In advance of a rumored iOS 14.5 rollout of Apple Maps in-house point of interest (POI) ratings for the USA, the feature went live today in Japan for iOS 14.5 RC users (and iPadOS•macOS devices logged in with the same Apple ID). Once past the introductory slash screen prompt in Maps app, various POI such as parks, restaurants, cafes, stores show the ability to rate and add photos. Based on limited checks it appears possible to rate and add photos to most 3rd party supplied Japanese POI data: Foursquare, Tabelog, Tripadvisor, but not Recruit’s Jalan, and not Yelp which is being phased out (good riddance). Hotels, Shinto Shrines, Buddhist temples, etc. are off limits, another good thing.
Poor quality 3rd party POI data has long been the bane of Apple Maps in Japan, and most other countries. I have doubts about Apple’s ability to filter and verify Apple ID user uploaded photos and ratings…but it’s probably better than the junky POI data Japan has now.
UPDATE: the feature has gone live for all users with the official iOS 14.5 release.
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