Google Plans to Provide Amazing Google Maps Experiences on iOS

Google’s hastily organized the “The Next Dimension” Maps event just before WWDC was an attempt to preempt Apple’s own maps announcement, highlighted how crucial iOS users were to Google.

The company announced that Google 3D Maps app will be released for iOS.

Google SVP of commerce and local, Jeff Huber, recently posted an update on Google+ about the Street View exhibit at the Computer History Museum. In the comments, an iOS user, presumably unhappy with the mapping announcements made by Apple at WWDC, asked for a great Google maps on iOS. To that Huber responded:

“We look forward to providing amazing Google Maps experiences on iOS.”

Google has been forced to change its strategy and offer Google Maps for iOS after it got the hint that Apple was entering  the space. When Apple depended on Google for the Maps app that came pre-installed with iOS device, Google delayed adding the Street View feature and refused to add the turn-by-turn navigation because it wanted the Google Maps Navigation app for Android to be one of the key differentiators between the Android and iOS platform. It is now working hard to develop an app that will much better than Apple’s iOS 6 Maps app.

Google has also reduced its maps API licensing fees by nearly 90 percent, only a few months after the API access was limited.

Google might use I/O, Google’s upcoming developer conference, to announce the apps, and maybe even a maps API for iOS, now that its no longer built into the OS.

[via TNW]

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