We’ve previously told you that Apple will replace Google’s mapping solution with its own in iOS 6, but the Wall Street Journal claims that they are not going to stop there. According to sources close to the paper, Apple is set to replicate Google’s own Android features by providing free turn-by-turn navigation and traffic information from within the app.
Google has offered these features for free on Android for quite a few years, but Apple’s App Store is full of navigation apps by companies like TomTom, Garmin and Navigon, each costing upwards of $70. To bundle these features for free in future iPhones would render those services largely useless and significantly affect the main source of revenue for these companies.
Apple has already integrated backend features into the current version of its Maps app, further distancing itself from Google’s servers. Things like geocoding, which translates a user’s position relative to the current cell site, have been run by Apple for almost a year. Google has reason to worry then, since up till now they’ve enjoyed a 90% market share in the mobile maps market.
Source: WSJ
Via: PhoneArena
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