Apple Has Own Location Services, Bye Bye Google

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The fact that Apple has been working on its own location services software is not a secret anymore. Cupertino purchased Quattro, Placebase and Poly9, companies capable to offer Apple what it needs in terms of location services for its mobile devices.

The endeavor is all the more important considering that Apple is currently fighting off Google on multiple fronts but still relying on some of the services and apps coming from its rival: Google Search and Google Maps. We now hear that Apple has decided to use its own location services since April, or since the iPad, running iOS 3.2, was launched. Here’s a full statement from Apple that confirms these matters:

To provide the high quality products and services that its customers demand, Apple must have access to comprehensive location-based information. For devices running iPhone OS versions 1.1.3 to 3.1, Apple relied on (and still relies on) databases maintained by Google and Skyhook Wireless (“Skyhook”) to provide location-based services. Beginning with the iPhone OS version 3.2 released in April 2010, Apple relies on its own databases to provide location-based services and for diagnostic purposes. These databases must be updated continuously to account for, among other things, the ever-changing physical landscape, more innovative uses of mobile technology, and the increasing number of Apple’s customers. Apple has always taken great care to protect the privacy of its customers.

The information has been available since June, but only discovered recently in the extensive letter Apple sent to the two U.S. Congressmen that were worried about Apple’s location-related new policies. Apple is probably going to invest even more resources into location based services for its iOS customers, especially since there are over 100 million iPhones, iPads and iPhone touch units now capable of using such services and that number is growing every quarter.

What can Google do about its own services being replaced on the iPhone and the other iOS devices? Well right about now all they’ll be able to do is to build a better Android environment that would convince even more people to switch over since Apple will not stop until it will be in full control of its iOS world. That means ditching all Google’s services in the following years.