As many iPhone users are just now finding out, iOS 6 has replaced Google Maps with Apple’s own maps product. Many of these users are unhappy, and don’t have a lot of great things to say about Apple’s Maps.
In fact, Apple Maps is taking quite the beating in the press and the Blogosphere (though it doesn’t look like it’s done much to keep people from getting the iPhone 5, which officially came out today in some countries). People want their Google Maps back. It looks like they’ll likely get it at some point, but there is some question.
TechCrunch is reporting that the Google Maps team is “doubling down on staff, lining up the team and and resources to have a standalone iOS app in the App Store ‘before Christmas.'”
Search Engine Land provides a statement from Apple, saying, “Customers around the world are upgrading to iOS 6 with over 200 new features including Apple Maps, our first map service. We are excited to offer this service with innovative new features like Flyover, turn-by-turn navigation, and Siri integration. We launched this new map service knowing it is a major initiative and that we are just getting started with it. Maps is a cloud-based solution and the more people use it, the better it will get. We’re also working with developers to integrate some of the amazing transit apps in the app store into iOS 6 Maps. We appreciate all of the customer feedback and are working hard to make the customer experience even better.”
There has been some talk that Google already submitted an app to Apple, but that it has not been approved. 9to5Mac writes:
Separately, we’ve heard Google has been building separate versions of a iOS GoogleMaps.app for quite a while that goes back years. Additionally, we’ve learned an updated iOS 6 version of the Google Maps.app has been submitted to Apple. It is awaiting approval, however, and that could take some time. It took a year for Apple to approve Google Voice, for instance, and Apple could technically likewise claim Google Maps “duplicates a native service” even though there are quite a few mapping apps already in the App Store (like Google Earth). Last month, it looked as if Apple were putting an update to Google Voice that featured Siri-like functionality through purgatory.
Update: Jim Dalrymple says “nope”. While this is clearly from Apple, it is a matter of semantics. Google has the app ready and Apple has seen it.
Meanwhile, people are complaining about Apple Maps, and Google is improving its Android app (and service in general).