As the tension and competition grows between Apple and Google, it doesn’t come as a big shock that Apple would want to move away from using Google products and instead favor in-house apps or services. We’ve suspected Apple’s been planning on ditching Google maps for quite some time, with Apple snapping up several map companies, with C3 being their most recent (last year).
The first official evidence that Apple was toying with the notion came at the new iPad event in March, when the demo for iPhoto was shown. Mapping functionality was shown as part of iPhoto’s new Journal feature, but the map technology was not that of Google, it was from OpenStreetMap, which was identifiable from the “watercolor” overlay.
According to a 9to5Mac, who’s been pretty accurate when it comes to Apple rumors (they correctly reported that their would be no iPhone 5, days prior to the announcement of the 4S), Apple will official dump Google Maps with their own map service in iOS 6. Let’s face it, maps are maps, but Apple plans to use a new 3D technology, which it received when they acquired C3, to help make their map service more interactive or immersive.
We know Apple doesn’t simply like to copy or mimic its competitors, so it’s safe to assume there will be more to these maps, than what Google current offers, exactly what, we don’t know. With WWDC 2011 happening in just a few weeks, all our questions should be answered, can you wait that long?