After Apple removed the native Google Maps app from iOS 6, it was reported that Google had an iOS 6 Maps app ready to go and was waiting for Apple's approval. Turns out that's not the case at all. Google's Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt, said today that the search giant has "done anything yet" to get Google Maps back on the iPhone.
Speaking from the Japan launch of the Google Nexus 7 tablet, Schmidt told Reuters that Google thinks it would have been better if Apple had kept its mapping app instead of opting for its own in-house service that was done in partnership with Tom Tom, Poly9, and C3, the latter two being two companies Apple purchased in 2011.
The response to Apple replacing the Google Maps app with its own mapping app was met with overwhelming criticism by critics and consumers alike. Complaints touched on everything from the lack of built-in transit directions to geographical errors.
For iOS 6, Apple also nixed YouTube, another native app that ran atop a Google-owned service. Google is still the defult search engine in Apple's Safari browser in iOS 6. Will the two ever work closely together in the future?
We want them to be our partner. We welcome that. I'm not going to speculate at all what they're going to do," said Schmidt. "They can answer that question as they see fit
Related: How to Get Google Maps on iOS 6
[via Reuters]
