In one of the bigger questions lurking around Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference was, will they or won’t they introduce a mapping service? The answer is now officially yes.
On Monday, the company announced its new mapping solution, iOS Maps; it will finally say goodbye to Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s option. It has confirmed that it work is being conducted for a traffic database and that it has grabbed numerous mapping companies.
Look for the new Maps version to be included in the iOS 6 operating system; this will power the upcoming iPhone and iPad versions.
The solution will include a number of features such as turn-by-turn navigation and 3D maps–just to name a few. One notable feature, as highlighted by BGR, was Flyover. This shows extremely detailed 3D models of famous global cities that can be accessed by the application. It also shows detailed recreations in real time.
Siri will also be part of Maps. Look for female voice-enabled location-based information for drivers, turn-by-turn navigation that will take drivers to their desired location and a real-time traffic service that includes up to date incident reports by anonymous location data from iOS users.
Should rerouting be necessary, the information will come in a pop-up notification.
Want to find a gas station while on your drive? Ask Siri to find one or find how much longer you can expect to be on the road and that familiar pleasant voice will give you the answer.
Additional enhancements include a mapping solution with 100 million different business listings and a Yelp integration.
But wait there’s more. The maps have 3D renderings–similar to last week’s announcement by Google.
The application will update from the phone’s lockscreen. This means users won’t have to open it. The 3D data has been taken by by a fleet of planes that have mapped out metropolitan areas.
