This is coming back to iOS… you’ll just have to wait for it.
We’ve heard a lot of rumors surrounding a Google Maps app for iOS over the past week, and now The New York Times is weighing in with information from its own sources. Fortunately, it’s good news: it claims Google is indeed working on a Maps app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and that the company is hoping to have it ready and released by the end of this year.
Why’s it taking so long? Well, Google had no idea Apple was kicking Google Maps out of iOS until Apple first previewed iOS 6 back in June.
With Google Maps gone from iOS 6 in favor of Apple’s own solution, many are hoping Google will bring its own Maps app to the App Store — as it did with YouTube a couple weeks ago. A recent report claimed that it was already on its way, but according to Google chairman Eric Schmidt, that’s not the case at all. In fact, Google hasn’t even submitted a Maps app to Apple for approval yet.
Google Maps is gone in iOS 6, but some users are desperate to get it back.
iOS jailbreak developer Ryan Petrich has successfully gotten the old iOS Maps app, which was powered by Google and boasted features like Street View and walking directions, running under iOS 6. The port is said to be unstable at the moment, but it’s working, and with a little more work, it could be available in all its glory to users with jailbroken iOS devices.
Job listings on Apple’s website reveal it is currently seeking developers to help fix its newly-released Maps app, which has received widespread criticism since making its debut in iOS 6 on Wednesday. The company is calling for software engineers who will be tasked with “road rendering,” and “creating new and innovative features.”
Street Fighter and Tekken are ready to go head-to-head on iOS in this “never-before-dreamed-of-crossover battle,” Street Fighter X Tekken. Now available to download from the App Store, the game brings online multiplayer brawling to iOS with 3D visuals optimized for your Retina display.
Kicking off this week’s must-have apps roundup is a stunning new weather app called Solar, which boasts a simple, intuitive user interface and a no frills approach that doesn’t suffocate you with information you’re not interested in. There’s also a great new drawing and animation app from Disney that you and your kids will love; a great new photography app that adds bokeh light effects to your photos; and updates to Google Earth and Yelp.
Following Apple’s Google’s leap into 3D mapping technologies, Amazon has acquired a 3D mapping startup of its own. The online retail giant today sealed a deal to purchase UpNext in a move that could signal the company’s intentions to bring 3D maps to its Kindle Fire slate without any assistance from Google.
We got all excited about The Amazing Spider-Man earlier this month when developers Gameloft released the title’s first teaser trailer. And today the official game of the 2012 blockbuster has hit the App Store. As you’d expect from Gameloft, the 3D visuals look terrific, and they promise to “make Spider-Man more realistic than ever before!”
Yelp check-ins are coming to Apple’s new Maps app.
Although iOS 6 looks a lot like iOS 5 on the surface, a number of Apple’s built-in apps and services have received some big changes. The biggest overhaul comes to the Maps app, which has done away with Google Maps in favor of Apple’s own 3D mapping service. Another feature you can look forward to in Maps, according to an Apple document sent out to developers, is Yelp check-ins.
Will Apple’s website look like this come October? We hope so.
When I first spotted those leaked images of what was claimed to be the next-generation iPhone’s rear panel, I wasn’t keen on the two-tone aluminum look, and I found myself wondering what Jony Ive was up to inside Apple’s design labs. But now that I’ve seen a few mockups of that design, I’ve changed my mind.
In fact, the latest mockups, created by Martin Hajek, look absolutely incredible.
![This Week’s Must-Have iOS Apps: Solar, PIXEL’D, Bokehful & More [Roundup]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Screen-Shot-2012-07-29-at-09.08.22.jpg "Screen Shot 2012-07-29 at 09.08.22")
![Apple’s New Maps App Will Boast Yelp Check-Ins Integration [Report]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/idBk2YidrTX4.jpeg "Yelp-sticker")
![We’ll Be Delighted If Apple’s Next iPhone Looks Like This [Gallery]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/original-3.jpeg "iphone-5-mockup-website")
