehicles with CarPlay support, and we've compiled a comprehensive list of all upcoming CarPlay cars.

Each December, Apple provides its employees with a special holiday gift to thank them for their contributions to the company and to celebrate the holiday season.

Employees have begun receiving their 2015 holiday gift from Apple, which consists of a set of black and red urBeats earphones from the Beats by Dr. Dre product lineup. Employees were not able to pick a color for their gifted earphones, but the packaging does have special wording: "Thank You 2015."

Apple's black and red urBeats headphones have a retail value of $99.95 and are being distributed to all of its employees around the world.

Last year, Apple employees received a custom Apple-branded Incase backpack, and in the years before that, employees have been gifted things like blankets, water bottles, hoodies, free apps, discounted iTunes gift cards, and more.

Dropbox has announced that it will be shutting down popular email and photo sharing apps Mailbox and Carousel on February 26, 2016 and March 31, 2016 respectively.

Dropbox originally acquired Mailbox in March 2013, and launched Carousel in April 2014. The company says it will be communicating directly with users of both apps in the coming days.

Mailbox users will no longer be able to sign in starting February 26, and Dropbox will disable and delete "Auto-swipe" patterns, return "Snoozed" emails to inboxes and delete all email drafts on that day. Mailbox has posted a FAQ to assist users with the transition.

Carousel timeline photos will remain available in Dropbox, and an export tool will be released early next year to save conversations or shared albums. In the meantime, photos within shared albums can be saved to Dropbox directly from the Carousel app. Carousel has posted a FAQ to help users with the transition.

Dropbox:

The Carousel and Mailbox teams have built products that are loved by many people and their work will continue to have an impact. We’ll be taking key features from Carousel back to the place where your photos live—in the Dropbox app. We’ll also be using what we’ve learned from Mailbox to build new ways to communicate and collaborate on Dropbox (you can see early signs of this focus with Paper).

Mailbox:

…As we deepened our focus on collaboration, we realized there’s only so much an email app can do to fundamentally fix email. We’ve come to believe that the best way for us to improve people’s productivity going forward is to streamline the workflows that generate so much email in the first place.

Carousel:

When we introduced Carousel in April 2014, we believed a standalone app would be a better way to experience photos. We’re proud to have created a photo app that many of you use and love. However, over the past year and a half, we’ve learned the vast majority of our users prefer the convenience and simplicity of interacting with their photos directly inside of Dropbox.

Dropbox users who earned bonus space for using Mailbox or Carousel will retain that storage.

Apple supplier Japan Display plans to begin mass production of OLED displays for future iPhones in spring 2018, according to Japanese website Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun [Google Translate] (via GforGames).

Japan Display executives are reportedly in negotiations with Apple about securing OLED orders for future iPhones, in an effort to compete with existing OLED panel suppliers Samsung Electronics and LG Display.

Japan Display, a joint venture formed in 2012 by Hitachi, Sony and Toshiba, is one of two major LCD display suppliers for current iPhones alongside rival Japanese company Sharp. Apple has used LCD panels for iPhones since the original model launched in 2007.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported last month that iPhones are unlikely to have OLED displays for at least the next three years, and Japanese website Nikkei confirmed that Apple plans to switch to OLED displays for iPhones starting in 2018. Apple may continue to offer some iPhone models with LCD displays to fulfill demand.

OLED displays can provide sharper images, better color accuracy and brighter colors compared to LCD displays, but the technology generally has a shorter lifespan and higher manufacturing costs. Samsung's popular Galaxy-branded smartphones are equipped with AMOLED displays, as is the Apple Watch.

Should these supply chain rumors prove true, the so-called "iPhone 8" could be released in late 2018 as Apple's first smartphone equipped with an OLED display, based on the company's current naming and release cycle.

Over the past couple of days, MacRumors has received several reports from users who have been able to upload music libraries of greater than 25,000 tracks to iTunes Match or Apple Music's similar scan-and-match feature, and Macworld's iTunes expert Kirk McElhearn has also noted a number of reports on his personal blog.

Just ahead of the launch of Apple Music in late June, Eddy Cue revealed on Twitter that Apple was working to raise the matching limit from 25,000 tracks to 100,000 for iOS 9, but the increase did not occur in September when iOS 9 debuted.

MacRumors checked with Cue back in October for an update, and he indicated Apple was "definitely working on it" with the expectation the increase would go live "before the end of the year."

Apple has yet to update its support page on uploading music Apple Music to document the new limit.

Update 12:08 PM, December 6: Eddy Cue has confirmed to MacRumors that Apple has indeed "started rolling out support for 100k libraries."

Verizon yesterday announced that it will begin rolling out support for Wi-Fi Calling next week, starting on Monday with Samsung's Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. iPhone users will need to wait a bit longer, with an update enabling the feature expected "early next year."

Wi-Fi Calling will initially be available on the Samsung Galaxy S 6 and Samsung Galaxy S 6 Edge and will be rolled out as a software update in phases. Additional Android and iOS devices will receive Wi-Fi Calling capabilities via future software updates expected early next year.

Wi-Fi Calling allows phone calls to be automatically placed over Wi-Fi connections in areas where cellular service is poor, seamlessly transitioning between cellular and Wi-Fi as needed.

Sprint and T-Mobile have supported the feature for some time, and AT&T launched its support in early October. AT&T made waves by claiming Sprint and T-Mobile have been offering the feature illegally, due to Federal Communications Commission requirements for supporting a teletypewriter (TTY) feature for deaf and hard-of-hearing users.

AT&T received its waiver from the FCC just days later, and Verizon followed with its own request, with the FCC approving it several weeks ago. Sprint and T-Mobile have not received waivers from the FCC, but continue to operate Wi-Fi Calling and believe no waiver is required.

Apple's second "spaceship" campus is scheduled to be completed in late 2016, giving the company just 12 months to wrap up construction to stay on schedule. Apple's construction crews have been hard at work over the past few months, making a lot of headway on the main ring-shaped building, the underground auditorium, and the parking structures.

Drone pilot Duncan Sinfield today shared another monthly campus update video with MacRumors, giving a close-up look at how construction has progressed since November.

Four levels of the main ring-shaped building have been completed, bringing Steve Jobs' original vision of the campus to life. With the walls in place, the special curved glass windows that will encircle the building will likely be going up soon.

When it's finished, the second Apple campus will feature the 2.8 million square foot ring-shaped main building, several parking structures, a 100,000 square foot fitness center, a 120,000 square foot auditorium, and a dedicated visitor's center with an observation deck, cafe, and Apple Store.

Google today acknowledged an ongoing issue causing a number of iPhone, iPad and Mac apps to display incorrect one-star ratings in its search results on the web, and confirmed that a fix should be implemented by early next week.

"I'm happy to share that we've been working hard on providing a solution, and a new fix has been scheduled for the next release, which should be rolling out early next week," wrote Google Search community manager AJ in the Google support forums.

A growing number of developers, including the makers of Dandelion, have reported incorrect one-star ratings in Google search results since late October, despite actually having higher-than-one-star ratings on iTunes.

One of the apps that we have developed - Dandelion App - has an average of 4 star rating on the iTunes store, however when you search it on Google Search, it comes up as 1 star. How does Google generate the average ratings on its search page? Is this an error? The app has more than 1 review - so just interested why it's coming up with the wrong information.

The issue appears to be limited to App Store apps that have not received enough ratings (five or more) to display an average for the current version, a threshold that can take a while to reach for apps that have limited downloads or frequent updates.

Google community manager AJ advises developers that continue to see incorrect ratings in search results after mid next week to report the issue in the Google support forums so the company can continue to investigate.