Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps
by SoftwareMaven on Thursday September 20, 2012 @07:08PM
(#4551235)
Why should it have been different with a Google maps app shipping with iOS?
Because the world of business development is very different from the world of consumer APIs. In a bizdev world, you want SLAs and contractually understood definitions of how both sides will behave. A company like Apple (or Google, Oracle, Microsoft, etc) isn't going to build a core feature of its product on somebody else's technology without understanding exactly what that means.
And all of that costs money.
Is there any indication, anywhere, that Apple had to pay Google for the maps app? Quotations, citations? I really really doubt it, if anything I would expect Apple received money from Google for the privilege of being the preinstalled maps app.
As for the other story - sure, if Apple had demanded that the Google Maps app shows Apple Ads, not Google Ads, or that they get a share of the Ad revenue, then Google would walk away eventually. Obviously it is also worth something for Google to have their Maps on iOS, so they might even have paid Apple for the privilege for a while (either a fixed sum, or part of the ad revenue).
If Google were to publish a Maps app now (and Apple would accept it), it would simply be free and show Google ads, like all the other Google maps. Apple wouldn't have to pay a dime. Why should it have been different with a Google maps app shipping with iOS?
Maps are a central part of a mobile device, so I suppose Apple was getting desperate to get a share of the pie (Ad revenue and valuable data collection).