First! The comment of choice among comment system newbs everywhere is now actually a thing when it comes to announcing major products in Silicon Valley. With speculation that Apple’s about to release its very own 3D mapping system in iOS, Google has decided that they’ll beat the company to the punch and announce their very own 3D mapping service just days before Apple does at WWDC. First, indeed.
It’s being reported that Apple is looking to “greatly enhance” the Maps app in iOS with the release of iOS 6. Analyst Shaw Wu has declared that the company will announce the new application at WWDC in a couple of weeks, and that Apple’s iOS Maps app will included new 3D capabilties and enhancements.
It’s pretty common knowledge now that Apple’s looking to move away from Google Maps in iOS. Open Street Map information has found its way into iPhoto for iOS, and that seems to be the tipping point for Apple. The company owns a number of mapping companies now, through acquisition, and many suspect that an iOS Maps app is set to be released in iOS 6. At this point, it’s looking pretty certain that it will happen.
Queue, Go… First… Ogle…
On Wednesday, June 6th Google will announce its very own mapping service. Apple may have abandoned Google Maps in iOS 6, but that doesn’t mean that Google can’t beat Apple to the announcement punch five days before Apple announces similar functionality. Actually, it could be argued that Google is taking a play out of Apple’s playbook by trumping Apple’s announcement before Apple even takes the stage. Apple’s been known to overshadow its competition during keynotes in the past, sometimes scheduling events at the same time as the competition.
Get ready for it. We’re about to hear a whole lot of “Google did it first!” comments around the web.