Apple is beginning the transition to move its Maps application online starting with the Find My iPhone web app on its iCloud.com beta website, as noticed by iPhoneBlog.de [Google Translate]. Though the public version of iCloud.com is still pulling data from Google Maps, beta.icloud.com now uses an online version of Apple maps for its location information.
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Apple has been slowly switching away from Google Maps after using the competing mapping service in the early versions of the iOS. The Cupertino company dropped support for the Google-based mapping solution and introduced Apple Maps as part of iOS 6 in 2012. While iCloud.com still remained tied to Google, iOS apps such as Find My iPhone and Find My Friends also were converted to Apple's mapping data in the same year.
After a highly-criticized launch, Apple has been making efforts to bolster its mapping data, recently improving its points of interest database as well as notifying users when reported problems had been fixed. Apple was said to be adding indoor mapping and other new features to Apple Maps in iOS 8, but internal politics and the departure of key employees may have delayed those plans.
Update 10:22 AM: Some users have been seeing the Find My iPhone web app on beta.icloud.com switching back to Google-based maps, so it appears that Apple is continuing to tweak and test things.
Top Rated Comments
Why does Apple feel they have to reinvent the wheel?
Because Apple doesn't want to share the users' data in order to sell advertising, and Google demands that data. I personally side with Apple on this one. It's none of Google's business where I am unless I specifically ask them to track me.
Now i'll never find my iphone...
Why does Apple feel they have to reinvent the wheel?
So you feel that once something is created, other companies shouldn't make their own version ? Blackberry would probably agree.
They should spend their efforts on something Google isn't executing well on (like their initiative on iCloud Photos).
I'd like to see Find my Friends make its way to iCloud.com
And since Find My Friends in iOS8 wil mainly be in messages. Let's also take messages into the broweser!