Google has announced at the "The Next Dimension of Google Maps" event that Google Maps will be finally coming to iOS, just as we had predicted.
At the event, Google announced three major features for Google Maps: Full 3D Maps, Offline mode and a new backpack Street View.
Google Maps will allow users to move
around, rotate and interact with 3D models of several major cities.
Google explained that they are using automated technology to extract 3D
from aerial images taken from planes that fly in a tight pattern,
equipped with their own hardware, taking 45-degree imagery. Google 3D
Maps will cover areas with a combined population of 300 million people.
Google Maps for iOS will also include
the 3D Maps feature. Google gave the demo of the 3D maps feature on an
iPad, which was quite ironical.
Google also announced Offline mode for
3D maps, which will allow users to download offline maps of over 100
cities on their smartphones. It was one of the major drawbacks of the
Google Maps app compared to other GPS navigation apps as it needed an
internet connection to download live maps data and also ended up
consuming expensive 3G data. The minimum size of the offline maps is
expected to be around 50MB, so it would probably make sense to download
them while you're on your home or office Wi-Fi network. Unfortunately,
the offline maps feature won't be available to iOS users. Google has
mentioned that they plan to add the feature in the future.
Google has also announced that it will
be improving Street view by using a backback Street View rig, the
Trekker to take images in places where you cannot drive like National
parks, castles, Grand canyon etc.
It is widely speculated that Apple will
be unveiling their own Maps app at the WWDC 2012 Keynote next week and
Google's announcements today seems to have confirmed it.
You can check out the video below to get a glimpse of what 3D imagery will look like on the iPhone:
