Mikey Campbell
A report from All Things D claims that the much anticipated Google Maps dedicated iOS app will be released sometime Wednesday night which, if true, would bring the internet search giant's mapping service back to Apple devices for the first time since it was deprecated in iOS 6.
Citing people familiar with Google's efforts, All Things D said the company plans to roll out a dedicated app powered by its mapping service, though the publication failed to offer any further information.
Since Apple chose to cut ties with Google Maps in a move to its own proprietary solution, no real attempt has been made to bring the mapping service back to iOS. In October, a poorly built app based on Google's data was pulled from the App Store, but reviewers found the attempt to be woefully inadequate.
Google has been rumored to be working on a replacement and photos of the purported app have surfaced, but the company remains cagey about its intentions for iOS. Earlier in September, Google CEO Eric Schmidt dispelled rumors that claimed Apple was delaying the release of a standalone Google Maps app, saying that his company had "not done anything yet."
With iOS 6, Google also saw the removal of its YouTube app from the operating system's list of preinstalled software, though a replacement was issued soon after, suggesting a maps app may indeed be imminent.
Apple's mapping service has seen a fair amount of criticism, with users complaining of inaccurate location data, 3D Flyover image glitches and an overall lack of features they became accustomed to like Google Maps' Street View. On Monday, Australian police issued a statement to motorists driving to the city of Mildura, warning them not to use iOS Maps because the app had caused a number of travelers to become stranded in a remote area of a national park, which in turn prompted search and rescue operations.
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Andrew Orr
Christine McKee
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Malcolm Owen
43 Comments
Curious if it will have turn by turn navigation. If not- outside of street view for the few that need it, it will be worse.
I never found a very good replacement for public transit data, but otherwise, meh
If does not have turn by turn, not interested.
This is a win-win for Apple.
If Google Maps is very good then iOS now has a version of Google Maps that....
- Doesn't cost Apple a single penny for all those hits accessing Google's Maps API (which Apple would have had to pay had they built their own App and accessed Google Maps API).
- Apple doesn't have to hand over any user data at all to Google (which Google wanted) since Google now has to abide by the same rules all App developers do (and the same restrictions).
- Makes Apple look good by doing the exact opposite what the haters/fandroids are hoping for - that Apple bans Google Maps so they can continue to call Apple "evil" and "restricted".
In short, Apple gets the same type of Maps App that Android users have without having to do any work or pay any money.
If Google Maps sucks....
- Nobody can criticize Apple for dropping them to go their own way and try to come up with something better.
- Nobody can blame Apple for how bad Maps is since they no longer write the App - Google does.
- If turn-by-turn is missing then we know who is really responsible for leaving this out, and it isn't Apple.
Apple then has an opportunity to "fix" Apple Maps to show it as a viable alternative to Google Maps.
[quote name="Andysol" url="/t/154983/rumor-google-maps-for-ios-to-be-released-tonight#post_2245648"]Curious if it will have turn by turn navigation. If not- outside of street view for the few that need it, it will be worse.[/quote] [quote name="maclancer" url="/t/154983/rumor-google-maps-for-ios-to-be-released-tonight#post_2245651"]If does not have turn by turn, not interested.[/quote] Funny how people forgot that the old Apple[SIZE=2](Google)[/SIZE] maps did NOT have turn-by-turn... so were the old maps really better? It depends on what you're looking for. The old map app didn't have navigation... but it had lots of data. I actually like the new Apple maps though... they've performed well for me so far. The built-in navigation works great... and it's pretty! But I will also download the new Google maps. They will have a lot more POIs... StreetView if you're into that... and exit numbers!