In August, we profiled a 3D mapping company called C3 Technologies that had been acquired by a mystery buyer. We suspected Apple was the purchaser of the company, but weren't able to prove it at the time.
Realtime map screenshot from C3 Technologies
Now, it seems that Apple was indeed the buyer of the company, according to 9to5Mac's sources.
Sure enough, we have now learned Apple is now the owner of C3 Technologies. Sources say that C3 Technologies CEO Mattias Astrom , C3 Technologies CFO Kjell Cederstrand, and lead C3 Technologies Product Manager Ludvig Emgard are now working within Apple’s iOS division. The leading trio, along with most of the former C3 Technologies team, is still working as a team in Sweden (interestingly, the division is now called “Sputnik”), where the C3 Technologies company was located prior to the Apple acquisition.
C3 Technologies made a big splash at CES 2011 when it began demoing its technology on both Android and iOS devices. The company uses formerly classified missile targeting technology to achieve its impressive 3D mapping effects. The company's official YouTube videos have been pulled, but some examples remain. This video shows a flythrough of Oslo, Norway (video improperly labeled):
Another example of New York City with overlays is on YouTube. And here's a demo of the technology running on an early iPad version:
The technology had also been previously licensed by Yell.com and Nokia.
Apple's interest in the technology is obvious. The company has been dependent on Google's mapping technology for their iOS devices, but has been steadily making acquisitions to replace that technology. Apple has been heavily recruiting for their Geo Team and has even revealed in iOS 5 that they are planning their own full mapping solution.
Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued.
The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models.
In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
Thursday February 20, 2025 5:06 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, our thoughts turn to what else we are expecting from the company this spring.
There are three product categories that we are definitely expecting to get upgraded before spring has ended. Keep reading to learn what they are. If we're lucky, Apple might make a surprise announcement about a completely new product category.
M4...
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker.
In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag.
The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle.
Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Wednesday February 19, 2025 11:38 am PST by Juli Clover
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple updated its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia pages to give a narrower timeline on when the next updates are set to launch.
All three pages now state that new Apple Intelligence features and languages will launch in early April, an update from the more broader April timeframe that Apple provided before. The next major point updates will be iOS ...
Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week.
Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far.
Apple Intelligence for Siri
Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
Friday February 14, 2025 6:03 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the HomePod mini in November 2020, followed by the AirTag in May 2021, and both still remain first-generation products.
Fortunately, rumors suggest that both the HomePod mini and the AirTag will finally be updated at some point this year.
Below, we recap rumors about the HomePod mini 2 and AirTag 2.
HomePod mini 2
In January 2025, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple is ...
Something tells me Android support is going to be dropped :D
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Prediction:
2012 iPhone best selling point will be the maps and larger screen. The screen will have some kind of 3D capabilities, similar to the Evo 3D, but much better.
So, do we expect, like Google, Apple will make this viewable/usable to everyone with a computer/hand held product, and not just keep it for Apple use only?
This, like a touch screen interface, is the type of thing that no one company should ever be able to own and keep to itself as its potentially of benefit to anyone on the planet, and as such should not be withheld from access by others with different products.
Can you imagine for example if google maps, google street view and google earth had always been banned from running on any apple products and how wrong that would be for google to do this.
And the same should apply to Apple with this.
Apple's and oranges. You can't compare them like that. Google does not sell Android. Apple sells iOS. Google makes money off advertisers, Apple makes money by selling products. So Google canceling the use of their services in Apple products works against Google, not for them. Yet Apple keeping their technologies for themselves works for Apple, not against them. So you can bet that Apple won't give this to anyone else.
