Now that iOS 6 has hit the masses as of yesterday, one of the most talked about topics throughout Twitter and countless websites is Apple’s decision to boot Google out of their new operating system; specifically, the Maps app. What used to be Google’s place in iOS has now been taken over by a proprietary mapping application from Apple. There have been reports from all over the world that the Apple platform is simply garbage. From some maps showing roads dropping directly off of cliffs into what appears to be the world’s largest slip-n-slides, all the way to incorrect labels on businesses and street names. Apple has been under intense scrutiny since yesterday’s iOS 6 release.With Google out of the picture, and Apple’s Maps app failing the masses, users are hoping for Google to release a native iOS application for mapping. It appears as though those hopes may be fulfilled in the near future; Google’s United Kingdom Marketing Director chimed in saying that there may be a release of such an app soon. Dan Cobley went on to tell Bloomberg TV,:
iPhone 5 users can still use Google Maps just by downloading them or going to the Google Maps website.
After further investigation, I couldn’t locate a standalone app for Google Maps within the App Store. Perhaps Cobley was implying that users add maps.google.com to their favorites as it provides transit views, directions, and several other features that are available from the web site. Google’s response to SearchEngineLand on the matter was a prepared response stating,
We believe Google Maps are the most comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-use maps in the world. Our goal is to make Google Maps available to everyone who wants to use it, regardless of device, browser, or operating system.
According to Apple’s own website, 51 countries lack access to transit data with the newest operating system, 24 countries lack traffic updates, 41 countries are without access to street views, and another 20 countries do not support turn-by-turn navigation and 3D Fly-Overs.