Not happy with Apple’s new iOS6 maps? Miss the old Google Maps that you used to have built in? Looks like you may be out of luck for the foreseeable future. According to Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt, Maps won’t come to the App Store anytime soon.
The Google Maps application that came baked into previous versions was removed from the new iPhone and iPad OS in favor of Apple’s own offering. However, the problem with this plan is that unlike Google’s years of background and research in maps that make its searches and directions so accurate, Apple has literally no experience in this. The resulting Apple Maps application has been rather disappointing, to say the least. With the outcry of users complaining about missing or otherwise inaccurate information, CEO Tim Cook himself has issued an apology and even suggested third-party alternatives.
“What #apple has done with #iOS6 maps is like planning a mission to outer space and NOT TALKING TO NASA,” tweeted comedian Baratunde Thurston, in reference to the many complaints.
The question is, why did Apple decide to meddle in something like this in the first place? The official answer has something to do with licensing data for turn-by-turn directions. Apple has decided to license map data from Dutch-based Tom Tom to be able to offer spoken GPS directions, something Google wasn’t willing to do.
Interestingly, Google Maps isn’t the only product that has been removed from the pre-installed list on iPhones and iPads. YouTube, another Google product, is glaringly absent as well. It’s no secret that there has been a lot of tension between Apple and Google lately, particularly in the patent courts. Therefore, the decision for Apple to be more independent should come as no surprise, with the map licensing fiasco serving as a convenient excuse. Thankfully, Google has at least made its YouTube app available as a third-party download in Google Play app store in time for the iOS 6 launch.
But what about maps?
Schmidt says that there aren’t any plans to bring Google Maps as a third-party download and puts the blame for the app’s omission squarely on Apple, saying it’s ultimately that company’s call.
“We think it would have been better if they had kept ours. But what do I know,” Schmidt told reporters in Tokyo.
Meanwhile, Microsoft would like to remind iOS fans that Bing Maps is in its app store and is a viable alternative to Google.
i must say… as a road warrior, i have had no issues with Apple Maps. It’s been faultless to a ‘T’. While it doesn’t have some of the comforts of a full-blown GPS device, or even the TomTom app for my iPhone, it works great. It’s been more accurate than TomTom on my old 3GS, both iOS 4 and 5, and it’s even faster on my iPhone 4s, regardless of iOS 5 or iOS6. In fact, TomTom shows me 50 feet from the intersection, when Apple Maps shows me right there. It’s gone wonky a few times, but that was more of a transmission issue with the chip, not a glitch with the software. i’ve not used it in big cities, only small ones. Albany to Utica, NY, and Pittsfield, MA(and also the surrounding areas). If anything, people are having issues with large cities, it wouldn’t be a problem with the map. That would be a problem with tall building made of metal blocking the sky. Not too many GPSs work that well in large, congested cities.
I will need to do a side-by-side of my old 3GS next to my 4s, both using built-in maps. We’ll see how that goes.
Raanan, I believe the problems mostly stemmed from inaccuracy of the map data, not the GPS chip’s location data.
Airports became national parks, roads disappeared, locations moved 20 miles away, and my personal favorite- Apple stores disappeared. There are a few examples in the links above.
Here’s a site highlighting the apple maps flaws: http://theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com/ some things aren’t even map related. like misspelling the capital of Ukraine.