Apple Ended Its Google Maps Contract One Year Early [Sources]

Sources close to Apple and Google commenting on the Maps issue surrounding iOS 6 have revealed that the Cupertino company had one year left in its agreement with the Mountain View company to support Google Maps in its mobile operating system.

Citing two independent sources familiar with the matter, The Verge reports that Apple's decision to ship its own mapping service was made “over a year before the company's agreement to use Google Maps expired.”

So what made them act so fast? Some say Tim Cook (Apple CEO) wanted to get the 3D views thing out the door ahead of Google.

Others believe Apple simply wants to pull away from all its Google dependencies as fast as possible. The YouTube app is a good example of that.

But the fact of the matter remains that Apple still had a full year of Google Maps on paper. Which makes it clear that, whatever Apple’s plan was, it had to get done sooner, rather than later.

There’s more. According to the same sources, Apple’s decision, made well ahead of WWDC 2012, “sent Google scrambling to develop an iOS Google Maps app.”

In other words, when Eric Schmidt said Google hadn’t submitted the binary to Apple, he basically just confirmed a reality that we were all aware of – that there’s currently no Google Maps app waiting in Apple’s review queue.

The sources added that it was “still incomplete and currently not scheduled to ship for several months,” according to the report.

There’s also the matter of approval. Apple could simply dismiss the software stating that it replicates iOS functionality. It has done so before, and it has every (marketing) reason to do so when it comes to its arch rivals.

Then again, by the time Google rolls out the dedicated Maps app, Apple’s service could be much improved, perhaps even better than Google’s.