Ever since the release of iOS 6, users have been complaining about the quality of the new Maps app. Apple decided that they could make a maps app just as good (or better) than Google, and replaced Google Maps with their own software. Unfortunately, iPhone users have now seen that the maps provided by Apple are plagued with distorted satellite photos, incorrect locations, and poor turn-by-turn navigation. While up-to-date iPhone users can look forward to being lost, one hacker has taken it upon himself to bring back the perfectly usable Google Maps the iPhone had up until last week.
Ryan Petrich, a self-proclaimed iOS hacker/engineer, has managed to get the old Google Maps from iOS 5.1 running on an iPhone that has been updated to iOS 6. You can see the hack in the video below, but you can’t get hold of it just yet. Petrich says the software is still too “crashy” to release it to the public, but that it mostly works. When the development is complete, users who have jailbroken their devices can expect the return of Google Maps to the iPhone.
So, at least there is one person working on fixing the terrible Maps situation. Actually, there are quite a few people working on the problem, but Petrich’s solution is the only one yet seen. Apple is going on a hiring spree for software engineers to improve the maps app, though they will have to hire thousands of employees to match Google’s map software quality. The 7,100-strong Google Maps team is currently rushing to create a stand-alone version of Google Maps for the iPhone before Christmas.
(via BGR)