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Insiders Detail Steve Jobs' Role in Apple's Mapping Effort, Desire to Replace Google as iOS Search Engine

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Apr 12, 2001
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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.
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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.
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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.

Article Link: Insiders Detail Steve Jobs' Role in Apple's Mapping Effort, Desire to Replace Google as iOS Search Engine
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/10/03/steve-jobs-role-in-apples-mapping-effort-desire-to-replace-google-as-ios-search-engine/
Bing search would be the only alternative. I wouldn't have a problem with it but many would.
 
That would have been .... suicidal.

That said I switched to Bing and like it more.
 
Both search and maps wouldn't find anything, problem solved! - Scott Forstall will demonstrate this beautiful feature at the next WWDC.
 
Apple already replaced Google as search engine for Russian and Chinese versions, two of large markets.
 
Long-term, it will prove to be the right competitive move. With a 100 million iOS devices and growing, it is not a wise competitive move to continually generate add dollars and traffic to your rival. Much less have a major feature like turn-by-turn denied. Apple had to ween themselves from Google eventually.

They will get the App refined quickly. I don't miss Google's presence at all.
 
Two days ago my wife's iPhone randomly switched search engines from Google to Yahoo! search.

Steve? Is that you?
 
wickerman1893 said:
Bing search would be the only alternative. I wouldn't have a problem with it but many would.
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Its mostly people who just want to find an excuse to bitch and moan.

Bitch and moan over no integrated turn by turn directions.
Apple does what it needs to do to bring turn by turn to the iPhone and then people bitch and moan.

Generally Bing gives GREAT search results and Google has done a good job of "integrating" Bing features.

Apple should just go out and buy Yahoo and end this.
 
Just remove "Mac" from the site name already and get it over with. The domain, iOSrumors can be had for $39.95. Better grab it! :eek:
 
Apple could have simply released an app called "turn by turn" and it could have basically been what they have now. In a year, when the contract expires with Google, and turn by turn is improved, lose google maps. Simple.

But no, they have to be all super secretive.

It will however, accelerate the improvement of apple maps by sheer necessity. The FCP X release is similar. A product with potential, just not ready for prime time. But by putting it out there and cutting off sales of FCP 7, it was a forced, thrown into the fire, kind of sink or swim adoption.
 
business decisions that involve emotional motivations are never good business decisions. This is a good example.
Job's temper has always been his Achilles' tendon.
 
So Steve WOULD HAVE allowed this? I assume we can stop with the Steve would have done this or that comments that litter these pages?
 
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