With what many consider to be Microsoft's biggest and most crucial product launch ever - the Oct. 26 release of Windows 8 and the Surface tablet - almost here, Apple is likely hoping to resolve the loudest criticism of its iOS 6 soon: Maps. Considering Microsoft's hotly anticipated products, and Apple's loss of 29 percent of its share of the tablet market over the last year alone to non-Apple tablets, the company cannot afford to lose any more ground if it wants to remain the dominant tech company.
A report today suggests Apple may be out of luck, though. While Google is in fact developing a new maps application for the company's iOS, it will not be ready for months, according to BGR.
Google is currently developing a maps application for iPhone and iPad that it is seeking to finish by the end of the year, according to people involved with the effort that "declined to be named because of the nature of their work," said BGR.
Apple Ignored Reports Maps Was a Failure Prior to Launch, Say Developers
But while the app may not be available in time for Microsoft's impending product launch for Windows 8 and the Surface, Apple and its users can take safety in one thing. If the report is accurate, this is certainly the version of maps we've been waiting for. Google's new app will reportedly combine the much-praised Google Earth with its native maps app for a totally new mapping experience, complete with 3-D mapping, according to a report from The New York Times.
The New York Times' report sheds further light on the Apple Maps debacle. Apparently, Google was surprised as everyone else was when Apple decided to end its partnership with the company in June - a full calendar year before its expiration. Because of this, Google had not yet begun to build new version of Google Maps, which is the reason the company does not have a new Google Maps pending with Apple now.
Apple's controversial decision to use its own in-house maps app rather than continue with Google Maps allegedly happened before Apple's 2012 Worldwide Developers Conference on June 11, when the company unveiled iOS 6 and its new Maps App.
Apple Maps Isn't the Only Problem, Analysts Weigh In
While the failure of Apple's maps has certainly been exaggerated in the media, with its copious inaccuracies, some bizarre omissions and appearances, and distorted landscapes, it's unmistakably one of the most criticized features of its new iOS.
Apple has already corrected some of these failings, CEO Tim Cook formally apologized, and the company is promising the roll out fixes for the app over time.
One reason we won't be seeing a new Google Maps for iOS anytime soon is the fractured relationship between Google and Apple. Google is now forced to cautiously navigate its business relationships with Apple, which are growing more complicated every day, according to unnamed sources.
Another complicating factor: according to a person with knowledge of Google Maps, Google would likely prefer to release a maps app that includes 3-D imagery so it is comparable to Apple's. However, Google has 3-D images in Google Earth, which is a separate app with a separate code base from Google Maps, so it will take some time to combine the two.
On Oct. 9 in Tokyo, Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, said the company had made no move to submit a Google Maps app for the iPhone.
Contrary to Schmidt's claims, Google does intend to build a Google Maps app for iOS, according to people who have been involved in an effort to create the app.