Why Apple Replaced iOS Maps

tlhIngan writes "So why did Apple decide to ditch the (working) iOS maps app with one based on their own data (despite having one more year to the contract)? It turns out to be turn-by-turn voice navigation. It wasn't a feature in the original Apple-Google licensing agreement, so Apple went back to Google to renegotiate what has become a top-tier feature on Android. Apple wanted it. In return, Google wanted increased branding in the maps app (Apple refused) or to integrate Latitude (Google's FourSquare competitor), to which Apple refused as well. As a result Apple was forced to seek other sources in order to obtain this feature." Eventually, iOS users who don't want to wait for Apple-Google parity will be able to download a native version of Google's maps (rather than a hacked version), but that could be a ways off.

Comments

Re:They're really playing for keeps, aren't they?

[evilviper]

maybe both sides were so concerned about branding that they lost track of the bigger picture.

Right... Google wanted their branding on a mature mapping and navigation feature that worked, while Apple decided instead to have their branding all over a piece of crap that doesn't work...

Apple passed on the "bad" option, and instead chose the "terrible" option. Yay Apple! What's worse is that this has really taken the shine off Apple (pardon the pun), as even fanbois are asking what happened to Apple's SINGLE selling point, making products that are highly polished and "just work".

If Apple fixes their maps and navigation, and doesn't make any more stupid mistakes in the near future, it might just be forgotten, but if the situation gets worse, or if they make some other major mistake while people still have this one in the back of their minds, Apple's image could really be hurt, with sales taking a big hit.

What's worse about all this is simply the fact that there are numerous other providers of maps and navigation products for smartphones. Mapquest's version is already free for iOS, so Apple would have been able to preinstall theirs for free, or nearly so. Other providers would have charged a small fee to provide the entire service, and given Apple full control over whatever branding they wanted.