Apple CEO Tim Cook has written a letter to the company’s customers apologising for the current state of the iOS 6 Maps app.

“At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment,” writes Cook.

“We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.”

Cook goes on to claim that Apple was forced to create a new Maps app for iOS (to replace the previously-preloaded Google Maps app) to “provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps”.

That plays into speculation that Google had been stalling on adding such features to the iOS version of its mapping application, despite developing them for Android.

“There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you,” continues Cook.

Apple’s CEO also recommends some other companies’ products in the latter.

“While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app,” he writes.