Amazing Google Maps experiences reportedly planned for iOS... sometime, in some form

Google Senior Vice President of Commerce & Local, Jeff Huber, teased that, new Apple Maps in iOS 6 not withstanding, we might not have seen the last of Google Maps on iPhone or iPad either. Responding to a comment on Google+, Huber said:

We look forward to providing amazing Google Maps experiences on iOS.

Whether that means a native Google Maps app for the App Store, something that brings feature parity with the Google Map Android apps, Huber didn't say. Given the resources Apple's bringing to bear on iOS 6 maps, which includes free turn by turn directions and "fly over" view, a web app or UIWebView wrapper won't cut it.
Since Apple doesn't seem to be tackling transit directions and doesn't have Street View in iOS 6 apps, there's opportunity for Google to attract a lot of users to a proper Google Maps app for iPhone and iPad -- which is something I've been asking for for a while now.
Given the brouhaha that arose when Apple didn't approve Google Voice, it's hard to imagine Apple could get away with not approving a Google Maps app, and given the value of iOS users' location data to Google's business model, it's hard to imagine Google wouldn't make it.
The only question is how long we'll have to wait.   View the original article here