Eric Schmidt: No Google Maps for iOS 6. Now What?

The Apple Maps train wreck continues to unfold, and while a huge amount of disgruntled customers were hoping for an arrival of Google Maps to fix all their navigation issues, Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Google has confirmed that there is no Google Map app for iPhone 5 in the works. “We have not done anything yet”, he said to reporters from Reuters. We’ve told you about the Apple mapping issues in our complete iPhone 5 review. Previously, it was rumored that Google Maps, was on the way, but that it had not been submitted yet to the app store.

This comes as a big blow to everyone who was hoping for a relatively quick resolution of the Apple Maps issue. Unfortunately, this is not going to happen anytime soon. Google did not rule out building such an app one day, but given the black eye that Apple Maps is giving to the iPhone 5 and every single application that uses Apple Maps via the iOS API, Google may look at this as an opportunity to push Android and Google Maps, which remains the single best solution for mapping and navigation.

Eric Schmidt adds: “We think it would have been better if they had kept ours. But what do I know? What were we going to do, force them not to change their mind? It’s their call”. Apple-connected pundits previously hinted that the Google/Apple deal with Google Maps was possibly close to an end, but Schmidt’s answer seems to be a hint to the contrary.

Eric Schmidt also said that the press is “obsessed with Apple’s marketing events and Apple’s branding”, but that in the end, the Android eco-system has more clout, numbers and… a functioning mapping/navigation application.

Given that mapping experts say that it could take *years* for Apple to fix this on their own, there’s pretty much Bing and Nokia left for a quick fix, and somehow, I’m not sure that Microsoft or Nokia would run to Apple’s help here.

How big of a deal are “fully-functional” mapping and navigation to you? Leave a comment and share your opinion with us.

Hubert Nguyen
Categories: Apple, Featured
Tags: ios 6, iPhone 5