14 DAY TRIAL // Images of Apple’s 3D mapping service launching later this year have been leaked to BGR by “trusted sources” who said the app features a refreshed user interface, including a new navigation bar.
Switching from blue to silver, the navigation bar would indicate that iOS 6 itself is built around a gray-ish scheme.
Remember when OS X Lion shipped with substantially less pop than Snow Leopard? This should be the case with iOS 5 customers upgrading to iOS 6, going by the report.
Back to the 3D maps, which Apple is implementing thanks to a key acquisition called C3 Technologies, the 3D mode can be accessed in the same way as with the iOS 5 version of Maps – by peeling back the lower right corner of the screen.
To toggle the function on and off, users will be presented with a 3D icon in the lower left corner.
Apple is said to be putting the finishing touches on its 3D mapping feature by testing iOS 6 betas, one of which has been confirmed to carry the build number 10A3XX.
The image you see above is a mockup based on the blurry photos leaked by this source, who clearly wanted to make sure none of the information could be traced back to them. You don’t get this kind of clearance as a janitor in Apple’s house, so we’re thinking at least software engineer.
This is not the first time a source leaks iOS 6 information and the 3D mapping app soon to be on everybody’s lips.
Best of all, the rumors are so consistent with one another that this particular feature in iOS 6 is all but confirmed now. All that remains to be seen is whether the summer release really pans out.