iOS 6 map app gives third-party transit app makers a chance to shine

Neil Hughes for AppleInsider:

The ability of third-party developers to create transit apps for iOS 6 was highlighted by Apple’s iOS software chief Scott Forstall at Monday’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. He noted that a new application programming interface for transit apps to interface with Maps is a part of iOS 6.

“When building Maps, we looked around and realized the best transit apps for metros, for hiking, for biking, are coming from our developers,” Forstall told developers. “And so instead of trying to develop those ourselves, we are going to integrate and feature and promote your apps for transit right within the Maps app in iOS 6.”

Apple has been rightly criticized in the past for adding features to their operating system software that effectively kills the market for third-party applications that filled that gap before. So it’s good to see Forstall and Apple recognize an opportunity to help third-party developers fill the gap.

Still, if I were just getting started developing a transit app today, I might be concerned that somewhere down the road in the not too distant future, Apple might try to fill this gap themselves.

http://www.johncblandii.com John C. Bland II

I don’t think this was a plan of Apple’s. They just didn’t do it. There is no silver lining or great plan to help developers here.

I would expect within 6 months, no more than 9, you’ll see a significant update to Maps to include a lot of missing features, transit specifically.
http://twitter.com/mynameisseb Sebastian Atwater

There’s no way they think you’re better off jumping out of their Maps app, into a third party app, to pull transit info.

This has to be coming at some point to Apple’s new Maps app.
- quietstorms
  
  From the story, it doesn’t look like you will jump out of the app. It looks like Maps is some kind of platform itself developers can use.
- Obsidian71
  
  One of the hallmarks of Placebase (the mapping co Apple acquired) was the ability to layer different data on the maps. Transit is a step in that direction. It should be well integrated.
- lucascott
  
  That is likely, but the general point still stands. Apple sees that there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel, especially when someone else can do it better. So they will not build all this stuff themselves but license it etc accordingly.
  
  And I say great. I have tried to use the current Maps for directions, especially transit and it sucks. On more than one occasion times were off, whole bus lines were missing from the maps (including some with stops way closer to where I was than what was shown). I stopped rather fast. If Apple got that info from the actual Metro service directly then perhaps they would have the right and full info.
lucascott

what exactly does “He noted that a new application programming interface for transit apps to interface with Maps is a part of iOS 6.” and “we are going to integrate and feature and promote your apps for transit right within the Maps app in iOS 6.” mean

until we know that then its hard to make a call on what Apple will do