image source: Wired

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE


There could be even less Google in your next iPhone. 9to5Mac reports Apple will drop Google Maps in favor of an in-house solution with iOS 6.

The blog cites trusted sources, who say Apple’s maps will be faster and more reliable than Google’s. The application will be built on various mapping companies Apple acquired over the last few years, and the overhaul will come complete with a new icon.

All Things Digital independently confirmed the rumors . One source said the new maps will “blow your head off.”

“I’m not quite sure what that means, and the source in question declined to elaborate, but it’s likely a reference to the photorealistic 3-D mapping tech Apple acquired when it purchased C3 Technologies.”

All Things Digital says C3’s mapping tech is based on software originally designed for missile targeting. An airborne array of cameras picks up images from various angles, which are crunched into the 3D images seen in this video from Cult of Mac .

The visual polish is a nice touch, but TechCrunch says Apple wouldn’t have been able to cut ties with Google if it hadn’t had a database of its own .

“While C3′s tech seems to have been used in building features, the purchase of white-label mapping service Placebase presumably allowed Apple to build up their store of map data to the point where they apparently feel comfortable giving Google the boot.”

And GigaOM suggests Apple is indeed comfortable in distancing itself from a competitor .

“This is the same company that Steve Jobs promised to go “thermonuclear” on and accusing it of “grand theft” in designing Android. It makes sense not to incorporate product from one of your chief rivals in mobile into your most important product.”

So a switch makes good business sense. But John Gruber at Daring Fireball says Apple has to make sure its offering is a categorical improvement .

“This is a high-pressure switch for Apple. Regressions will not be acceptable. The purported whiz-bang 3D view stuff might be great, but users are going to have pitchforks and torches in hand if practical stuff like driving and walking directions are less accurate than they were with Google’s data.”

9to5 Mac expects iOS 6 to debut at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in mid-June.