Despite statements by Google's former CEO that Apple had "just" renewed their Map partnership with Google, there appears to be evidence that Apple has been working on its own mapping solution in iOS 5.
It's certainly no secret that Apple is actively working on some sort of mapping solution. In the past few years, Apple has acquired two mapping companies Placebase and Poly9. The company has also been actively recruiting for job applicants with navigation software experience and has even revealed work on a future crowds-sourced traffic database.
Now, a look at the legal disclaimers found in iOS 5 reveal a new section called "Map Data". (full text) This section lists licenses from an extensive number of third party companies that provide mapping data and related services.
This entire section is new in iOS 5's legal section and does not appear to be related to Google's own mapping data licenses. Google's own legal terms for their map data is distinct, and many of the companies do not overlap. In fact, one of the listed traffic-data companies is a competitor to Google's Maps.
The companies listed in iOS 5's legal notices include the following diverse companies under the "Map Data" section:
• CoreLogic offers Parcel data which marks boundaries for of properties to provide positional accuracy in location-based solutions. • Getchee provides location and market data on China, India and Southeast Asia. • Increment P Corp provides location and traffic data for Japan. • Localeze provides local business listings. • MapData Sciences Pty Ltd. Inc provides mapping data for Australia and New Zealand. • DMTI provides postal code data for Canada. • TomTom offers global TeleAtlas mapping data which is also licensed by Google for their map solution. • Urban Mapping provides in-depth neighborhood data such as crime, demographics, school performance, economic indicators and more. • Waze offers real-time maps and traffic information based on crowd sourced data.
The last two companies are perhaps the most interesting. Urban Mapping offers extensive additional data over traditional mapping products. The company was even a partner of Placebase's back in 2007 before Apple's acquisition. Meanwhile, Waze seems to be exactly what Apple was talking about when they hinted at crowd-sourced traffic data. Waze offers mobile apps that can be used to send data back to a central database to show realtime traffic data.
Given the news of Apple's recent agreement with Google, it may be that Apple's own solution wasn't ready for iOS 5, so we may have to wait a while before we see what Apple's been working on.
Monday February 3, 2025 1:15 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple does not approve of the "Hot Tub" pornography app that was released for the iPhone in the EU using alternative app distribution, Apple said in a statement to MacRumors. Further, Apple is concerned about the potential user safety risks with a pornography app, and says that it undermines consumer trust in the Apple ecosystem.
We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore...
Tuesday February 4, 2025 8:00 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today announced the launch of a new app called "Invites," which is designed to allow users to plan events like birthday parties, graduations, vacations, baby showers, and more.
"With Apple Invites, an event comes to life from the moment the invitation is created, and users can share lasting memories even after they get together," said Brent Chiu-Watson, Apple's senior director of...
Sunday February 2, 2025 6:15 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple previously teased that Powerbeats Pro 2 would be released in 2025, and now an announcement date has leaked. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said Apple plans to unveil the wireless earbuds on Tuesday, February 11.
Powerbeats Pro 2 will be priced at $250 in the U.S., he said.
Powerbeats Pro are a sportier, fitness-focused alternative to AirPods Pro with built-in, adjustable ear hooks...
Sunday February 2, 2025 8:34 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Starting next week, Apple's retail stores will no longer offer AppleCare+ plans as a one-time purchase, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Instead, he said the stores will only offer AppleCare+ as a subscription. For example, AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 Pro Max costs $9.99 per month, or $199 upfront for two years. The latter option would no longer be available at Apple's stores....
Sunday February 2, 2025 6:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
As early as this week, Apple plans to introduce a new iCloud-based service for event invites, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In his Power On newsletter, Gurman said the new service is codenamed "Confetti" within Apple. He said the service will offer users a "new way to invite people to parties, functions, and meetings." He did not say if this functionality would be available through a ...
Tuesday January 28, 2025 11:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of January 2025:
More aluminum: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models ...
Tuesday February 4, 2025 7:11 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Update: The new Apple Invites app has officially been announced.
The main iCloud.com page has seemingly confirmed Apple's rumored invites tool, which has yet to be officially announced by the company.
The page says "Apple Invites" will be an iCloud+ feature:Upgrade to iCloud+ to get more storage, plan events with Apple Invites, and have peace of mind with privacy features like iCloud...
Monday February 3, 2025 11:13 am PST by Juli Clover
In the European Union, the Digital Markets Act allows developers to distribute iOS apps through alternate app stores. While Apple checks those apps for malware and other malicious content, there are few restrictions on subject matter, unlike Apple's own App Store. As a result, EU users can now download the first dedicated native pornography app created for the iPhone.
Called Hot Tub, the app ...
With the remaining problem that you cannot (literally cannot - it is impossible) create as comprehensive a business location database as Google maps has unless you own the world's most important search engine as well to encourage busineses to submit up to date listings.
I don't believe that. You're suggesting that Google Maps gets all its data from user submissions? Link?
According to Google (http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/help/legalnotices_maps.html) they get at least some of their business listings from Acxiom Corporation and/or infoUSA Inc.
Google Maps is fantastic. The app itself on iToys could be improved, but why go to the effort of making a whole new map format and collect data when Google has it all already?!
Invention for the sake of invention is pointless, at least commercially. Google have an excellent database, there is so much data at their hands.
Call me Mr Paranoid, but I don't trust Google, with their vested interests across a range of industries now, with the only copy of such a database. It's too easy for them to decide to manipulate its data for their own ends if it were to suit them in the future.
It's good that competitors like Apple and Microsoft should come up with their own such systems to ensure no one dominates and that what constitutes the 'truth' is not the domain of one organisation.
Maybe it's just because Google Maps also use third party companies providing mapping data where Google Cars didn't go. And Apple had to mention them ?
If you read the article, it says that Google uses different sources for some of the same data. Also, one of the companies listed is a competitor to Google Maps local traffic feature.
Google Maps is fantastic. The app itself on iToys could be improved, but why go to the effort of making a whole new map format and collect data when Google has it all already?!
Apple probably feels that it's not a good idea to depend so deeply on a direct competitor for such an important data source. Although I don't think Google would actually do anything malicious to sabotage Apple's maps, it seems like they have been holding back some of the goodies for themselves - the 3D maps in Android, for example.
