Apple Purchases Embark To Help Improve Transit Directions In Maps App

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embarkapp

Apple has been launched a full court press on Maps ever since its disappointing launch last fall. The company has already gobbled up a few mapping companies but it’s not ready to stop quite yet, as it just purchased the map app Embark.

Embark, Inc. focuses on building free transit apps to help navigate public transportation. According to a report from Jessica Lessin, Apple acquired the small team very recently and plans to directly integrate Embark’s tech into Apple Maps.

Apple confirmed the purchase of Embark, stating, “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our plans.” It’s still unknown how much Apple paid the company.

Since it was founded in 2011, Embark has made apps for both iOS and Android that provided detailed info on public transit systems for specific cities such as New York, San Francisco and L.A. Embark’s iOS apps are still available in the App Store, but it looks like Apple has already shut down its offerings in Google Play.

Source: Jessica Lessin

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