Leaked screenshots of native Google Maps (Alpha) for iOS 6 | Hacker News Reader

Leaked screenshots of native Google Maps (Alpha) for iOS 6

benguild.com

24 pointsbound00830 comments

Maybe I'm dumb, but I can't tell if this is a joke or not. These blurry, zoomed-in photos look like they could be anything. This is either really lame or proof that I'm an idiot.

Pretty sure it's some guy fucking with the world to advertise his own app. He doesn't even HINT at where the photos came from!

I threw a link up to get some extra feedback/downloads on the App. — This isn't a hoax.

For all I can see, it could be the Android app with an iOS status bar photo-shopped in at the top...

I feel that "two-finger rotation to any angle" is bad idea, if it can't be turned off.

The Google Earth iOS app has this feature and I hate the fact that every time I zoom in or out, I move slightly away from the up=north orientation. After a few minutes, my map view is upside down and I can't orient myself anymore.

I hope they make it optional and turn it off by default.

If it’s anything like Google Maps on Android, there’s a small threshold before it snaps out of North/up alignment. And even then, you can tap the compass and it’ll reset the rotation.

Actually iOS 6's Maps app behaves exactly like that. The threshold is even larger than Android's (at least that's how it behaves on iPad, I haven't upgraded my iPhone 4 yet).

Android has it. No problems with usability here. Once you commence a zoom action you can't rotate at the same time.

Completely agree, this drives me nuts in the new Apple maps. Unless I'm in 3d mode I never want to be off north being the top, it makes things very confusing otherwise.

I've already made up my mind to never upgrade from iOS 5.

We'll see how long "never" lasts, but I'd predict "at least a year".

The iOS 6 Maps has this too, and I haven't found a way to turn it off. You can also inadvertently "rotate" to 3D mode, which is again very annoying.

Yet again today Apple Maps was a horrible experience for me (Chiswick Park Tube station does not exist!); every time something like this happens to me the amount I'm willing to pay Google for an iOS maps app increases. Would happily pay £10.

Why is this at the top of hacker news?

It makes me sad that some more useful story was knocked off the front page for this pointless, unsubstantiated post.

Will Apple accept it? As I remember (not being an app store developer I don't really know), apps that duplicate built-in functionality are not allowed.

This rule has been removed quite a while ago. How else would you think that we would see Google Chrome on iOS. Or Sparrow (duplicates Mail.app)

In fact, in their apology for the maps disaster, apple specifically recommended downloading map apps from other vendors (and they even feature a alternative maps category on the AppStore ATM).

As such I would believe it's highly likely that they would accept a Google Maps app.

There is still a rule in the guidelines that mentions "Apps that duplicate Apps already in the App Store" though it doesn't specify whether those apps are Apple's own, or any other developer (in fact, comically, the rule lists "fart apps" as an example). They don't really say how many apps of a certain type will be accepted into the app store before this rule goes into affect.

They also have rules against "Apps that look similar to Apps bundled on the iPhone", "user interfaces that mimic any iPod interface" and "Apps which appear confusingly similar to an existing Apple product"

I think basically the guidelines are written to allow Apple to reject apps with it's own discretion when it doesn't want them in the store. Whether that be for business reasons or otherwise. In the case of map apps, they seem to be rather lenient. I wonder if that's more of a grandfather type situation because they didn't have their own map app before iOS6.

The rules that Apple applies are sometimes mysterious and seem to evolve over time. They seem to have certain areas that they block competition, but others where they seemingly don't care. Map apps seem to be ok, but apps that step on the toes of other iOS features get rejected.

If you read the app store review guidelines, it is actually written in a very casual, comical tone where they try to explain the personal nature and gray area of app guidelines. However I'm sure it's not funny for those developers who's apps are rejected.

https://developer.apple.com/appstore/resources/approval/guid...

My bet: Map apps are ok as long as there is no competition from Apple. Let Apple build up their maps app and the stance will change.

I bet if Apple had written their own map app from the beginning then all third-party map apps would all be restricted to using the iOS map engine - the same way third party browsers are limited to using the webkit engine.

Well, there are sound technical reasons as to why 3rd party apps aren't allowed to use Nitro. The same cant be said about a Maps engine.

Which would be?

3rd party apps aren't allowed to sign dynamically-loaded code (which almost everyone agrees is a big security WIN, even if it sucks a little).

Saurik (creator of Cydia):

Apple can't turn on the ability to do executable, dynamically written to memory pages just for their library: they'd have to turn it on for the entire process, at which point you could also do crazy things like download native code and execute it, bypassing the entire concept of their "codesign" mechanism.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2338338

Jail breakers can enable Nitro for other apps (like Google Chrome) by using a utility called Nitrous.

What i know is that every other OS on the earth allows that. To me it sounds just like a convenient excuse :) Easier to say "blabla security blabla" instead of "we shut down apps because we don't want competition". Even if it is true that it increases security somewhat. I'd vote for more "freedom" instead of a more restricted environment.

not much to go on there. i am holding off on iPhone5 until I can see google maps on the device. If I can't get turn-by-turn directions while I'm driving, then I will not get an iPhone.

The iPhone 5 does have turn by turn navigation.

As does the iPhone 4... It's a feature of iOS 6.

iPhone 4 doesn't have turn by turn, only iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 has that feature

iPhone 4 is missing the 3D flyover, but it most definitely has turn-by-turn.

No. Source: http://www.apple.com/ios/maps/ (also, the iPhone 4 sitting two feet from me).

Maps has had driving directions since 1.0, but only the latest and greatest maps app on the 4S and 5 (and the latest two iPads) do turn by turn.

Wow this is uh, sure exciting.

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