Jean-Louis Gassée for Monday Note:

The ridicule that Apple has suffered following the introduction of the Maps application in iOS 6 is largely self-inflicted. The demo was flawless, 2D and 3D maps, turn-by-turn navigation, spectacular flyovers…but not a word from the stage about the app’s limitations, no self-deprecating wink, no admission that iOS Maps is an infant that needs to learn to crawl before walking, running, and ultimately lapping the frontrunner, Google Maps. Instead, we’re told that Apple’s Maps may be “the most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever.”

Gassée is the former president of Apple’s Products Division and founder of Be Inc. He’s currently in the venture capital business.

His point is that Apple shouldn’t have tried to convince anyone that Maps was superlative, but should have been up front about its limitations. That sounds uncommon for Apple, but consider that the company has referred to the Apple TV as a “hobby” and Siri as a beta, so it wouldn’t be unprecedented for Apple to admit that Maps needs a lot of work.