Insiders Detail Steve Jobs' Role in Apple's Mapping Effort, Desire to Replace Google as iOS Search Engine
Bloomberg Businessweek's profile of Apple one year after the death of Steve Jobs includes an interesting glimpse of Steve Jobs' role in Apple's mapping effort, a project that has been a number of years in the making but which only now has made its way into the public's hands. Unsurprisingly, the report notes that Apple's mapping effort was Jobs' idea, stemming from his concern over Google's presence on iOS devices.
Apple insiders say Jobs himself initiated the mapping project, putting mobile software chief Forstall in charge, and he installed a secret team on the third floor of Building 2 on Apple’s campus to replace Google Maps on the iPhone. At the time of his death, Jobs had come to loathe Google, which he felt was copying features of the iPhone while withholding a key feature of Google Maps that allows smartphones to dictate turn-by-turn directions aloud.
Beyond mapping, Jobs was reportedly also considering removing Google as the default search engine on iOS, but did not think it would be feasible.
Jobs also discussed pulling Google search from the iPhone, but figured that customers would reject that move, according to two former Apple executives.
The claim is in line with a January 2010 report from Businessweek claiming that Apple was in discussions with Microsoft to make the switch to Bing as the default search engine for iOS. Apple currently offers users the choice of Google, Yahoo!, or Bing as their Safari search engine in iOS, with the company having also added Baidu in China with iOS 6, but Google's role as the default search engine helps it hold by far the largest share of iOS search traffic.
Popular Stories
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...
